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Olivia Newton-John amongst the crowd at news.club
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The hottest social ticket during the games was for news.club located in the Sebel Townhouse at Kings Cross. ASE visited the club during the final rehearsals and we were very impressed.
Producer of the club was Mike Mullins of Icon Events, his brief was to produce the hottest club in town. He defiantly succeeded. Mullins described the concept as “a 21st century version of a 1940s New York nightclub, the sort of place where Frank Sinatra would play to an audience of his peers. Where, when celebrities walked in they would be picked up in a follow-spot and the audience would stand to applaud. ”
The Sebel Townhouse was a great find for such a venture. The hotel is closing after the Olympics. (Well after one more event after the Olympics, the ARIA Awards after show party will this month finally close the venue.)
Mullins and his team were therefore able to go much further in installing décor and technical requirements than one normally could in such a temporary venue. The design and planning took 14 months followed by a bump-in period of only 10 days.
The experience – a night in the life of a Guest
ASE asked Mullins to describe a typical visit to the club.
“The experience started as a guest turned the corner on Elizabeth Bay Road and moved towards The Sebel, where at the entrance one was greeted by highly contemporary style statements. Images were projected onto the walls by high-end projectors mixing the club logo, video footage and the theme of blue. Staff greeted the guests at the street door is classic club style. However, the entrance to the club was strictly managed with guests either on the guest list, with an invitation for a specific evening, or they were in possession of the exclusive blue card, which got them in any night.
The upper foyer was washed with light blue and pink moving lights. Staff were also available in this area to guide the guests to the cloak room or downstairs to the central club area. A counting system was also in place with these staff to manage numbers.
The stairs leading down to the club were draped in white, which was the beginning of the treatment to the lower foyer – all shades of white. This area was dimly light and was predominately a transitional zone.
The main auditorium was on three levels and selected guests were greeted by the Maitre’d who escorted to them to reserved tables. Others would choose to move to the two main bars situated on either side of the stage. Most would head straight for the chill-out room, which was treated in lush shades of red. The Red Room became a Games-time legend and was the favourite of the many celebrities who visited the club.
The entertainment program started at 8:30 pm with the resident master of ceremonies James O’Loughlin talking about the highlights of the Olympics from the day and introducing the DJ for the evening. At 9:30 pm a jazz act performed for an hour and depending on the main act, a 15 – 30 minute changeover would take place. These changeovers were often complex, as they had to happen in front of the guests and sometimes in a very crowded room. However, an effective but small crew executed this in a seamless fashion each night.
The main act started at 11 pm and went for 60 to 90 minutes. On the evenings of the super-acts (Farnham, Savage Garden, INXS), which required extraordinary technical set-up, the jazz act was cut from the program.
After the main act had finish, the stage had to be cleared at lighting speed to set up for the dancing mode of the club. The energy at the club from this point was on the dance floor and in the Red Room
The daily routine for the club management was intense. With the club finishing at 4 am, the food and beverage and show technical staff still had a two-hour clearing out period before the night actually closed. The new day would start at midday with the arrival of the crews of the main act for that evening. Sound check would take place at 2 pm and at 4 pm the jazz band would arrive for their sound check. At 5 pm an executive meeting would take place to discuss any issues that had arisen from the night before and to talk through any issues of the pending night.
Waitstaff would arrive at 6 pm and the club would be operational by 8pm with doors opening at 8:30 pm. Whilst this is regular for a night club operation – there are not many high profile nightclubs that operate for 21 days straight.
The experience was unique.”
The Performance area
The performance area almost filled the old ballroom. The stage area consisting of movable stage units so that, not only could different staging configurations be installed but the area also doubled as the dance floor. The extensive lighting installation was rigged on a self-supporting truss. To top off the design a very large projection system was installed, capable of covering the entire wall with a single image. Live images were interspersed with computer graphics and video images.
Summarizing the Experience
ASE asked Mullins to summarise the experience…
“This project was extremely complex – to turn a very plain 1960s hotel ballroom into a state-of-the-art nightclub; to create a temporary structure that has all the appearances of a long-term installation and the practicalities of a permanent structure; an operational program that was virtually 24 hrs a day, seven days a week for three weeks; dealing with rock and roll management for a twenty-one day event; putting super acts such as Savage Garden into a small venue without compromising the integrity of their show. All of this added up to one of the most challenging events that I’ve staged.”
The Entertainment
The entertainment line-up was very impressive and showcased the best of Australian talent, the only import being the Afro-Cuban All-Stars. The opening night featured Marcia Hines, Tania Doko and Wendy Matthews with the Sydney Allstar Big Band. Other acts during the season included Kate Ceberano, Jimmy Christo and Christine Anu, Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham, Leonardo’s Bride, Leah Purcell, Skunkhour, The Whitlams, Deni Hines, Jon Stevens, Combo Fiasco, Savage Garden, INXS, Vanessa Amorosi and Nathan Cavalleri. What a line-up!
Credits
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Event Management
Producer
Production Manager
Club Designer
Director/ choreographer
Stage Manager
Company Manager
General Manager
Lighting Designer
Food & Beverage design
Maitre’d
Club Design Fitout
Fitout construction
Front of House
Lighting
Audio
Audio Visuals
Video Imagery
Catering
Security
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Icon Events
Mike Mullins
Jeremy Garling
Daniel Tobin
Jason Coleman
Darren Waide
Kate Salkild
Robert Love
Lucas Porter
Norma Willis
Darryl Jamieson
Urban Art Projects
Diversion
The Promotions Department
Chameleon Touring Systems
Coda Audio
Technical Directions
ATTIK
The Sebel Townhouse
James Investigations & Securities
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