77:(born 1957) is a prominent figure in the Australian music industry, a long-standing member of the grass-roots Melbourne music community who, after getting his start publishing a punk fanzine in the late 1970s, has done practically everything since – been a writer, radio presenter, DJ, run record shops, book shops and record labels, run bars and venues, and worked in A&R and as a tour promoter.
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that ran to eight volumes celebrating the roots and the aesthetic of Milne's all-time favorite band the Cramps, complete with cover art by Phil Brophy. He pioneered links between
Australia and the Japanese music underground, releasing recordings by bands like the 5.6.7.8s and compilation albums like
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In the late 80s, Milne went into partnership with another old friend Peter
Lawrance to open the Kill City crime bookshop. Kill City was itself another important cultural phenomenon, not only as a retail outlet but again, like Missing Link and Au-Go-Go, as a fulcrum to which fans and writers from all
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Au-Go-Go expanded in the mid-80s to start locally releasing recordings by emerging international acts like Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, Tav Falco's
Panther Burns and Big Black, and then in the 90s tapped into a whole new wave of local underground bands like the Meanies, Spiderbait and Magic Dirt, before a
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magazine in
Adelaide, and Milne formed the label Au-Go-Go Records to release a single by the band he then managed, seminal Melbourne post-punk outfit the Young Charlatans. But the band broke up before he could do so, so the label's first release became an EP by Swinburne mates Two Way Garden called
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in
Collingwood, which was by then already a favorite watering-hole on the Melbourne live circuit. But with the government trying to stamp out rowdy late-night behaviour in the city, the Tote was made a scapegoat, and Liquor Licensing Victoria forced it to shut down. The closure of the Tote in 2010
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became a cause celebre and not just in
Melbourne but throughout the country, forcing state governments to re-think the worth of a vibrant music culture and night-time economy. "The Tote can't be saved," Milne said to the crowd outside the pub at a
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sold the
Missing Link shop to concentrate, ill-fatedly, on its label iteration, Bruce Milne opened his own shop iteration of Au-Go-Go. With a new partner Greta Moon, he stepped up the label's profile, signing such acts as the Scientists and
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and SLAM (Save Live
Australian Music) supporting it the Melbourne circuit survived, to thrive in fact, and even the Tote itself was eventually resurrected too. But Bruce Milne was the martyr to the cause and he was financially decimated.
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Milne has subsequently bounced back, however, returning to
Greville St in Prahran, where he'd previously had Kill City, to go into the Greville Records store there, and he has returned, again, to 3RRR, to present the Sunday night show
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While still running Au-Go-Go as it put out more records by bands like Little
Murders, Harem Scarem, the Zimmermen and many others, Milne went back to 3RRR with Phil Brophy to launch, in 1985, the long-running, cult pop culture program
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He started out producing fanzines and writing for rock magazines and working in public radio - he has been involved with 3RRR-FM since 1977, and was still doing a show for the station in 2023 - then worked for
240:. Brophy and Chesworth were driving forces behind the Clifton Hill Community Music Centre, which was another dimension to Melbourne's 'little bands' scene as portrayed in Richard Lowenstein's 1986 feature film
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theme song; his brother Peter Milne is a noted photographer), the teenage Milne attend the famous Swinburne alternative school, a breeding ground for other such illustrious alumni as musician and friend
307:, and heading up the trans-national label Giant Claw, which released singles by American as well as Japanese and Australian bands. Around this period, Milne even played in a band, the Love Moods.
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round the world beat a path, and as a venue for events, with a Sydney store eventually coming under the management of Clinton Walker. Kill City was an important feed into the establishment of the
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330:. Reliant folded when Milne moved to EMI to take up an A&R position, and when that fizzled out, in 2002, he went into partnership with Steve Stavrakis, who'd previously headed
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After working in the late 90s/early 2000s in major label ventures and running the bar the International, Milne took over running the Collingwood pub the
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on his Missing Link Records shop and label. Missing Link was a centre of the Melbourne scene in the early 80s, with bands on its label like the
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in Sydney, and the pair launched In-Fidelity Records. In-Fidelity was an important label in the early 2000s, signing such acts as the Datsuns,
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split between Milne and Moon precipitated the label's demise. Au-Go-Go released one of the great Australian debut singles, God's "My Pal."
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Milne is married and lives in Melbourne and is also currently hosting bus tours about Melbourne's music history with
186:, and helped put on the 'Punk Gunk' gig on the street in Carlton on New Year's Eve. In 1978, he joined forces with
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98:. After its demise and the demise of Au-Go-Go, he successively headed three other labels, Giant Claw, Reliant and
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After gaining experience running the venue the International Bar in Melbourne’s Chinatown, Milne took over the
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In 1977, Milne started his career as a volunteer announcer at 3CR; he put out Australia's first punk fanzine
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246:. Brophy, who designed the original Au-Go-Go logo, would go on as a long-standing collaborator with Milne.
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for Australian crime writing in the late 90s, and the shop also spawned David Honeybee's fanzine
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At the end of 1978, Milne also got involved with Andrew Maine on the post-punk cassette-zine
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Writer, radio presenter, DJ, record retailer, label runner, publican, promoter, A&R agent
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As the offspring of Melbourne bohemia (his mother, a child psychiatrist, co-wrote ABC-TV's
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that had a world-wide impact and even inspired the launch of Sub-Pop in Seattle. When
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727:"Fast Forward: A Pre-Internet Story | Mess+Noise: An Australian Music Magazine"
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274:-like club culture/dance music direction, the partnership and the venture folded.
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1020:"Regret as lifetime collection of vinyl is flogged to pay debt of lamented Tote"
794:"The death of a bookshop: a tribute to Melbourne's Kill City Books | Pulp Curry"
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In the early 80s, Milne also ran the audio cassette magazine cassette-zine
679:"RealTime Arts - Magazine - issue 93 - chronicles of the blank generation"
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https://www.discogs.com/label/14106-Au-Go-Go?sort=year&sort_order=asc
1068:"Presenters: Bruce Milne — Triple R 102.7FM, Melbourne Independent Radio"
769:"The story of GOD's 'My Pal', an enduring Australian underground classic"
459:"Presenters: Bruce Milne — Triple R 102.7FM, Melbourne Independent Radio"
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562:"Punk a Photographic Journey The History of the Melbourne Punk Scene"
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89:, which defined a whole Melbourne sound and ethos in the 1980s/90s.
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Homan, Shane; O’Hanlon, Seamus; Strong, Catherine; Tebutt, John
409:(2021) Hamburg, Germany: Visible Spectrum ISBN 978-1-953835-08-6
102:, who along with Au-Go-Go collectively debuted such bands as
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when he moved to Melbourne and together they put out the
946:"Musos rally to SLAM state for lack of industry backing"
198:. He and Walker then got involved with the inception of
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on its last night, "but live music in Melbourne can."
971:"It's Official: "Live Music Does Not Cause Violence""
435:"Bruce Milne | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories"
1143:
https://www.discogs.com/label/62721-Reliant-Records
1044:"Record Store Day grows with a resurgence in vinyl"
407:Stranded: Australian Independent Music, 1976-1992
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1133:https://www.discogs.com/label/138179-In-Fidelity
1148:https://www.discogs.com/label/66977-Giant-Claw
507:"Arts, culture and different kinds of humbug"
631:"NMA - Clifton Hill Commmunity Music Centre"
655:"Clifton Hill Community Music Centre Tapes"
85:, and then formed his own label-cum-shop
1093:"Tours to share Geelong's music history"
416:(2021) Bloomsbury USA ISBN 9781501365706
483:"Tangents fun'n'frenzy filled web site"
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1128:2020 video interview with Bruce Milne
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298:Milne compiled the series of albums
194:fanzine and presented the 3RRR show
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266:. When Andrew Maine wanted to take
182:, put on the first-ever gig by the
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1056:from the original on 2023-01-29.
1007:from the original on 2022-08-13.
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587:Bruce Milne | Long Play Series
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1018:Gough, Deborah (2010-02-06).
815:Various - Born Bad Volume One
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1178:Australian radio journalists
1173:Australian music journalists
212:Milne then went to work for
7:
16:Australian music journalist
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969:Murray, Jim (2010-10-06).
1049:The Sydney Morning Herald
1024:The Sydney Morning Herald
1000:The Sydney Morning Herald
922:"Time called on the Tote"
173:
54:
46:
28:
21:
1091:Hui, Jin (2022-04-21).
314:moved from PolyGram to
387:Australian Music Vault
659:chcmctapes.tumblr.com
310:In the late 90s when
683:www.realtimearts.net
414:Music City Melbourne
365:With such bodies as
83:Missing Link Records
1097:Geelong Independent
566:www.punkjourney.com
264:Asleep at the Wheel
36:Melbourne, Victoria
995:"Life after death"
749:www.slv.vic.gov.au
635:www.rainerlinz.net
535:"Fanzines (1970s)"
487:www.tangents.co.uk
439:www.austlit.edu.au
332:Waterfront Records
328:Teenage Snuff Film
320:Underground Lovers
164:Richard Lowenstein
860:"Reliant Records"
196:Know Your Product
160:Rowland S. Howard
138:and many others.
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305:Tokyo Trashville
289:Ned Kelly Awards
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222:Laughing Clowns
180:Plastered Press
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745:"Fast Forward"
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733:on 2016-03-04.
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383:Mary Mihelakos
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312:Roger Grierson
218:Birthday Party
188:Clinton Walker
184:Boys Next Door
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104:the Scientists
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1100:. Retrieved
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839:
836:"Giant Claw"
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775:. 2014-11-25
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513:. 2010-07-29
511:Inside Story
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350:and others.
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268:Fast Forward
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251:Fast Forward
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136:the 5.6.7.8s
112:Harem Scarem
108:the Moodists
95:Fast Forward
94:
91:
79:
74:
73:
63:Fast Forward
1168:1957 births
1119:Bruce Milne
884:"Billboard"
376:Where Yo Is
348:Guitar Wolf
260:Dave Graney
255:Keith Glass
230:Go Betweens
226:Whirlywirld
214:Keith Glass
155:Play School
132:the Datsuns
128:the Meanies
100:In-Fidelity
75:Bruce Milne
55:Employer(s)
23:Bruce Milne
1157:Categories
1102:2023-10-12
1077:2023-10-12
1029:2023-10-12
980:2023-10-12
907:2023-10-12
869:2023-10-12
845:2023-10-12
822:2023-10-12
799:2023-10-12
779:2023-10-12
754:2023-10-12
712:2023-10-12
688:2023-10-12
664:2023-10-12
640:2023-10-12
616:2023-10-12
607:"Au Go Go"
593:2023-10-12
571:2023-10-12
544:2023-10-12
517:2023-10-12
492:2023-10-12
468:2023-10-12
444:2022-07-18
393:References
355:Tote Hotel
346:, Japan's
270:in a more
201:Roadrunner
168:Gina Riley
149:Early life
124:Spiderbait
120:Magic Dirt
59:Roadrunner
975:Tone Deaf
433:Austlit.
344:Dirtbombs
336:Dan Kelly
207:Overnight
40:Australia
1054:Archived
1005:Archived
956:Archived
932:Archived
773:Double J
421:Specific
300:Born Bad
228:and the
87:Au-Go-Go
1123:Discogs
951:The Age
927:The Age
902:Discogs
864:Discogs
840:Discogs
611:Discogs
398:General
324:Gerling
818:, 1986
342:, the
340:Drones
338:, the
220:, the
174:Career
280:Eeek!
385:and
322:and
272:Face
192:Pulp
143:Tote
67:3RRR
32:1957
29:Born
116:God
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.