It was a blue January day indeed, just over 3 years ago, when Selina’s  closed her doors. The owner of the Coogee Bay Hotel (CBH) cited  tighter licensing laws in New South Wales and tougher Health and  Safety regulations. Both, apparently, contributed to the fact that it  was much more challenging to make the place successful, than had been  the case in the past.

Any band who’s anyone in Australia will have performed at Selina’s at  some point; INXS even scribed the wall of the loading dock in 1993,  and they were probably just a smidgeon past the very peak of their  fame back then. They even returned to the venue in 1998, just 4 months  after  Michael Hutchence’s death. Then again as late as 2006, some 9  years after the former lead singer’s demise.

It wasn’t just Australian artists who rocked Selina’s. In 1992,  Nirvana graced the stage. Belinda Carlisle performed just days after  Primal Scream, in 2011. Later the same year, Good Charlotte played.  There were The Pogues in 1990; The Beastie Boys in 1992; Iggy Pop in  1993;  Soundgarden, The Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead in 1994; Blink  182 and The Offspring in 1995; Anthrax in 1996; The Prodigy and the  Foo Fighters in early 1998, through Deep Purple in 1999 to the Fun  Lovin’ Criminals in 2004. I could go on… and on.

For me, it’s the fact that the Sex Pistols played in October 1996 that  is surprising, because I was actually living in Coogee right then,  just a hundred or so metres away, in fact. I didn’t even realise what  a legendary place I was living right by; for me, it was just somewhere  to get drunk every weekend. (Every weeknight too, if I’m honest; I was  22 and having the time of my life.)

Crowded House had played there too, long before they performed their  final, farewell gig at Sydney Opera House in late 1996, also during my  year Down Under.

As for Midnight Oil, they deserve a paragraph of their very own, as  they have played the venue so many times that the band themselves have  more than likely lost count. Suffice to say they’ve graced the  hallowed venue on many occasions, and are regulars once more, since  Selina’s flung open her doors again in September 2016. Cue a  collective sigh of relief from Sydneysiders and music fans the world  over. Plus, of course, backpackers like me, with the warmest, fuzziest  recollections of the place. The memories may be somewhat hazy, but  they are certainly very fond.

As I mentioned, I didn’t really go to Selina’s specifically for the  music – although I do have some idea that I might have ruined a pair  of heels in the mosh pit – I went more for the atmosphere, and,  admittedly, the alcohol. The place buzzed with life, from dusk until  dawn when were kicked out for the place to be mopped, swept and made presentable once more, before it all began again that very night.

I spent my first evening in Australia at the Coogee Bay Hotel, and very many more.  Stars from Aussie soap ‘Home and Away’ – which was almost as big as  ‘Neighbours’ at the time – were often spotted knocking back a schooner  or few. All the backpackers in Coogee (of which there was some number,  there being at least 3 hostels nearby) when I was there in 1996, spent  the vast majority of their nights out – and their hard-earned cash –  at the Coogee Bay Hotel aka CBH.

‘CBH?’ someone would say, adopting the typical Aussie inflection at  the end to make the three letters into a question. The answer was very  rarely no and the time had was invariably good, yet oddly forgettable.  Too many of the old schooners again, tut tut. We never learned, but  would we have wanted to?

My next trip to Australia simply has to include a night at the Coogee Bay Hotel / CBH. I  think I’ll stay there too; noise or no, I doubt it’ll bother me too  much after the sort of evening – and early morning, no doubt – that I  plan to have there. For old times’ sake. The next day, the best walk  in the world awaits, to blow away the inevitable cobwebs – the Coogee  to Bondi coast path. Sydney sure is a city of legends.

This article was written by our guest blogger Polly Taylor @ BloggerByTheSea.com ( and you can’t get much closer to the sea at the Coogee Bay Hotel!!

Check out Polly’s blog……There are some very entertaining and informative articles on a diverse range of subjects & topics. For instance her home made recipes are mouth watering and delicious!!

If any of the bands cited in Polly’s article are favourites, we would be happy to frame their vinyl or CDs for someone special as a gift. Go to www.framedvinylrecords.com.au 

Here are examples we have produced for fans of Nirvana, Foo Fighters & INXS….

( This article also struck a real chord with the Record Press editor, who has fond memories of great nights out spent at the Coogee Bay Hotel / CBH in 1989, whilst backpacking in Oz. One particular night I was introduced to a “Blonde Bombshell” by the name of Wendy James and her band Transvision Vamp. Happy days!! )

For more info on the Coogee Bay Hotel / CBH ……..coogeebayhotel.com.au/