Dolores San Miguel (1 November 1950 – 4 March 2022) was a music promoter and author from Melbourne, Australia.[1]
Career
editDolores San Miguel began her career in Melbourne's music scene in 1975,[2] and became best known for opening the music venue Crystal Ballroom (then known as Seaview Ballroom) at St Kilda’s Seaview Hotel in 1978.[1] She expanded her work as booking agent across several other venues, and is credited with giving the first shows to bands Boys Next Door, Models, Hunters & Collectors, La Femme, and Scrap Museum.[2] International bands such as Public Image Ltd and The Cure also played at the Crystal Ballroom, and it was frequented by film directors, photographers, fashion designers, and artists, including Richard Lowenstein, Howard Arkley, and Jenny Watson.[3]
When the Seaview Hotel's owner wanted to book high-profile acts rather than local, San Miguel protested and was replaced as the venue promoter in 1979. She was invited back the following year to run a new night called The Paradise Lounge.[4]
In 2009 she was included in the documentary We're Livin' on Dog Food on Melbourne's underground music scene of 1977–81.[5][6] She wrote her own book about the scene titled The Ballroom – The Melbourne Punk and Post-Punk Scene, which was published by Melbourne Books in 2011.[7]
After moving to her ancestral home in Alella, Spain in 2016, she died in March 2022 aged 72.[1]
Bibliography
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Dolores San Miguel Death Notice - Melbourne, Victoria | The Age". tributes.theage.com.au. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ a b "Bringing back the Ballroom blitz". The Age. 2005-02-16. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ Irving, Sean (2013-12-17). "The Loud Issue Feature: Dolores San Miguel". Acclaim Magazine. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ "St Kilda Music Walking Tours / Crystal Ballroom". www.skmwt.com.au. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ Renault, Vim (2018-12-16). "Dolores San Miguel – Australian Punk". punkgirldiaries.com. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ "RealTime Arts - Magazine - issue 93 - chronicles of the blank generation". www.realtimearts.net. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ "The Diva of The Ballroom - St Kilda News". St Kilda News. 20 Apr 2013. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ San Miguel, Dolores (2021). The Ballroom The Melbourne Punk and Post-Punk Scene. La Vergne: Melbourne Books. ISBN 978-1-925556-68-1. OCLC 1239982616.
- ^ San Miguel, Dolores (2014). The secret love letters : a family history. Melbourne, Vic. ISBN 978-1-922129-64-2. OCLC 922533746.
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