“I’ve always heard that people who don’t talk in an interview are the worst,” Lindsay Osborne laughs, “so I must be doing good.”

He’s right. He is doing good, not only because he proves very willing to talk about the Paddo RSL – an iconic venue that he is in the process of revitalising as its event organiser – but because he does so with boundless enthusiasm. For Osborne, this isn’t just a casual refurbishment of some old venue – this is a full-blown passion project.

“In ’94 [the RSL] lost their licence for rock bands,” he explains. “They had a paragraph attached to their contract that [stipulated] ‘no rock bands’. They said rock bands were anything with a drum set and a guitar.” He laughs. “So y’know, that could have been a bloody waltz band.”

Acts as varied as Henry Rollins, The Celibate Rifles and INXS have all strutted the Paddo’s stage at some point in their career, making the loss of the venue’s live rock capabilities a huge blow. Luckily, as soon as the oddly Flashdance-esque ‘no rock music’ contract expired, Osborne was on the case.

“They got [permission] back two years ago,” he explains. “It’s just been sitting there since then. I just thought, ‘Someone should do something with this,’ so I did some background research on the possibility of [getting music back]. And then I approached the club early this year with a plan, and we got to an agreement and a signed contract.”

It’s not just live music that Osborne has set in his sights either. “Because the club was an iconic venue in the past,” he says, “we decided what we should do [is] open it up to all areas of culture. We’re looking at doing not just music, but comedy, theatre and short film – anything cultural we can support.”

In addition to booking as many acts as he can, Osborne is also organising a Battle Of The Bands competition, one with a massive prize pool. Incentives include a $5,000 cash prize, rehearsal vouchers, free digital marketing training and more. Osborne says such a generous set of rewards is his way of bringing allure back to a too-often trivialised form of entertainment.

“A lot of the prestige has been lost over the years with band competitions,” he says. “And we wanted to restore that. The aim is to support everyone who is in there … We wanted to relaunch with emerging artists in a situation that benefits them really well, gets the exposure out there, and over the period we will also be able to identify really hot bands that deserve to be playing live. And then we can use them in the venue and put them on support with major bands.”

Osborne argues that any opportunity for bands to practise the fine art of performing live should be actively supported. In this way, the Battle Of The Bands competition isn’t just a slight diversion – it’s a genuinely important chance for up-and-comers to test their mettle in front of an attentive audience.

“Back in the day we were all cutting our teeth, we were doing 200 to 250 shows a year,” Osborne says. “If you’re doing something five or six times a week, to do it is not a big deal. It’s just something you do.” He laughs. “If it’s not in your blood then you’d be crazy to do it. And anything that makes it easier to [perform], y’know, that has to be something that the whole community should support.”

Entries close soon for NSW Battle of the Bands held at Paddo RSL, so head to nswbattleofthebands.com.au to register to battle!

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine