Why U2’s Booking Agent Wanted To Sign Silverchair Sight Unseen

To celebrate Daniel Johns’ 44th birthday, let’s rewind back to the band’s first Big Day Out.

The Big Day Out was a rite of passage for Australian music fans and musicians in the 90s.

So when teen grunge band Silverchair had a chance to play the event in 1995, they seized it.

They were playing just after their first two singles Tomorrow and Pure Massacre had exploded, but before their debut album Frogstomp was released.

The band insisted on playing a smaller stage and with an afternoon slot, rather than play the main stage, despite their major popularity.

This meant that at each show a mammoth crowd attempted to see the band, with punters climbing on roofs and hanging off trees.

Listen Below to hear Silverchair’s manger, John Watson talk about the moment U2’s booking agent approached him at the Big Day Out in 1995:

Silverchair’s manager John Watson said the huge appeal was making waves not just in Australia, but overseas.

“U2’s booking agent was standing front of house watching the pandemonium before the band even walked on stag. He turned to me and said ‘I want to book the band’. I said ‘They haven’t started playing yet!’”

John Watson, Silverchair Manager

Listen below to hear the full Silverchair story as we take a deep dive into your favourite Aussie music:

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