Audiences are being treated to a front-row look at some of Australia's greatest rock music moments at photographic exhibition atop Her Majesty's Theatre in Adelaide.
The display features more than 50 images of music luminaries including Bob Marley, INXS, Talking Heads, Jimmy Barnes, The Clash, The Psychedelic Furs and Midnight Oil, taken by photographer Eric Algra at Adelaide's pubs, clubs and stadiums.
Rock 'n' Roll City, exhibited at the Ian and Pamela Wall Gallery on the theatre's rooftop, brings to life the golden age of Australia's post-punk and pub rock concerts through lively black-and-white photographs and projections.
Highlights include images of The Angels at Adelaide Uni, INXS at the Shandon Hotel, Midnight Oil at Underdale Campus and The Divinyls at Tivoli.
Agra, born and raised in suburban Elizabeth, was the main photographer for Adelaide's first music magazine, Roadrunner, which started in Norwood in 1978 and continued for five years under editor Donald Robertson.
Agra, who has also published a book based around the photos, said: "This exhibition and the book are a wonderful opportunity to share work I'm very proud of. Most of the photographs have been hidden away in boxes and negative files for forty years. Revisiting them was great fun and involved a few surprises.
"To be able to exhibit these photographs in such a fine venue is a privilege. I hope the exhibition brings back memories of an exciting time in the Australian music scene as it played out here in Adelaide. It rocked!"
The exhibition also features former Roadrunner magazines with original merchandise and ephemera and some special images by guest photographers Scott Hicks, John Altree-Williams, Victoria Wilkinson and Jodi Hoffmann.
Robertson said he hoped the exhibition would help people reminisce: "If a photo captures a moment in time, this collection captures a period, a time when Adelaide seemed to be the centre of something, a rock 'n' roll city with a small but vibrant music scene that the rest of the country and the rest of the world was happy to come and play in."
The exhibition also features a curated Spotify Rock 'n' Roll City playlist, which will help bring the pictures to life. Patrons will also have the opportunity to buy their favourite prints.
Curator Helen Trepa from Adelaide Festival Centre's Performing Arts Collection said: "It all started with an intriguing photograph I spotted of Blondie (Deborah Harry) standing in Hindley Street with what looked like a bag of potatoes in an article about Roadrunner music magazine.
"We thought this is a great untold Adelaide story and we want to help tell that story, so we contacted Donald, who put us in touch with Eric.
"We worked closely together to bring this exhibition to life, which really catches a time in Adelaide's history when live music fuelled this city.
"And if you want to know why Blondie was in Hindley Street with some spuds you can find out by visiting the exhibition."
- Rock 'n' Roll City, Ian & Pamela Wall Gallery, Her Majesty's Theatre, Grote Street, Adelaide. Open Saturdays 11am-3pm plus 45 minutes before and during performances. Entry free. Eric Algra's book ROCK 'N' ROLL City 1978-1983: The Roadrunner Years is on sale at the theatre.
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