50c - Sunbury Rock Festival 1972
 Designer: John Retska

Sunbury was Australia’s first famous big rock festival, and was loosely modelled on the 1969 Woodstock festival held in the United States.  The Sunbury festival ran for four successive years, from 1972 to 1975, and included such acts as Queen, Deep Purple, AC/DC and Skyhooks.  The advance publicity for the Victorian festival was so great that only one word – Sunbury – was necessary for the poster.  The design by John Retska was influenced by mod art of the mid-sixties.

50c - Magic Dirt 2002
 Designer: Devils Candy

Melbourne design team Devils Candy was formed in the late nineties by Eva Collado and Leigh Jenner.  Their style is typical of much contemporary poster art – fresh and crisp with bold edges and vivid colour schemes drawn from a range of influences including classic punk poster artists, seventies sleaze and B-grade horror films.  Devils Candy produces both street and limited edition posters and have designed for bands including Geelong alternative band Magic Dirt (1992 - ), Michael Franti and J. Mascis and also for the 16th Annual Aria Awards.  This particular poster advertises the Magic Dirt City Trash Tour of 2002. 

50c - Masters Apprentices 1969
 Designer: unknown

One of the great Australian rock bands, the Masters Apprentices formed in Adelaide in 1965, fronted by Jim Keays.  By 1967 it was named as Australia’s number one ‘psychedelic band’ and Living in a Child’s Dream was Australian Song of the Year.  In 1970 the band left for England and recorded two albums at the famous Abbey Road studios.  The Masters Apprentices disbanded in 1972.  This psychedelic style poster, produced by an unknown designer, advertised the band at the peak of their success.

50c -  Goanna Spirit of Place 1983
 Designer: Goannart and Judy Kenneally

This poster received the Best Poster award at the Melbourne Art Directors’ Annual Awards of 1983.  The Goanna Band (1977 – 1985) often took a stance sympathetic to the needs of Indigenous Australians and highlighted conservation issues such as the damming of Tasmania’s Franklin River.

50c - Angels/Sports/Paul Kelly 1979
 Designer: Phil Pinder

Melbourne designer Phil Pinder came to prominence designing posters for local Melbourne bands and venues.  He was also a mural artist, set designer and painter, and political activist.  This striking poster advertising a LaTrobe University Union night in 1979 shows charismatic Angels (1976 -) singer Doc Neeson from the back.  Supporting acts were Melbourne new-wave band the Sports (1977-1981), fronted by Steve Cummings, and Paul Kelly with his early band the Dots (1978-1983).

50c - Midnight Oil c.1979
 Designer: Phil Ellett

Melbourne designer Phil Ellett created this signature Midnight Oil image by printing a spread hand in day-glo ink.  In the 1970s and 1980s Ellett designed a number of posters for major Australian bands such as the Oils, the Angels and Australian Crawl.  Midnight Oil (1976 - ) fronted by Peter Garrett is one of Australia’s foremost rock bands, known for its political stance on issues such as Indigenous rights, nuclear disarmament and the environment.

50c - Big Day Out 2003
 Designer: James Bellesini

The Big Day Out is the most successful music festival in Australia.  It began in Sydney in 1992 and by 2005 was attracting an audience of more than 250,000 music lovers.  Concerts are held in New Zealand and throughout Australia and feature a range of top international and local acts.  The distinctive Big Day Out posters have used some of Australia’s best designers, such as James Bellesini, of the design group Love Police. Bellesini was previously a bass player with rock band the Hurricanes, and is now a successful graphic designer based in New York.

50c - Apollo Bay Music Festival 1999
 Designer: Jeff Raglus

The Apollo Bay Music Festival began in 1993 in the small Victorian coastal town of the same name, and has become a regular on the national music festival calendar. Musician and artist Jeff Raglus provided his ‘suburban primitive’ style for the artwork for the 1999 festival poster. Raglus has worked with the Mambo design group, illustrated children’s books, and played trumpet with a number of jazzy Melbourne bands including Henry Maas’ Bachelors from Prague and the Beachniks.  Raglus exhibits with the Nellie Castan Gallery in Melbourne. 

50c - Rolling Stones Australian Tour 1973
 Designer: Ian McCausland

Ian McCausland designed this famous poster for the Rolling Stones Australian tour after working as art director at Mushroom Records, where his designs included album covers for the Aztecs and Daddy Cool.  The Stones liked McCausland’s air-brushed design so much he was asked to submit album cover art for their Love you Live release. Unfortunately this never eventuated, but McCausland went on to become one of the country’s most sought-after graphic designers.

50c - Mental as Anything 1990
 Designer: Reg Mombassa

Reg Mombassa (aka Chris O’Doherty) was a founding member of band Mental as Anything (1976 - ), and designed some of their most memorable posters and album covers.  Mombassa’s style of flat expanses of colour contained within heavy outlines and his quirky interpretation of the Australian urban landscape have made him one of Australia’s most popular poster artists.  Mombassa started designing for the Mambo clothing and design company in 1986 and was partly responsible for creating the company’s distinctive style.  Reg Mombassa’s work is in the permanent collections of most major Australian galleries.