
In the year 2055, a black rock icon, a pioneer and a pioneer’s son will celebrate his 100th birthday with a farewell concert at the National Gallery of Victoria.
The Australian rock star is the first to have appeared on Australia’s national stage, and his legacy will be woven into the fabric of Victoria’s iconic black rock gallery.
“I was just so proud when I was asked to join the gallery, it was a dream come true, and I’ve never looked back,” said Jack Taylor, a well-known black rock musician who was born in Victoria and moved to Melbourne at the age of 11.
The first black Australian rock musician Jack Taylor (centre) played at the Melbourne Underground Festival in 1915. “
We’ve just got to look at the work and do our best, because it’s not just about music and art, it’s about history, and that’s the best way to celebrate the work of a great Australian musician.”
The first black Australian rock musician Jack Taylor (centre) played at the Melbourne Underground Festival in 1915.
Source: Supplied Jack Taylor was a founding member of the Melbourne underground scene in the early 1900s.
“My dad was an Englishman, so I was always very interested in the British music,” he said.
“He had a lot of friends in the music world, so it was the kind of thing that you just went along with.”
In a world in which black Australians were barred from performing in the country’s national theatre and were not allowed to travel abroad, Jack Taylor played his first gigs as a teenager at the Victoria Underground Festival, the countrys first black musical theatre.
“As a kid, I was just totally into the music, and when the opportunity came, I just jumped on it,” he recalled.
Jack Taylor’s first solo album The Blacker the Berry came out in 1915 and was a major hit in Australia. “
There’s been a lot more people that have been honoured in the past than in the present day.”
Jack Taylor’s first solo album The Blacker the Berry came out in 1915 and was a major hit in Australia.
Jack Taylor performing at the 1916 Victoria Underground Show, featuring members of the Victorian Underground band.
Source “I guess the first black person to be on the Australian stage, I suppose it was in the 1920s, was George Lippett, who played the organ in the Melbourne Opera House.
“The first black female to ever perform on a stage in Australia was a woman called Harriet Smith. “
It was the same year as that first black singer to perform in Australia, and they were both in the Victoria Opera House, and she had to wear a mask, because of the flu. “
The first black female to ever perform on a stage in Australia was a woman called Harriet Smith.
A day at the theatre Jack Taylor with the Blacker-the-Berry album. “
So I guess that was a real start.”
A day at the theatre Jack Taylor with the Blacker-the-Berry album.
Source.
Jack and Harriet Smith at the Sydney Opera House in 1914.
Source, ABC News.
Jack had just finished playing with the Melbourne Street Band at the Royal Opera House the previous summer when he was asked by the Victorian Government to take part in a production of Black John.
The film, which is about the life of the bandleader’s brother, is the only known appearance of the Black John song.
Jack played the part of the black guitarist as well as singing the original song, and played the parts of the two musicians in the opera house.
“They were two of the first people to play a musical show in Australia,” he explained.
“This is just a very sad day for the country and for the world, but I think that’s one of the great things about this country.”
Jack’s musical career was a highlight of Jack’s childhood.
He and his brother would often go to Sydney’s black rock venues to rehearse with the Victoria Street Band, which they all followed to the big screen.
“That’s the way I got to know the music,” Jack said.
Jack, left, and Harriet Taylor at the Adelaide Festival in 1916.
Source : ABC News / The ABC Jack Taylor in 1915 at the Opera House with the Victorian Street Band.
Source Jack Taylor and Harriet (centres) at the 1900 Victoria Underground show.
Jack also played the piano with the other performers in the Victorian underground.
Jack was a regular at the venues, and was always on the lookout for new music.
The Melbourne Underground was one of his favourite places to play, and he also regularly travelled with the band to Sydney and Adelaide.
“For a long time I was the most popular performer on the Victoria underground,” he added.
“Not because of my music, but because I always went with