Coogee Bay Hotel’s legendary new music venue Selina’s to be demolished

There at the time was a time in Sydney, in the ’80s and ’90s, when a night out to see a brace of rockin’ bands, imbibing a thousand beers, and waking up with sand in your enamel and your pockets, meant you’d used the evening at Selina’s.

As dwell rock ‘n’ roll took root in Sydney in the mid ’70s, it would turn resorts in large suburban pockets into beer barns, amusement and dining parts presented in excess of to live and loud music.

Of all the beer barns that were being scattered throughout the suburbs, Selina’s was the greatest and the finest.

Keeping in between 2000 and 2500 heaving punters for the large acts, the phase of Selina’s was head high, meaning anyone in the pit could normally see the act through the sway of bodies.

The lucky had entry to and the edge of a mezzanine stage, a rock star perspective to rock stars, to check out rock in action as the pit churned to the songs.

In in between the supports and the headline, the group would largely adjourn to the beer backyard garden that confronted the ocean, the sea breeze on a summer season night time slaking sweaty bodies.

One particular male who has sweated continually at Selina’s is Stuart Coupe, who’s been component of the Australian tunes scene for almost 50 percent a century.

Managing at 1 time Paul Kelly and the Hoodoo Gurus, operating a tiny document label and forever scribing about something rock related over, Coupe knows of the venue’s location in the annals of Oz rock.

“There was a time when rock and roll bands in Australia, could enjoy 6 or 7 evenings a 7 days in a single metropolis, and particularly so in Sydney,” he stated.

“It was a golden, wonderful time for both equally rock and roll bands, and rock and roll followers. And Selina’s arrived to epitomise the pub rock period in Australia.”

Selina’s was the future stop to stardom.

For a band heading up the chain of rooms that dominated the Sydney leisure vista, from the very little corner pub gigs to the headlining at the neighborhood beer barn, Selina’s was a significant stage up the ladder of rockdom.

“It experienced a major stage, the sight traces were really superior,” Coupe mentioned.

“If you have been headlining at Selina’s, you ended up accomplishing extremely, incredibly well.”

Large abroad acts would element the location into their tour programs. Nirvana’s 1992 gig there is a lot lauded on YouTube.

“Jam packed from 2000 of your closest and dearest most effective close friends looking at your favourite rock and roll bands it was a special time,” Coupe claimed.

Selina’s shut in the late naughties and just one of the very last gigs was Midnight Oil, warming up for their reunion tour.

But there will be no bringing the band again together for Selina’s the web page calculated up and out to council for redevelopment.

But for these who had been there in the ’80s and ’90s, Selina’s was not just a night time out but a motivation to early morning.

“I surely observed a couple of sunrises around Coogee Seaside, having been to gigs at Selina’s,” Coupe reported.

“If a shared taxi was scarce, it would be a couple of several hours on the beach just after closing, then just ahead of dawn when the buses have began to run, now we get residence.”