A SPECIAL KIND OF ANZAC DAY HONOURS

What you are about to read will give you a small insight into what went into delivering a unique event in a COVID-19 world.

MUSIC From the Home Front should have taken at least a month to deliver – 26 songs by 39 artists, more than 1.8 million viewers and touch two nations, all in nine days.

It would spawn an ARIA No 1 album, a new triple vinyl collectors’ keepsake and bring mainstream Australian musicians back to prime-time TV.

When COVID-19 hit Melbourne in March promoter Michael Gudinski was devastated, as was his whole live business, all the artists and the many other industries.

For a week he distracted himself from these growing worries by doing a decade overdue sort out of his dressing room; as a true hoarder he found himself wading through his thousands of T-shirts, the more than 40 years worth of backstage passes, then he moved on to his enormous collection of vinyl records, so many memories and emotions.

Then he got on the phone.

THURSDAY APRIL 16

8.34pm: Michael Gudinski AM, the biggest figure on the Australian music scene contacts his chief operating officer Dion Brant and former Channel 7 sport heavyweight and TV industry veteran turned freelance producer Saul Stein, the man who started MTV in Australia. They are discussing technical requirements, TV production methods and composing questions to ask Hugh Marks, the CEO of the Nine Network to gauge his interest. Gudinski’s idea has been bubbling for the previous 36 hours, a televised TV concert of iconic Australian and New Zealand artists, performing well-loved songs, all from isolation, from their homes and/or home studios into the audiences’ lounge rooms, across the two countries on Anzac Day.

Gudinski spoke to his friend and Australian music icon Jimmy Barnes who said he’d play and help curate, and Daniel Andrews, the Premier of Victoria, who was encouraging and pledged his support, underwriting payments for artists, their bands and crew.

FRIDAY APRIL 17

At 8.45am Gudinski received an SMS from Channel 9’s Hugh Marks – “WE’RE IN.” The project was away and the clock was ticking.

That morning was a whirlwind of calls, messages, emails and drafts. A working title Never Forget – Music Cares was used and the concert would honour the memory of the Anzacs and all armed forces who followed them. Calls went out to managers, artists and trusted confidantes in the booking agencies and record labels. Some thought Gudinski was crazy: drop Anzac Day and go a few weeks later and make it about COVID, more time, less pressure they said.

SATURDAY APRIL 18 Gudinski called Brant at 8.10am – he’d been up most of the night, made lists and was firing. Communication to New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, seeking her support, was drafted. The New Zealand connection was important, and Gudinski knew Ardern well, having met her on the Paul McCartney tour three years earlier and with Ed Sheeran a year later. Support on both sides of “the ditch” was symbolic of Anzac togetherness.

Artist target lists were developed, the format debated, target songs identified. First round of budgets were developed. Calls, brainstorming, list development, more calls, more ideas.

SUNDAY APRIL 19

The pitch to artists was refined, lists were pruned, expanded, re-cut, new artists added, artists known to be unavailable removed.

The name was debated and a much better title surfaced, Gudinski loved the double meaning – Music From the Home Front with the military connotations of the home front combined with the focus on

frontline workers and isolation of the community at home were all covered. The brand was born.

Sunday was also the day Gudinski started in earnest to connect with the RSL in Australia to ensure their blessing.

MONDAY APRIL 20

Gudinski took to starting calls with “Right, I don’t want to panic anyone but we’ve got 132 hours to go …” Nothing like ramping up the pressure.

Artists started to lock in and songs started to be debated and agreed. Missy Higgins was locked in. Birds of Tokyo would bring the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) with them for Unbreakable. Jimmy and Michael discussed two songs, one of Jim’s and one of Cold Chisel’s, it had to be When the War is Over as the finale and Ian Moss would do it with him. It was quickly locked in as the show’s closer.

Ben Lee was interested and could record in LA, his track We’re All in This Together had started to become a theme of the lockdowns. Kevin Parker of Tame Impala fame, one of the planet’s hottest and most revered artists would do it. The show was taking shape.

TUESDAY APRIL 21

Tuesday started poorly, Brant logged on to an email from Nine saying they thought the Music From the Home Front name was too passive and they had something better, We Salute You – Musicians 4 the Frontline, an Anzac Day concert for the fight against COVID-19. Gudinski had Brant speak to Nine because he didn’t trust himself not to get riled up and tell him to f... off. This is not The Voice or the Carols by Candlelight.

It was agreed that Nine could add the tagline “An Anzac Day Concert for the Fight Against COVID-19” and the issue was put to

bed … temporarily.

If Gudinski was surprised with his calm opening to Tuesday, it ramped up to 11 pretty quickly. Lorde was out, the New Zealand connection was becoming more tenuous. Midnight Oil was out, supportive but unable to make logistics work in the time frame, and in isolation. The Wiggles were approached and immediately agreed to film an apt and special version of their hand-washing song.

At 4.45pm on Tuesday – less than 100 hours to airtime – Nine got their first run through of who was locked in from the artist side. They agreed to rising Melbourne artist G Flip; Dean Lewis locked in from LA; Mark Seymour and James Reyne would perform together – at a distance; Bliss n Eso had some incredible ideas for their hit Moments; Shane Howard would do Solid Rock, an absolute anthem, with a contingent of Australian legends, and William Barton, the country’s leading didgeridoo player would join them.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 22

An announcement time still hadn’t been locked in and the pressure was mounting.

Crowded House was out and the trans-Tasman angle was becoming a serious concern. Missy was recording her song with Tim Minchin. Vance Joy was confirmed. The Rubens could record from a studio near their home without breaching lockdown provisions.

Kasey Chambers was desperate to be involved, and Gudinski wanted her in, but she was isolating with people in the “high risk” COVID category and couldn’t take the risk.

Then the artist with the world’s biggest song, Tones and I, confirms!

Gudinski was getting wary of Nine’s potential to take over the look and feel of this unique event, and the risk they would deploy his despised commercial television habit of cross-promoting other programs within the body of the Music from the Home Front broadcast. He decided to put his foot down and calls Nine and explains his concerns.

They really don’t agree, then follows a series of loud and aggressive calls; at one point Gudinski absolutely cracks it with Nine. Sue, his wife, is very concerned; she has rarely heard him scream so loudly and get so emotional. He decides to resolve these artistic integrity issues one way – his.

THURSDAY APRIL 23

The raw clips start to roll in, filming is done, first round edits start to come together.

News and snippets filter through to keep the team going. John Schuman’s iconic I Was Only 19 is recorded and everyone loves it.

Well past midnight the DMA’S demo of Crowded House’s Better Be Home Soon arrives in Gudinski’s inbox and it is magic.

FRIDAY APRIL 24

Jimmy Barnes calls Gudinski with great news. He’s spoken to Neil Finn and convinced him that Crowded House should at least give it a go.

Archie Roach agrees to join in on I Was Only 19 and include a tribute to the often forgotten Indigenous soldiers of the

Australian Defence Force.

Nine is promoting the show heavily, but there’s an issue. They have designed their own Music From the Home Front logo. In the music and touring world this is unheard of – you simply can’t run with anything other than the artistapproved artwork.

At 2pm Gudinski talks to Nine’s Adrian Swift who promises to get the team to make the change. At 6.30pm Nine is still running the onair promotional spots with the homemade logo.

What followed was later described as one of the all-time great sprays — and the logo was changed by the next ad break.

ANZAC DAY SATURDAY APRIL 25

Most TV programs would be in the can, delivered and ready for broadcast at least three days before; with less than 24 hours to go Music from the Home Front was still shooting.

At 7.30pm sharp, James Morrison opens the show with the haunting Last Post, flanked by a World War II veteran and a nurse, David Campbell opens the show.

The program runs for more than three hours – an hour more than its allotted timeslot. The realisation comes that not only have they presented a great show, not only have they put Australian and New Zealand musicians on prime time TV and watched them shine …. they’ve fulfilled a need for the people of Australia and New Zealand to feel good, to feel positive, to be thankful for the sacrifices made in response to the pandemic and to be entertained.