COLLAPSE BOARD

Songs about Brisbane – 11: Custard, pt 1

OK, so ‘Apartment’ by Custard has no feature which would oriente someone within the city of Brisbane, nor does it seem to have any explicit reference to anything about Brisbane. The video clip shows Dave McCormack dressed up as a Formula One driver, dancing like a madman on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. It’s arguable that, other than where Custard are from, that this song has anything to do with Brisbane. So why write about as if it was?

Well, simply put, it is because of an urban myth regarding inspiration for the song someone once told me. I’m sure a few other people are aware of this story as well, and given no evidence to the contrary, I’m content to believe it.

A few years back, I lived next to an abandoned Skate Arena in Red Hill (in a house, not on the street or anything). You may know, or at least heard of the area, being that Zigzag Street, that shares its title with the Nick Earles book of the same name, is in close proximity. Guitar shops dot the landscape, and I’ve often seen many of the musical talent of Brisbane walking about the place. Apparently, members of Regurgitator used to also live in the area.

Anyway, on the way from the Skate Arena up towards the shops on Musgrave Road (just near the LoFly Hangar), there is a little house on Waterworks Road just down from the Red Hill Post Office. It always strikes me as an odd little place.

Someone a long time ago (perhaps my housemates at Red Hill), told me that Dave McCormack used to live there, in a small granny flat under the house, and this is where the song ‘Apartment’ drew inspiration from.

While I have never read or heard anything about this ‘urban myth’, every time I walk or drive past that house, I always think of this story. Imagining that a little over a decade ago, down in the bowels of the house is a little bedroom with a kitchenette and toilet, all painted in blood red, Dave McCormack was inspired to write one of Custard’s most recognisable songs.

Of course, there are other Custard songs that have more specific references to Brisbane and its surrounds – ‘Caboolture Speed Lab’, for example – but I do like this little story attached to this small house. It is highly likely that the story is bullshit, but spare me my little fantasy, ok? Every time I drive down Waterworks Road, it’s to the tune of ‘Apartment’.

Every single time.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 15th, 2010 at 10:04 am. It is filed under Columns and tagged with Brisbane, Custard, Dave McCormack, Red Hill, Regurgitator, Songs about Brisbane, Sydney Opera House, Waterworks Road. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.