Michael Gudinski may not have been a household name, but he was a major player in the music business. That’s why the likes of Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and Ed Sheeran, among others, are happy to talk about him in a new documentary charting his career.
Gudinksi, who died unexpectedly in March 2021, was the head of the Mushroom Group, which encompasses all aspects of the music and entertainment industry in Australia. Chief among those ventures is Frontier Touring, the third largest concert promoter in the world. Through Frontier, Gudinski had a huge impact on the world’s biggest stars’ careers, bringing them Down Under for what were often record-breaking tours.
In the trailer for Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story, Sting describes the late promoter as having “the energy of a rock drummer.” Grohl says, “I imagine being a rock promoter as the biggest f****** nightmare. There has to be a reason why he did it.” Springsteen laughs, “He came on strong!”
Other artists who appear in the documentary include Vance Joy, Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue and Shirley Manson of Garbage.
According to The Music Network, Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story will premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival August 10, before opening in theaters in Australia on August 31. There’s no word on a U.S. theatrical or streaming release yet.
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