“The man was the most energetic and enthusiastic person you could ever meet" was how Mr Curnow described Gudinski, who died suddenly on the night of Monday, March 1, aged 68.
Little Music Shop owner Mr Curnow found pop chart fame as the drummer with new wave pop band Kids In The Kitchen during the 1980s — thanks to Gudinski's Mushroom Records, which offered the band a recording contract in 1983.
“There was a buzz on us at the time. We were just a bunch of kids who were jamming on a weekend and decided to play a couple of gigs. Suddenly there was a record company saying we want to sign you — Mushroom was the first there,” Mr Curnow said.
He said the five-piece band was invited to Mushroom Records’ headquarters in Albert Park's Dundas Lane where the members were greeted by Gudinski in his office.
“He did his little show saying ‘We'd love to have you on our books . . . we want to push you and we think you can be on top of the charts'. He really stroked our egos,” Mr Curnow said.
Then Mr Curnow described a pure Gudinksi moment.
“We were just signing the record deal and the phone rang and it was EMI looking to find out if they could talk to us, and there was Gudinski saying ‘Sorry mate, we just signed them, better luck next time’," Mr Curnow said, miming a phone being slammed down.
Kids in the Kitchen went on to make two albums and score four top-20 chart hits from 1983 to 1986.
Mr Curnow said Gudinski was a "hands-on" music promoter who was out and about everywhere on the Melbourne music scene.
“He'd come in to the venue, shake hands with everyone, then he'd look at the band, watch a couple of songs and check out the crowd. Then he was gone — off to the next place. He'd go and see 10 bands in a night,” Mr Curnow said.
Mr Curnow said he once took a mate, Max from Mildura, along to a Mushroom Records function at a Melbourne restaurant.
“Michael as usual was being the life of the party and he came up to Max and said ‘Who are you? Where do you fit in?’ Max replied he was just my mate and Michael said ‘No worries, enjoy your meal'. Michael was friendly to everyone and had time for everybody — that's just the way he was,” Mr Curnow said.
Mr Curnow described Gudinski as "The King of Melbourne".
“He would be late for a plane to go and see a show in Sydney — and he'd make a phone call and the plane would wait for him,” he said.
A statement from Mushroom said Gudinski was larger than life, with an unwavering passion for music, especially Australian acts.
“His ability to achieve the unachievable against insurmountable odds was proven time and again and spoke to his absolute passion for his career and life,” the company said.
Premier Daniel Andrews said he visited Gudinski's widow, Sue, on Tuesday night and she accepted the offer of a state funeral for the music giant.
