International artists: A steady stream of hits

Over three decades, international artists were the backbone of Festival’s sales in Australia. The policy of obtaining the Australian rights to manufacture and distribute recordings from independent overseas labels brought A&M (Herb Alpert, the Police), Island (Cat Stevens, Bob Marley), DJM (Elton John) and Liberty (Creedence Clearwater Revival) to Festival. Meanwhile Festival Records expanded into New Zealand and set up an international branch in London, signing up Olivia Newton-John with immediate success. Support from Festival Records also helped revive the careers of overseas artists Tina Turner, Janis Ian and Neil Sedaka. This section detailed the steady stream of hits by international artists during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Images left to right: Elton John, photo by David Parker, courtesy Festival Mushroom Records; Be STIFF tour, Union Square Music; Olivia Newton-John record cover, courtesy Festival Mushroom Records; A&M retail display, courtesy Festival Mushroom Records

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