Gudinski: The Godfather of Australian Rock ‘N’ Roll by Stuart Coupe

“Erratic, crazy and unpredictable” are among the carefully chosen words Stuart Coupe uses to describe the subject of his biography, Gudinski: the Godfather of Australian Rock ‘n’ Roll. The veteran rock journalist was managing Paul Kelly in the early ’80s when he first met the eccentric Mushroom Records powerhouse and admits to some trepidation about the unauthorised tome. While Gudinski exercised his right to correct factual errors on every charge from Kylie to the Stones, the line between fact and recollection proved a tad wiggly, Coupe reports. “There are things he’s not gonna be happy about. But if he liked everything in the book I wouldn’t have done my job.”   2015

Known to many as GODinski, Michael Gudinski is unquestionably the most powerful and influential figure in the Australian music industry – and has been for the last four decades.

Often referred to as “The Godfather of the Australian music industry”, Gudinski has nurtured the careers of dozens of Australia’s greatest artists, including Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Skyhooks, Split Enz, and Yothu Yindi, to name just a few. Through his Frontier Touring Company he has toured the likes of The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springstein, Madonna, Sting and many more.

The self-made multi-millionaire is Australia’s answer to Richard Branson. But who is this tough, inspired, flamboyant and impassioned business man who has shaped Austalian popular culture? Where did he come from and how has he managed to stay relevant for so long in an industry renowned for its fickleness.

Michael Gudinski died suddenly in March 2021