Tony Wellington on Freak Out and Vinyl Dreams: How the 1970s Changed Music

Tony Wellington has worked in a broad range of creative arts fields and even dabbled in politics as the Mayor of Noosa Shire. Tony is the author of Happy? Exposing the Cultural Myths about Happiness, plus a history book, Noosa and Cooloola, and is co-author (with John Shand) of Don't Shoot the Best Boy! The film crew at work. He has also produced several photographic books, the most recent being Wild About Noosa. Over the years, Tony has provided articles, opinion pieces and photographs for many newspapers, magazines and books. Tony graduated from Macquarie University in 1976 majoring in Media and Communications, receiving a university prize for his media studies. For many years he worked on a freelance basis in the feature film and television industry as a scriptwriter, first assistant director, editor and director. He also lectured in media studies and film craft. He has had exhibitions of his quirky super-realist paintings around Australia, and provided illustrations for book jackets and other publications. Whilst living in Sydney, Tony ran folk clubs, hosted a radio show, wrote for music magazines and recorded and released his own music. He has three grown children and now lives in the Noosa hinterland with his wife.

Andrew Stafford is a freelance journalist and the author of Pig City, a book about Brisbane, and Something to Believe In, a music memoir. His journalism appears regularly in the Guardian, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Griffith Review and more.