Ep 12: Johnny Allen – founding director of ACEM

This extensive interview starts with Johnny’s career running music venues in Sydney and the 1973 Aquarius Festival in Nimbin. Then a year in New York and London as part of the arts and music scenes – especially the emerging punk movement (hanging out with The Ramones and the Sex Pistols among others).

Back to Sydney and the thriving cabaret scene including the Paris Theatre and Sedition.

Then going mainstream to run Newcastle’s Matara and Bicentennial festivals in 1988 and becoming the founding event director at the newly opened Darling Harbour precinct.

Johnny went on to be a founding director of the Australian College of Event management at UTS which trained over 10,000 event management students.

Now supposedly retired, Johnny is still involved in revisiting Sydney’s rich cabaret and event history through a number of exhibitions and performances.