‘Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story’ will screen on free-to-air via Channel 7 in Australia on 9 April.
From Noise11 then, ‘Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story’ is a film by Paul Goldman who directed the ‘Better The Devil You Know’ video by Kylie Minogue and Elvis Costello’s ‘Veronica’ video as well as the movie about Frank Sinatra in Australia ‘The Night We Called It A Day’, starring Denis Hopper and Melanie Griffith.
‘Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story’ is a surprisingly honest account of the life of Michael Gudinski, giving a first-hand account of the other side of Michael the industry rarely saw, the family man. Sue Gudinski, Michael’s wife and Matt and Kate, his son and daughter, speak openly and honestly about Michael and the genuine human side of Michael is revealed. The contrast with that same man being discussed by Springsteen manager Jon Landau, Aussie promoter Michael Chugg, and manager John Watson contrasts Michael’s family and business lives. In business, Michael Gudinski was ruthless but as a family man, he was a loving, caring husband, father and grandparent.
As the co-founder of Mushroom Records and cofounder of Frontier Touring, Michael Gudinski built global business empires. The movie isn’t shy of talking about his heartbreak of eventually selling off Mushroom Records to Rupert Murdoch’s Festival Records who eventually sold the combined business to Warner Music. However, the reality was Gudinski was better at the music business than Murdoch and his people ever were and as the Murdoch music business value collapsed, the new Gudinski music empire was rebuilt with Warren Costello as Liberation Records and is bigger than before.
Murdoch wasn’t smart enough to do his due diligence on Gudinski, who held onto a goldmine in Mushroom Publishing, and the local and international touring businesses Premier Artists and Frontier Touring. Today, Frontier Touring is associated with American touring juggernaut AEG.
Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story is a Mushroom Studios production.
Music man. Impresario. Natural born hustler. Gudinski repeatedly risked everything for his one obsession: Australian music.
At age 19, he launched Mushroom Records and went on to sign and nurture iconic artists including Skyhooks, Split Enz, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Hunters & Collectors, Kylie Minogue, Archie Roach and Yothu Yindi.Not content with just a label, his hunger extended to being on the road, promoting legendary international acts such as Foo Fighters, Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, and Sting. There’s barely a living Australian whose life hasn’t been touched by the music he was behind.
This shy son of immigrant Jewish parents from Melbourne became an audacious international player and Australian household name. Famed for his eccentricities and boldness, the film dives into the psyche and unorthodox tactics of Michael as he became the frontman of a cultural movement and built a music empire whose artists helped create the soundtrack of a nation. It goes to show a little confidence can go a long way.
7.30pm Tuesday, 9 April on Seven.
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