There was a lot of love in the room for Roadrunner magazine and its anthology The Big Beat at Readings book store in St Kilda last night.

A crowd of around fifty gathered to hear Pierre Sutcliffe (ex-Models) lead Phill Calvert (ex-Boys Next Door/The Birthday Party), John Dowler (Young Modern) and myself discuss the Australian post-punk scene and the role that Roadrunner played in it.

Among the former contributors in attendance were Miranda Brown, Mark Burford, Joe Holzer (who drove 100km from Torquay to be there), Adrian Ryan, Heather Venn and Michael Zerman. Also in attendance were Jen Jewel Brown, Jack Howard (Hunters & Collectors), former 3RRR general manager Sue Matthews, my old school buddy Patrick Robinson, author Guy Rundle and Nick Haines, who recalled reading Roadrunner on the bus as he headed into Modern Love Songs from St Peters College, still in his school uniform. Thanks to Readings and to all who attended.

There are three short videos from the evening, taken on my phone by my darling wife, Di.

Here they are – one, two and three

I mentioned a couple of Spotify playlists during the chat. The first is the soundtrack to the book of the magazine. One song from each of the 48 issues of Roadrunner magazine.

The second is a deep dive into the 45s from the era —every single reviewed in the book (a total of 585).

John Dowler, Donald Robertson, Phill Calvert and Pierre Sutcliffe at Readings, St Kilda (pic: Joe Holzer)