Ex Go-Betweens Bassist John Willsteed Wants Your Old Brisbane Gig Posters

Veteran Brisbane musician John Willsteed — arguably best known for his stint as bassist of The Go-Betweens in the late '80s, though still a vital presence in the community to this day, as a member of Halfway — is looking to get his hands on some vintage memorabilia to celebrate the salad days of the city's inimitable live scene.

It's not selfishness driving the request — far from it, in fact; Willsteed pitched for, and was successfully granted, the recent Letty Katts Award at this year's Queensland Memory Awards (encouraging "the investigation, preservation and celebration of Queensland’s memory, past and present"), for his project, "Street Life: Posters and their role in the Brisbane music scene 1975-1995".

According to a post on Willsteed's Facebook page — which doubles as a call for assistance — his project has earned him "a desk in the researchers' area of the John Oxley Library, and some money, and access to the collections" of venue/band/gig/other musical posters already in the library's possession. As part of his pitch, the project's core pursuits are:

• To add detail to the posters in the collection
• To expand the collection
• To do/write something about the posters at the end (March 2017). 

And that's where the good people of the live music community come in — music fans, collectors and anyone else who might have access to such works are being asked to dig deep and let go of some vintage pieces of memorabilia for the greater good, to ensure that Willsteed's collection and examination of the heady late 20th century is as comprehensive as humanly possible.

"I'm hoping to make this a really definitive collection from a diverse range of people," Willsteed wrote. "A magnificent visual slice of Brisbane history that will be available to you, me, scholars and storytellers in perpetuity.

"You can donate your posters to the library for the warm inner glow. You can have your posters valued and claim the donation as a tax deduction. Or if you have significant collections, the Library or other sponsors may be interested in purchasing them."

Willsteed will be donating his own collection of posters to the project but, as he concludes, "the more, the merrier".

Those who are interested in donating their posters can contact Willsteed via email or send traditional post to:

Neil Roberts Research Lounge
Queensland Memory
C/- John Willsteed
State Library of Queensland
PO Box 3488
South Brisbane Qld 4101