Exhibition features rare 1980s celebrity portraits
Stephen Mackerras has a more colorful past than your average Redlands teacher.
In the 1980s, he hosted a Saturday night request show on radio station 4ZZZ and interviewed visiting musicians and other celebrities, often taking photographs while doing so.
Photos taken with his Minolta SLR were never published. Other than recent outings on Mackerras’ social media accounts, they’ve been sitting in a box for the past few decades.
“I showed these to some friends recently, especially Michael Hutchence’s friends, because he was a legend and they were so impressed, so I decided to put on an exhibition.”
Stephen Skyflowers: Photography and Cosmic Art It brings together Mackerras’ famous portraits, performance photographs and bold color paintings.
Mackerras interviewed Bono in 1984 when they played the Festival Hall on U2’s first Australian tour.
“They were an underground band at the time and only ZZZ was into them, so it was very easy to meet him and interview him,” Mackerras said.
Johnny Rotten’s post-Sex Pistols band PiL also visited Brisbane for the first time in the ’80s, and Mackerras captured an evocative portrait of the performance.
But his impromptu attempt at an interview ended badly.
“I walked into the locker room after they finished the game and they were all very upset and threw me out,” he said.
“I guess it was just youthful confidence.”
In May 1985, prime minister Bob Hawke delivered the TJ Ryan Memorial Lecture at the University of Queensland’s Mayne Hall as protesters gathered outside.
Mackerras stood on stage behind the Prime Minister and was photographed addressing the crowd.
“Nobody stopped me. In fact, I followed him backstage. I thought that’s what you do to public figures, and he was friendly, but his handlers asked me to leave.”
Mackerras grew up in Capalaba and was 14 when he formed his first band, Tangled Shoelaces, with his siblings and some school friends.
They signed with independent label Hot Records and were set to support Kate Ceberano’s band I’m Talking in Sydney until promoters discovered they were all underage.
Tangled Shoelaces would later become Wonderful Fair, and Mackerras now plays in a combo called Skyflowers.
He turned to the film industry, working in the art department on the 1986 film Melbourne Junkie. Dogs in Space and befriended star INXS singer Michael Hutchence.
“I knew him well enough to give me free tickets to the INXS concert when he came to Brisbane,” Mackerras said.
“He was a very flawed character.”
The exhibition includes Mackerras’ portraits of Billy Bragg, Steve Kilbey, Tom Kenneally, David Attenborough and the Dalai Lama.
What about Bono? He signed the band’s copy of Mackerras. Pride (In the Name of Love) He was single at Parkroyal and asked permission to go for a walk.
“He turned to me and said, ‘I don’t want to be reminded that I’m famous for at least 20 minutes a day.’ That was his way of telling me to leave.”
Stephen Skyflowers: Photography and Cosmic Art It will take place every day from June 1-14 at Kaye West Studios, Camp Hill, with a launch event on Saturday, June 6 from 4-6pm.
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Nick Dent is a Culture Reporter for the Brisbane Times covering the arts and things to do in the city.Connect via email.
