Ep 12: The Big Day Out – Show Notes

Show notes, links, music and other stuff for Ep 12: The Big Day Out.

This episode is called Come As You Are, which is of course a Nirvana song. I had so many ideas for titles for this one, but settled on something that would speak to the people who turned up over the bands who played.

1992 Big Day Out

The Big Day Out launched in Sydney only, on 26 January 1992.

The first Big Day Out was covered by journalists, covered by Triple J, filmed by MTV. It’s crazy there’s no documentary or book about the festival. I can only assume the people at the top didn’t want to talk, or didn’t have time to stop to talk.

Below is an incredible snapshot of the first day, with crowd footage, interviews with bands and more.

Here is the full, epic, Nirvana Big Day Out set.

Here’s the Big Day Out 1992 compilation – if there was one. It’s actually just a playlist I put together. Pretty close to being the soundtrack to Just Ace Season 1 really. It would be fun to put compilations together for all the years that were missed, which was actually most of the 90s.

Further reading and listening

Sophie Howarth‘s photo book Peace Love And Brown Rice is a great history of the Big Day Out.

Inside the book is an illustrated map of the first Big Day Out, that was a reproduction of one that was published in Drum Media back in the day,

The other book, which should have been with us by now, was the one written by BDO founder Ken West. Sadly, he died earlier this year. He had apparently completed a book before his death and he put up chapters on his website. They make for fantastic reading.

The Big Day Out was covered in a podcast by Double J. Episode 1 of the five part podcast, hosted by Gemma Pike, covers the first Big Day Out.

Music heard

  • Idiot Box I by You Am I
  • …Baby One More Time (instrumental) by Britney Spears
  • Lithium (instrumental) by Nirvana
  • Blister In the Sun (instrumental) by Violent Femmes
  • Streets Of Your Town (instrumental) by The Go Between
  • In Bloom (instrumental) by Nirvana
  • Touch Me I’m Sick (instrumental) by Mudhoney
  • Come As You Are (piano instrumental) originally by Nirvana
  • I Fought The Law (instrumental) by The Clash

Make sure to listen to Episode 12: Come As You Are. And check out all the show notes.