Sydney Noir by Michael Duffy

Author:Michael Duffy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NewSouth
Published: 2017-04-07T04:00:00+00:00

THE WHISKY

At the Whisky a Go Go Barry McAskill and the Levi Smith Clefs were exhausted after working six nights a week for eighteen months straight. McAskill asked co-owner John Harrigan if they could have a fortnight off and Harrigan refused, saying there was no other band that could pull in the troops the way they did. There was only one response. ‘Fuck you, John,’ said McAskill, and returned to his home town of Adelaide with most of the band. Singer Inez Amaya stayed behind and Harrigan formed a new band around her.

Elizabeth Burton was back in Sydney but keen to return to Vietnam, despite the horrific nature of some of her experiences there: by now the girl from Captains Flat had become the sort of person who feels more at home on the edge. She dyed her hair, signed on for another tour called What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? and got back into the country. The troupe performed outdoors and in the different clubs the US authorities ran for Officers, NCOs and Enlisted Men. They all liked go-go dancers.

From Vietnam Burton went to Hong Kong, and a series of adven-tures that continued the trajectory that had begun in the go-go cages of Kings Cross, which saw her smuggle heroin into America and work briefly as a prostitute in New York.

The heroin was an accident. A man she fell in love with asked her to smuggle a small package through La Guardia airport, beneath her hairpiece. He said it contained a lady’s diamond watch on which he did not want to pay duty. He put her up in a hotel and disappeared, leaving her in a strange city with no money. Before long she was working in brothels and using heroin.

Back in Sydney, Barry McAskill returned from his short sabbat-ical to the Whisky and reformed the Levi Smith Clefs, now without Inez Amaya, who had joined the cast of Hair. That musical, with its occasionally nude cast advocating the Age of Aquarius, opened on 4 June 1969 at the Metro theatre in Kings Cross, where it was to enjoy a long run.

The Whisky continued to rock, attracting actors such as Sean Connery and visiting musicians from bands like the Who and the Small Faces. Kerry Packer took one of the go-go dancers to Hong Kong for a weekend.

The place was also popular with people who worked around the Cross at night. Wayne Martin, who managed the Pink Pussycat for Abe Saffron, would drop by for a drink after work, as would a variety of detectives. John Harrigan and the Wongs always had good security at their clubs, and perhaps as part of this policy, the police were always welcome.

Two detectives from the Consorting or Armed Hold-up Squad would escort the Whisky’s manager to the local bank after 4am each morning. There he would open the Chubb chute and deposit the night’s considerable takings, packed in a small leather satchel.

Another regular visitor to the Whisky was Abe Saffron’s son Alan, then in his late teens.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.