Melbourne’s Tote back in business

11 June 2010

by Christie Eliezer

Iconic Melbourne music venue The Tote - whose closure this January caused an angry grassroots backlash - launched back into action last night.

At an invites-only function, former owner Bruce Milne announced that the new owners could continue using the Tote name. He officially handed over the Tote stamp - used for entry into the venue, and which some regulars had tattooed in their wrists - to new operator Seventh Tipple aka Jon Perring, Sam Crupi and Andrew Portokasllis.

Although Milne sold off a lot of the club’s old fittings to settle $100,000 worth of legal fees, some were still there, bought by Seventh Tipple to maintain the link. Renovations have included a new bar and the removal of columns that used to block clubbers’ view of the stage.

The backlash created by the Tote’s closure was an embarrassment for the state government, especially when 20,000 rallied outside Parliament House in February under the SLAM (Save Live Australian Music) banner.

This week when the new owners applied for a new liquor licence that rolled back the old security demands, New Liquor Licensing Commissioner Mark Brennan approved it within 24 hours.