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Talk: Tony Spanos

This talk page is archived. New submissions are not accepted. The archive closed on 14 October 2021.

The following discussion threads were submitted via the DoofHistory.org community portal and associated external records. Submissions marked with an asterisk (*) have been lightly edited for clarity. Oral testimony and community memory constitute a recognised evidential category under the archive's collection policy.

Attended from 1991 - can confirm timeline

I started going to the Hall in 1991. Graffiti first, then raves. The timeline on the article is right. If anything it undersells how central the place was - when things got shut down elsewhere you could basically guarantee someone would say "go to Tony's." It was the fallback for half of Sydney on a bad night. Anchovy11 14:32, 3 October 2021 (AEST)

Agree completely. "Recovery corner" is what we called it - Sundays, early morning, after everything else closed. Tony's was the last thing standing. SteveAdams_NSW 16:07, 3 October 2021 (AEST)

Same. A council was accused of discriminating against young people by closing down dance parties in warehouses and factories. That's not my phrase - that's from a newspaper. The headline said "Rave party raids evict 1000 teens." I have a copy of it somewhere. If you can get a scan I'll submit it. BrentD_Sydney90s 09:18, 4 October 2021 (AEST)

I lived there in 2001/2002 - eyewitness to the end

I lived at the Hall in 2001 and 2002 with a small group. We were the last to leave. I did visit once about 8 months after we shut the doors, but it had been trashed by squatters. It was knocked down soon after. A lot of good memories and good people. What a time. The article should mention that the building was occupied residentially toward the end - it wasn't just an event space, people actually lived there. YokRzeznic 11:40, 5 October 2021 (AEST)

This is useful. Can you confirm the residential occupation started when? Was that 2001 only or earlier? DGraham_doof 12:15, 5 October 2021 (AEST)

I can only speak to 2001/2002 personally. I don't know how long before that. But the place was still functioning as an event space at the same time - events and residential use overlapping. That was the nature of it. YokRzeznic 14:02, 5 October 2021 (AEST)

Performing there as The Chaos Technicians, 2001

I performed in 2001 at the Hall as The Chaos Technicians and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I was given the opportunity as a young tacker to perform with no resistance, no clique, no layers of social politics to negotiate through. If you had something half decent, you were able to get up and give it a crack. I want to follow Tony's lead and develop my own version of what he did. We need to reclaim Sydney for what it used to be - a playground for any artist, no matter their background, age, affiliation. That you don't need to jump through a million hoops of government and social clique to get a look in. TheLostFutures 10:22, 6 October 2021 (AEST)

This is very good testimony for the article. The "no clique, no layers of social politics" phrasing captures something important about what the Hall was. I'd like to quote this directly in the main article if you consent. LabrakisWatch 11:05, 6 October 2021 (AEST)

Yes, fine to use. It's true. TheLostFutures 11:31, 6 October 2021 (AEST)

Car inside / cassette incident - confirm date?

I remember being at a party there and at around 6am the cops shut the sound system down, but someone had a car inside with a decent system with a mix tape cassette. Everyone just started dancing around the car. Good old days! Can anyone confirm approximately which year this was? I believe it was 1995 or 1996 but I'm not confident. JoeMurray_Alexandria 15:54, 7 October 2021 (AEST)

I can't confirm the date but I've heard this story from at least three separate people independently. Enough that I believe it happened. The question of year is unresolved. DGraham_doof 16:22, 7 October 2021 (AEST)

The pig carcass - this needs sourcing

The pig carcass story is in the article without a hard source. I know Tony has mentioned it himself but can we get a direct citation? It's the kind of detail that readers will flag as potentially embellished. ShedWatcher99 09:40, 8 October 2021 (AEST)

Tony's personal site mentions it directly. And it's exactly the kind of detail that wouldn't be invented because it's too specific to be useful as fabrication. A made-up colourful story would be more dramatic. A man carrying a pig carcass through a dancefloor at 6am is just weird and specific enough to be true. LabrakisWatch 10:15, 8 October 2021 (AEST)

Also: they were next to a meatworks. It would be weirder if it hadn't happened. Bourouni_H 10:44, 8 October 2021 (AEST)

Greek-Australian thread - connect to Labsmith/Labrakis?

The article currently notes Tony's Greek-Australian background and gestures at the broader pattern without making a strong claim. I think that's the right call. Spanos, Labsmith, Labrakis - three Greek-Australians across 200 years all running informal gathering spaces. The archive should note the pattern and not over-claim it. LabrakisWatch 13:10, 9 October 2021 (AEST)

Agreed on the framing. Worth also noting that the Spanos meatworks connection and the Labsmith meatworks-adjacent outbuilding are both industrial-to-social conversions. Different centuries, same move. DGraham_doof 14:02, 9 October 2021 (AEST)

Tony described himself as "not an activist. Not a graffiti artist. Not a raver."

Vice quotes him directly saying he was none of those things - just a guy with means who didn't want to see kids get into trouble. This is important context. The Hall wasn't born from subcultural purity. It was born from someone deciding to bankroll a world that official Sydney didn't want. That distinction matters. Bourouni_H 10:05, 10 October 2021 (AEST)

It's also what makes him credible as a source about the Hall. He had no subcultural identity to protect. He's describing something that happened around him rather than something he claimed ownership of. DGraham_doof 11:30, 10 October 2021 (AEST)