Anyone who picked up a copy of Inpress or ventured to an indie club in Melbourne in the ’90s and early 2000s would have known Anthony Horan.
A talented music journalist and DJ, his passion for music was infectious.
Sadly, Anthony died in 2022. He was 55.
Something For Kate were just one act who paid tribute, calling Anthony “a friend to so many in our industry.
“If you read Inpress magazine in the last 20 years, chances are you read his work. Anthony was a great interviewer, perceptive, intuitive, thorough and always a pleasure to talk to.”
And The Mavis’s said, “Anthony was always a great supporter of us, Australian music and a true music lover.”
At a time when the music scene was still pretty blokey, Anthony championed a range of strong female artists, including Angie Hart, The Audreys and Sia.
He also worked as a DJ and was a popular fixture at clubs across Melbourne, spinning the indie hits at some of the city’s most famous venues, including the Chevron and Retro at Club 383.
And Anthony also had his own chart hit, co-producing Pop!’s Tingly, which featured the vocals of Frente’s Angie Hart.
The Music’s Andrew Mast reviewed the single: “Picture (in black and white) Julie Christie skipping through English suburban streets happy with the thought that Terence Stamp is awaiting her arrival at the local as the strings swirl, the beat intensifies and the fragile vocal builds to a euphoric peak.”
Tingly entered ARIA’s Top 100 as well as Triple J’s Hottest 100 for 1995.
Pop! is the recording name for Melbourne artist Amy Flower.
“Anthony and I were great friends, having shared a couple of flats for many years, and ran many successful (and some not so much) club nights over the years,” Amy says.
Amy met Anthony in the ’80s when he was running a night called Glory at Inflation. And then, for about six years, they both worked as DJs at Collision, which was Saturday night at Club 383.
To mark what would have been Anthony’s 60th birthday, Amy is releasing a new Pop! single, Hyperspace (A Song for Anthony).
All proceeds from Bandcamp sales will be donated to Support Act in Anthony’s name.
The song captures Anthony’s love of music, as well as a wonderful life that was cut way too short.
Anthony called his blog Monochrome – in honour of a song on The Sundays’ final studio album, Static & Silence.
It was a cool name, but in real life, Anthony was colourful and enthusiastic.
And he was a writer who cared deeply about the music.
One year, when compiling a list of his favourite records, Anthony added a disclaimer, which revealed just how humble, passionate and inquisitive he was:
“I’m actually not all that fond of this concept of rating the year’s best albums from 1 to 10, truth be told,” Anthony said.
“In fact, the very presumption that someone has heard everything that came out during the year and is therefore qualified to make an informed judgement on what was ‘best’ is ludicrous, really.
“Not to mention the simple truth that any writer’s personal musical taste will affect the outcome; how could it possibly not? Music requires an emotional connection to be appreciated, after all.
“The other thing that bothers me about simple lists is that they don’t say anything other than ‘here’s what I liked this year’. When I read them, I want to know why. I want to know what it was about this batch of 10 records that inspired you to remember them and rate them highly at the end of the year.
“Back in 1999 while Music Editor at Inpress, I shamelessly imposed the idea on that year’s poll (which annoyed some writers and terrified others), but that was the only year it was done – page space, as always, is at a premium.”
Nowadays, it’s more the reader’s attention span than page space. But I just want to say:
We miss you, buddy.
The Bandcamp link for Hyperspace is live here.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
