Ticket to Narara 1984
** Updated **
Check out the awesome photo’s below showing a genuine Narara ‘84 T-shirt. Thanks to John Love for the images.
Our article from sometime back on the Narara Concert of 1983 has proved to be one of our most popular with many folks leaving their recollections and memories in the comments. Many also commented that they’d like to see an article about the 1984 Narara concert. The problem has been a lack of reference material though. I still haven’t been able to find a full list of the acts that played. Rather than hold off, I thought I’d get the post started with the little information I have and let the commenters fill in the blanks once again.
Here’s what I’ve got so-far…
Like the 1983 concert, Narara ‘84 was held on the Australia Day long weekend from Friday the 27th the Monday the 30th of January 1984. It was held at the same location, being Somersby NSW.
I don’t yet have a full list of acts but the ones I have so far are:
MC - Austen Tayshus
- INXS
- Simple Minds
- The Pretenders
- Talking Heads
- Eurythmics
- Def Leppard
- The Zarsoff Brothers
- Matt Finish
The concert was marred by heavy rain and suffered reduced crowd numbers. Some say it was also due to the large number of overseas acts at what was an all- Australian event the year before.
This was the last of the Narara concerts.
Videos
INXS performing “Original Sin” at Narara 1984
Images
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Mark, The Zarsoff Brothers played Narara 84 during the day on Saturday. Thats when the mudfights were happening in that big pile of mud right in front of the stage. There was a photo in the old People Magazine of the day (it was called Pix back then) of the mudfights, and you could clearly see me standing in the mud in front of the Zarsoffs! When the concert was abandoned on Sunday I hightailed it back to Sydney and caught the Zarsoffs at Auburn Baseball Club that night, and Izzy got me up onstage to show the crowd the Narara mud that was still on my Nose Pickin Boogie t-shirt! That shirt, by the way, has been signed at one time or another by just about every member of the Zarsoff’s (there have been quite a few over the years!), plus road crew members, and even a ‘groupie’ that was in the dressing room one night! Some of the very original ones washed off over the years, but last time I looked it still had heaps of signatures on it. It is currently somewhere at my Mum’s house in Sydney. I don’t know about you mate, but I would consider that shirt to be a genuine piece of Australian Music History! lol Come to think of it, do you remember that black Washburn B3 bass I used to play back when you were mixing Bandanna and we were supporting? I bought that bass off Izzy Foreal, and he had played it at both Narara’s, making it a piece of history too lol
That’s a genuine piece of nostalgia you have there JR.
Thanks for the tip about the Zarsoff’s too, I’ve updated the band list.
Mark, I just remembered seeing George Smilovitch there too.
I have pictures of the mud fight.
Matt Finish also played Narara.
I’m sure I have a program at home with a list of most of the bands that played. I think they published it and then more acts signed on.
Thanks heaps Bec, I’d love to see that photo and that program if at all possible.
Cheers, Mark
G,day there. I was just a youngan at the time, but I was at Narara in 84 to see Def Leppard. From my fuzzy memory (I was pissed and covered in mud) the rain meant that Def Leppard did no play. Is this correct?
The concert was awesome, I came on a bus from Briso and pitched my little tent as soon as i got there, never saw it again!! Did not sleep for days, when i did it was with people i did not know. I had a life experience of music, people, drugs and alchohol all mixed in togeather. I would not trade it for anything. First Hoodoo Gurus experience for me and became a steady fan of theirs after Narara. Loved Pretenders, Chrissy can sing. Ni ce site, lets build it now….
Cheers, Bretto. WA.