[MELBOURNE] Jazz : Red Light, 329 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne … Friday, 5th July 1963.

Concert ticket, 46 x 88 mm, with admission price ‘6/-‘ in manuscript, verso with ticket number ’11’ in manuscript; light marks.

Admission ticket for an obscure underground Melbourne nightclub hosting a jazz music event in October 1963.

In Melbourne in the early 1960s – before the Sharpie phenomenon exploded – the city’s two main youth subcultures were “jazzers” and “rockers”. Between these groups there existed a fierce rivalry that was in fact every bit as violent as Sharpiedom, and was viewed as a significant social problem.

The following is a brief report on Melbourne weekend teenage violence that appeared in the Canberra Times, 8 October 1963:

‘The teenage violence problem showed itself as unsolved when police made 24 arrests at the Showground during and following a series of clashes between “jazzers” and “rockers” at a jazz concert. Ages ranged from 15 to 23. Another 26 youths were charged with 45 offences on weekend trains.’