Albany 2026: Kevin Gomm’s Who’s Who Guide celebrates decades of the Great Southern’s musical history

Ever wondered what the Great Southern music scene was like in the 1970s, or which bands made it big in Albany in the 1990s? Kevin Gomm’s comprehensive book is your newest guide to the region’s glittering musical history.

Kevin Gomm has spent more than three years curating and painstakingly researching 60 years of Great Southern musical history.

It culminated in the book A Who’s Who Guide Of All Bands In Albany & The Great Southern From 1965-2025, which was completed right in time to celebrate Albany’s musical history in the city’s bicentenary year.

The volume includes more than 500 bands.

“Three and a half years and plenty of sleepless nights, it was a mammoth task,” he said.

“I conducted over 160 interviews, both firsthand and over the phone, and the book is 800 pages and includes over 400 photos, most of which came out of private albums and collections and have never seen the light of day before now.”

The book is filled with the history of hundreds of bands who originated and played in the Great Southern, many of whom left the region to continue their careers in Perth, around the country and even internationally.

It came together in time for Albany’s bicentenary this year, which Gomm said it was a perfect time to recognise a unique aspect of the city’s history.

“The main essence of it all is that at least in some way, shape or form, our music history and heritage has been captured, and it’s there for future generations to look back on and be inspired by,” he said.

Gomm is a walking, talking encyclopedia of musical knowledge, and can list bands from all decades who made an impact on the Great Southern music scene in their time.

“The golden era is what we refer to the ’80s and the ‘90s eras,” Gomm said.

“Here in Albany, for example, we had upwards of 10 or 11 different live venues, and on any given Friday night, you had the selection of 11 different venues to choose from.

“We had up to 11 different live venues, and all of them had bands playing. You couldn’t go for a drink anywhere without seeing some form of live music.”

The hunger for live music and the way people consume it has changed over time, and Gomm said the rise of digital streaming services like Spotify, coupled with new technology allowing bands to record their own original music, made big waves in regional towns like Albany.

“A lot of the bands today are doing a lot more original music and recording it, whereas back in our day, probably the emphasis was a lot more on top 40 covers and playing what’s popular, and that’s what we played in the pubs,” he said.

“With the onset of the internet and social media, it was suddenly a lot easier for bands to get out there and get noticed.”

Celia Cooper-Bevan and Dave Price both played in Albany during its musical heyday in the 1980s and ‘90s, and both said they would love to see the city’s live music scene revived.

“These days, there’s a couple of places you can play, but it’s nothing like it used to be,” Price said.

“The attitude and the culture of live music has changed — it used to be the thing to do on a Friday or a Saturday night, and Sunday sessions were huge as well.

“The highlight was the Friday night, that was the night that everyone in town went out, and they all went to listen to bands.

“We’re twice the population now in Albany than we were when we played in the heyday, so there should be enough people for there to be an appetite for it.

“But, there was a lot more money during those days that people had to spend on going out to see a live band, and it wasn’t as expensive as it is sometimes now.”

With so many changes over the years, Gomm said he felt it was important to capture a time and history that is well-remembered, but seldom spoken about anymore.

The book is on sale now at Paperbark Merchants, but will also be officially launched at the upcoming Musicians’ Night of Nights at the Stirling Club on August 1, where musicians from all over the Great Southern will converge on Albany for a night of commemoration of the region’s music industry.