Johnny G clubs Flares, Hades, Morticias and others 1983-2003

10/09/2024

From the vault. Ian outside his and John's club Hades 'House of Trash' c1985 - Lands Office Hotel Mary St, now ironically, Brisbane City Police Station.

13/11/2023

C1991, Flares- live experience, Metropolis nightclub basement Myer Centre (Uptown). Around this time John G was also collaborating with the brilliantly innovative, disrupter and activist Gavin Waller on his famous concept club the ‘Fag Bar’.

09/07/2023

If you were at either of the 2 gigs Yothu Yindi performed in 1991 at Metropolis, it would probably stand out in your memory as one of the most incredible events you've ever witnessed and been part of. Johnny G - promoter and DJ.

(original notes and paste-up for flyer first show - thanks John Hawker - and flyer from second show)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/80salternativebrisbane/posts/10161324122333832/?comment_id=10161324273503832

05/07/2023

Loads of flyers, mostly of Flares events and excerpts of found videos from at Metropolis nightclub, Myer Centre 1990-91/2 WITH on radio audio discussion about Metropolis and Berties, Taverns in the Myer Centre ABC621 morning show (Friday 30 June, 2023).

Flyers and all ephemera J. Griffin archive
Audio from ABC612

Video excepts
Perception magazine launch party posted online by Thea Basiliou. Thank you. Full video and details here https://vimeo.com/416878795

Sons of the Bees Gees, Flares Live Experience, Metropolis.Thank you. Full video and details here https://youtu.be/bVd9Rep6fpg

03/07/2023

Full segment coming soon.

23/04/2023

45 years later and DJ Johnny G can still create a dancefloor out of nothing. John drew on his decades of experience to deal with many technical issues with the in-house sound system, no headphone plug working and using the monitor as a speaker for the crowd, to get a sizable crowd of old (and some young) punks to dance on sticky carpet after the epic show by The Stranglers.

THE STRANGLERS POST-SHOW PARTY / THE TIVOLI: BRISBANE / 21.4.2023

02/04/2023

More from the vault on The Cult's epic gig at East's Leagues Club, Stones Corner 16 Oct 1987 - following on from previous post
1. Interview with Ian Astbury prior to 'Electric' Australian Tour (The Courier Mail).
2. Morticia's flyer with band bookings across 3 venues: Voodoo Lust (Treasury Tavern), Screaming Tribesman (National Hotel), The Cult (Easts) and Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Easts)
3. Queensland tour flyer

28/03/2023

John on the backstory of booking The Cult and the legendary performance at Easts Leagues Club, Stones Corner, on the 16 October 1987.

'They (the national promoters) said ‘what are you going to do if people don’t arrive. You’ve conned us into giving you the show more or less, or you’ve forced us into giving you the show. You haven’t sold tickets and what are you going to do if people don’t arrive’. I said ‘I’ll just pay you, I’ll just pay you’.

I guaranteed the money. We were going to do this ... I’d done all the promotion, I’d done all the homework on the band. So why wouldn’t I carry through and put my money where my mouth is for this band? I’d just done a few years work on them and made them so popular. By the time The Cult came along, I was well into the whole thing so I’d had about eight years of working out what works and what doesn’t, putting my money into the right places.

Why wouldn’t I put my head on the chopping block … The Stems, The Lime Spiders and all the up-and-coming bands Australian indie bands. We had massive nights, but because you’re recycling money into the bands you’re already promoting – it’s going to be a success. But only we knew that.

For some reason I’ve got the figure of $18,000 (to buy the show) in my mind but I can’t remember. They said ‘you’re not going to sell, you’re not going to presell the tickets!’ I said ‘no, the people will come. Put the show on, the people will come’.

And you know what, there’s a cyclone on the night of The Cult. There’s a cyclone off the coast of Fraser Island and the area where the venue is, is going underwater. Flooding, Deshon Street was flooding. We went ahead and just left it in the lap of the Gods. And then … I mean it was huge. Just put two really good cashiers on the door, not one door, two doors and they arrived, in the cyclone with the area going under, flooding, and they arrived and it was massive ... it was the big history maker.

Then on stage they smashed their gear. They had Mooloolaba to do on the Saturday so we had to replace all the gear to take up the north coast.

And backstage Ian Ashbury said ‘where’s these guys that put on the show, where are they?’ and someone said ‘Ian Ashbury wants to see you’. So I grabbed Ian (Whittred) and fronted up to Ian Ashbury and he said ‘you guys are really cool, you’re really cool’ ... that’s all he said. Because he just had the night of his life, you know.'

Newspaper review of The Cult live performance October 16, 1987 at Easts Leagues Club by Richard Conrad, The Sunday Mail, Brisbane.

09/12/2022

John's ironic humour again. Quickly created paste-up artwork with his handwriting for Flares - or is that Flairs?

05/12/2022

'In memory of Nico' who passed away 18 July 1988.
DIY hand cut photocopy flyer, handwriting by John, found image.

03/12/2022

Morticia's logo designed by Steven Crowther. Photocopy scrap used in paste-up art for flyer or street press ad.

03/12/2022

John's concept club Uptown Soul, Sunday nights at St Trinians (and other names) night club venue Upper Edward St - 1985. Where the dress code was op shop...

Graphic design by Stephen Crowther. Black and white flyer.

24/11/2022

The 2 John’s Midgley and Griffin collaborate on Midgley’s concept club Empire Byzantium with Tim Gruchy on optical illusions. C early ’90s

23/11/2022

Morticia’s notorious wall of sound at the Capital Hotel.

23/11/2022

Another big week at Metropolis... Johnny and Ian c.1991

19/11/2022

Johnny possibly at 4ZZZ UQ c.1980

09/11/2022

Moving into decades later in 2011 Johnny was DJing at MyBar at Surfer’s Paradise and Berlin Bar. Interesting interview discussing DJing, predicting future dance music manoeuvres and funk soul brother DJ Don Nadi

12/09/2022

Fabula Arts Ball poster. Johnny dee-jaying with Tim Gruchy on visuals at the Queensland Art Gallery. To celebrate 10 years of the opening of QAG at Southbank. 1992.

08/09/2022

John's club night '100%' first flyer. Had to reprint and do several 'flyer-runs' on foot around the city in the 2 weeks preceding - it was very popular. Main image from Face Magazine. Original paste-up artwork for A5 flyer and street press ad. 1993.

04/09/2022

Business card freebie to '100%'. John's club, opening night at The Site (nightclub). Playing indie-dance Manchester choons and Brit-pop before these terms were even a thing. 1993

23/03/2022

Extensive and exclusive interview with Johnny G by Paul Andrew.

Thanks Paul

(Re) Presenting John Griffin (DJ Johnny G) | Brisbane Entrepreneur, DJ and social observer | December 2020   …that formed my whole, that’s my substance, my base, my foundation is Mod. I was and always will be a Mod. Even if I’m playing gothic music it’s still with a Mod ethic. You know, whi...

20/02/2022

Original Lands Office Hotel corner of George and Mary St from 1906 and 1980's before it was demolished. About where the entrance of Hades was on Mary St is now the entrance of Brisbane City Police Station.
https://goo.gl/maps/rAMauZtimTNRFopZ9

18/02/2022

Morticia's at the Treasury Hotel advertising for a special opening Ekka Eve 12 August 1986.
Probably in-house flyer for patrons. Printed by John Hawker. Johnny's handwriting.

25/01/2022

Who? saYs nOthIng hApPens In bRisBLand oN A monDaY? Flares at Metropolis Australia Day eve 1993 is what happened every year for decades.

Poster and flyer print-ready art on layout board, printer's notes. Courtesy John Hawker

31/12/2021

Christmas and New Year's Eve 70's vs 90's 'Sol-A-Flares' 1991 at Metropolis. Johnny navigating his clubgoers through Flares to the new sounds of the nineties. Flares 70's 'rockadelia' playlist until about midnight then merge into the 90's sounds of British indie and Manchester on Christmas Eve. New Year's Eve 70's soul, funk, disco then merge into the (now so timeless) 90's dance grooves.

Paste up artwork sheet courtesy John Hawker archive (Burnt orange paper, 1000 flyers)
Burnt orange offset printed flyer with corners trimmed, back: handwritten notes by Johnny
Yellow photocopied flyer, probably small run before offset printed. Original graphics - by Angelina and Johnny.

26/12/2021

This New Year's Eve at Lovecats Johnny is playing - Retro, New Wave, New Romantic, Synth- Pop, Disco, Alt Australian, Manchester, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s -
in Bakery Lane, Fortitude Valley

Richard, Craig, Firebluemonkey doing Faith (upstairs at Uh O Spagetti)

$15+bf presold
$20 - door
$10 after midnight

Dancing till 5am if you want
690 Ann St, Fortitude Valley
Private entrance via Bakery Lane

Pre-sale tickets https://www.ticketebo.com.au/faith-nightclub/faith-lovecats-laneway-party-2-storey-house-event.htm

12/12/2021

Cover story in business magazine The Bulletin June 1988 - featuring double page spread of photos and interviews with club-goers of Morticia's.

18/11/2021

Double dose of Flares - rock rendevous and funky disconnection - low tempo - high times - large as life. At Metropolis in the bowels of the Myer Centre about this time 31 years ago.

Mono street press ad, letraset, gouache, black pen, hand drawn illustration

12/11/2021

Johnny G DJ-ing 11-2 tonight (Sat 13 Nov) @ Faith, Alfred & Constance in the valley.

Johnny G, taken from President's 11 video clip filmed Capital Hotel 1986, Morticia's.

09/11/2021

Double Flares on Queen's birthday long weekender 1991. Friday June 7 Rock and Sunday June 9 Funk playlists, Metropolis, Myer Centre.

Two different press ads, letraset, pens, found images - probably published in Time Off.