Outback Pub Made Famous By David Bowie Up For Sale

The outback pub from David Bowie’s 1983 music video for Let’s Dance is up for sale. 

Carinda Hotel, located in the town of Carinda, north-west New South Wales, has been listed on Gumtree for a sum of $220,000. The population of the rural town, as reported in the 2016 census, stands at 158. 

“Carinda is a hard-working town that gets right behind supporting local [people] and you will meet characters that you will only find in the outback and friends that you will hold for life,” the advertisement reads. 

The hotel consists of a “large bar area with beer on tap, glass and bottle fridges as well as two cool rooms; kitchen area with large grill extractor fan and storage areas, freezers and fridges included; six internal rooms attached to the rear of the building as well as three cabins on the property; internal and external toilets; and living quarters and shed in the rear”. 

It remains unchanged from when Bowie visited in 1983 to film scenes for the Let’s Dance music video. 

Directed by David Mallet, the clip was Bowie's attempt to bring Australia’s systemic racism to light. 

"As much as I love this country, it's probably one of the most racially intolerant in the world, well in line with South Africa," he told Rolling Stone in a 1983 interview. 

He was inspired to do something after “it occurred to [him] that one doesn’t have much time on the planet".

"I could do something more useful in terms of… I know this is very cliché, but I feel that now that I’m 36 years old, and I’ve got a certain position, I want to start utilising that position to the benefit of my… brotherhood and sisterhood," he said at the time. 

The video features Terry Roberts and Joelene King, who were at the time students at the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre. 

Speaking to BBC in 2014, Peter Lawless, the shoot's location manager, recalls Carinda "the closest thing we could find to a desert-like environment".

"It was so alien for both sides, Bowie and the locals," he told the publication.

"They didn't believe who he was. It was so off the wall. It was kind of weird."

Scenes from the clip were also filmed at the nearby Warrumbungle National Park.

The film clip and Bowie's time in Australia are the subject of 2015 documentary Let’s Dance: Bowie Down Under.

“It’s a lot more straightforward than anything I’ve done in a long time,” Bowie shared about the video in the documentary.

“It’s not so concerned with juxtaposing surreal images together. It’s a very direct statement about integration of one culture with another.”

Now almost 40 years on, Carinda has become a pilgrimage of sorts as Bowie fans make the trip to visit the pub. The town also hosts an annual celebration of all things Bowie in their Let’s Dance Carinda event.  

The Music has reached out to the hotel’s owners for further comment.