40 Years: All About The Music
April 11, 2017
Dee Why Hotel soon became the forefront of the Northern Beaches night life. During the early 80s ‘The Glider Room’ and ‘Jade’s Place’ named after Wayne’s eldest daughter, became very popular among the locals. In the late 80s, it was transformed into ‘The Venue’ and became Sydney’s hottest live-act venue, featuring the likes of INXS, Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham and many, many more.
Being a hands-on man, Wayne used to manage the music bookings and was always on the hunt for new talent. After a friend recommended a relatively unknown band called Moving Pictures, he could only offer them a Monday night spot. After continuously playing to a full house every Monday they naturally asked for more money. Not thinking it was worth the $500 investment, they were initially given the boot. The next time Moving Pictures played at Dee Why Hotel, it cost him $5,000!
During the 90s and naughties, ‘The Jet Club’ became the place to be as the Northern Beaches largest and most popular mega-nightclub. Crowds would line up around the street just to get in, and then party into the early hours of the morning. And all the while, Mister B’s Sports Bar, with its 28 TV screens and walls of endless sports memorabilia, satisfied the local sporting fanatics.