Central Station Records and Australia’s gay community

Central Station Records and Australia’s gay community

CENTRAL Station Records was launched as a small record store by Giuseppe Palumbo in 1977, who was joined by his partner Morgan in 1983.

Together, they cemented their record business as playing a critical role in the development of the electronic dance music scene in Australia and New Zealand.

It grew from a small indie Melbourne-based store into an iconic dance music brand, recognised on a global scale.

By the mid-90s, the brand held physical stores in major cities, busy mail-order and export operations, successful recording labels, and street wear lines.

Central Station Records stores around Australia very much grew out of the country’s gay community, establishing gay community radio station FREE FM in the mid-90s and releasing CD compilations with fellow community radio station JOY 94.9

To commemorate its 40 anniversary Central Station Records have released both a book – Music Wars: the Sound of the Underground – and CD to chronicle its history.

The book follows the story of the business and its crucial role in the development of the dance music scene in Australia from the ’70s to today, while the three-disc CD set that looks into the world that was and is, Central Station Records.

Music Wars is the story of how a new music form emerged from the underground and grew to become a major force in the mainstream. Baby-boomers may have marched in the streets for social equality, but the ecstasy generation drove radical social change by choosing to dance together in their thousands, irrespective of race, gender, sexuality or social class.

The three discs span multiple decades featuring music from Grace Jones, Donna Summer, and Whitney Houston.

For more information and to purchase a copy of the book or CD, visit: www.centralstation.com.au/musicwars

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