The Mushroom connection: fostering local talent

In 1972 young music entrepreneur Michael Gudinski took a punt when he started the Melbourne-based Mushroom Records to record innovative Australian artists. He formed a relationship with Festival Records that would prove enduring and hugely successful. Gudinski discovered and recorded the artists, Festival handled manufacturing and distribution and the two worked together on promotion and marketing. This section looked at Mushroom’s successes. In the early days, Skyhooks’ first album Living in the 70s sold a quarter of a million copies, becoming the biggest-selling Australian album at the time. In the 1980s Mushroom Records turned Split Enz, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly and Kylie Minogue into major stars. 1990s successes included Yothu Yindi, Frente and Peter Andre.

Images left to right: Sunbury 1973 record cover, courtesy Festival Mushroom Records; Skyhooks iron-on transfer, courtesy Festival Mushroom Records; Michael Gudinski, Festival Mushroom Records collection, photographer unknown; Mushroom Records logo, courtesy Robert Miles

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