Vinyl Dreams

A scintillating journey through the seventies and the extraordinary music it gave rise to — including the new concept of sound that defines music today.

After the dense miasma of the sixties, the seventies hit like a hangover. Idealism took a pounding as cynicism began to pervade western culture. Stagflation became a thing. Watergate, environmental disasters and an oil crisis proved there was even more to worry about than a Cold War. Individualism and personal greed began to replace the hippie ideal of universal love.

Australia experienced a dramatic upheaval: a loosening of censorship laws, campaigns for women’s, Aboriginal and LGBTI+ rights, and a new relationship with China. This tumult saw a remarkable blooming of pop music. Monumental albums were born: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, John Lennon’s Imagine, Carole King’s Tapestry. Rock music splintered into dazzling shards, as technical innovations helped propel feverish experimentation.

Vinyl Dreams is a fast-paced romp through the seventies, from the golden era of rock music in the early seventies, to disco, punk and new wave music in the later years of the decade. Brimming with fascinating stories, and tracing the revolutions that shaped the soundtrack of our lives, it reveals the power and enduring legacy of seventies music. was born, grew and evolved to become an integral part of Australian culture.

‘A damn good read. [The 1970s were] a gender-bending ride, filled with good memories, good times.’ — Suzi Quatro

‘Tony Wellington writes with incredible insight, passion, and intelligence about music and the context in which it was created.’ — Stuart Coupe, music journalist

‘In Vinyl Dreams Tony happily shines a forensic light on the finest musicians of the age, while gleefully exposing the fakes, the frauds and the febrile.’ — Rob Hirst, founding member of Midnight Oil