Phoenician Club

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Phoenician Club" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Phoenician Club is a former

History

The premises opened as the Broadway Theatre in 1911, initially screening silent films. It was later rewired for sound when talking movies became widespread in the late 1920s. Until its redevelopment in 2001, the building had been one of the oldest surviving purpose-built cinemas in Sydney. The building operated as a cinema until 1960.

The premises were run as a discothèque called Jonathan's Disco from 1968 to 1972 and is notable in the history of the Australian pop band

The Phoenician Club became a popular rock venue in the 1980s, hosting many concerts by both local and overseas groups. Simulations of Manchester techno dance parties were held at the club in 1991.^[1] In January 1992, Nirvana played their first Australian show there.^[3] It became the focus of a major public controversy in 1995 following the death of Sydney teenager Anna Wood, who died from a cerebral oedema after taking the drug ecstasy while attending a rave dance party at the venue. The club survived calls for it to be immediately closed down in the ensuing public fall-out over Wood's death. Fines and restrictions imposed on it by the courts and Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing significantly reduced its role as a major music venue.^[4] The club eventually closed down in 1998^[5] with the building once again becoming derelict. It was redeveloped in 2001 and has since re-opened with new commercial occupants.

References

External links

• The day the music died