Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit with that title, but the Sound Relief charity concerts held in Melbourne and Sydney in 2009 are definitely up there with Australia’s biggest ever concerts.

That’s undeniably true if you look at the numbers. More than 120,000 tickets sold at $75 each and over $8 million donated to charity. This money went towards helping people affected by the devastating Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria and floods in Queensland.

A remarkable 80,518 people were in attendance at the Melbourne concert. This was hailed by the MCG as being “officially Australia’s biggest-ever concert”. (That record is now held by Ed Sheeran, who played to 109,500 people at the MCG during his Mathematics Tour in 2023).

But it’s not just the numbers. It’s also the sheer volume of talent who volunteered their time to perform. From major international acts to local favourites, there was no shortage of artists willing to take to the stage at the MCG and the SCG. This was undoubtedly helped by legendary music promoters Michael Chugg and the late Michael Gudinski who co-organised the concerts.

Hunters & Collectors, Kings of Leon, Kylie Minogue, Midnight Oil and Split Enz are just some of the artists who performed in Melbourne. Meanwhile, Sydney saw Barry Gibb, Coldplay, John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John and Taylor Swift, among many others.

In a note accompanying the Sound Relief DVD, which raised another $1 million, Michael Gudinski wrote: “There is little doubt in my mind that Sound Relief will long remain one of the most significant events in Australia’s rich music history… I will never forget it.”

When I look back on my experience on Saturday March 14, 2009, I can’t help but 100% agree. Few concerts have stuck in my mind as much as going to Sound Relief that day at the SCG.

My Sound Relief

My decision to even attend was pretty last minute. I think I had heard that a friend was going to the Melbourne one and suddenly going to Sydney seemed like a good idea. My brother agreed and, the night before, we bought tickets for the two of us and his girlfriend.

Considering this was 15 years ago (or half my life), I don’t remember every single detail about the day. There aren’t that many days where I actually do remember so many details though.

It was very warm. Weather records show that the temperature was approaching 30 degrees. There was also the potential threat of a storm later on, which did end up coming true…

After making our way to the SCG, we didn’t have to wait in the sun for too long before getting inside. I guess due to how late we bought tickets, we ended up in a fenced off section on the pitch fairly far away from the stage. This was confusing since there seemed to be enough space for everyone to spread out naturally. I’m sure the organisers had their reasons to split the pitch up.

The distance didn’t detract from the experience much anyway. Everyone still crowded around the front fence of our section, with the occasional person jumping over it to join the actual mosh pit.

According to the Sound Relief DVD, we saw more than a dozen separate sets in Sydney. I’ll admit there are some I don’t remember even slightly. But I want to run through four I will never forget.

Coldplay

Coldplay is one of those bands that people just love to hate. I’ve gone on and off them a few times over the years. It’s probably very lame to say that I liked their earlier stuff.

The merits of Coldplay’s music may be up for debate, but their performance at Sound Relief is definitely not. They were first on the bill just after midday and completely knocked it out of the park.

Their set starts with one of their newer songs at the time, Life in Technicolour, before transitioning into one of their most popular, Yellow, as the audience bounces big yellow balloons in the air.

Next up are Lost! and crowd favourites Clocks and Viva La Vida. Then, in one of the most memorable moments of the concert, Chris Martin brings out John Farnham to sing “the Australian national anthem”, You’re the Voice.

While the duet with Farnsy is absolutely a highlight, it’s Coldplay’s final song, Fix You, that really cements this performance in my mind.

After the second chorus, as the bridge begins to play, Chris gets up from his piano, jumps off the stage, clears a fence then sprints across the pitch as hundreds chase after him.

You should just watch the video, even though the cameras completely lose sight of Chris as he disappears into the crowd. The band valiantly plays on – “tears stream, down your face…” – and then we see him rise up in the sea of people.

The audience loudly sings the last chorus as Chris makes his way back to the stage. Out of breath, he begins singing the chorus again but leaves it up to the crowd to finish it off.

Really, you couldn’t ask for a stronger start to a marathon 10-hour charity concert than this.

Taylor Swift

I’m going through these memorable moments in order. That means I’m skipping over Wolfmother, Hoodoo Gurus, Little Birdy, Architecture in Helsinki, You Am I, Josh Pyke and Marcia Hynes.

I’ve got nothing against any of them, it’s just that none of their performances stuck with me. What I do remember, as the afternoon wore on, was trying to find shade and stay hydrated.

Taylor Swift is the next performance that stands out. It was just after the release of her second album, Fearless. Love Story was on its way to hitting number one on the ARIA charts.

Up until now, I had thought that Taylor was in Australia as part of a full on international tour. She was actually just here to play a few small gigs, including to an audience of 900 in Melbourne. Her first tour, the Fearless Tour, would kick off a month after Sound Relief.

Taylor hits the stage at around 5:30pm and begins with You Belong With Me. Near the end of the song, she rips off her black tee and blue jeans, revealing a Fearless era-appropriate gold dress. Watching it on video, the seams are obvious, but from where I was standing, it was a surprise.

“I woke up this morning feeling really sick and then it started raining, but nothing is going to stop me being here with you today,” she tells the crowd in a slightly unrecognisable accent.

With a guitar as sparkly as her dress, she performs Our Song before a large chunk of the crowd sings along to Love Story. She also gives a slightly odd, albeit well-intentioned speech during her final song, Change. The entire performance is undoubtedly impressive for a 19-year-old whose career is only just getting started.

The Presets

After Eskimo Joe, Jet and a “special message” from Prince William and Prince Harry, The Presets were up next. I’m pretty sure the rain started falling before they began playing their first song, Talk Like That. In any case, this was only the beginning.

Most people don’t seem to care that they’re getting soaked. The duo plays another single from their second album, Yippiyo-Ay, followed by Are You The One? from their first album, Beams. After a warm day in the sun, the cool rain brings everyone welcome relief.

It’s when The Presets move on to their next track, This Boy’s In Love, that it really seems to pour down. Everyone who has stuck around until this point, though, basically ignores it. They just continue singing and dancing and jumping.

I’ve pointed out a few highlights from Sound Relief but this one basically serves as a peak to the whole day. That’s not to say it’s all downhill from here, only that this moment was so enjoyable. I never thought I’d be happy to be in a crowd in the pouring rain listening to electronic music.

The Presets finish off their set with Kicking and Screaming and then My People. Satisfied with their day out, some people are then quick to hit the exits. After standing up for the better part of nine hours, others like us try to find somewhere to sit.

Barry Gibb and Olivia Newton-John

We found seats low in the stands and sat there in our soggy clothes. Icehouse came out as the penultimate act, performing Great Southern Land and some other hits. I don’t recall us specifically choosing to stick around to hear Barry Gibb and Olivia Newton-John, but I’m glad we did.

I only remember bits and pieces. These include Barry singing Jive Talkin’ and duetting with Olivia on Islands in the Stream. Seeing two legends like this together has to be viewed as a highlight though.

The pair would run through a number of other classics including How Can You Mend a Broken Heart and You Should Be Dancing before finishing off with Spicks and Specks.

What a Sound Relief

Sound Relief will inarguably live on as one of the most significant events in Australian music history. Rolling Stone Australia put the concert at number 40 in their list of The 50 Most Iconic Australian Music Moments Of All Time.

While there were plans to hold more bushfire relief concerts under the Sound Relief banner in March 2020, these were cancelled. The Fire Fight Australia concert at ANZ Stadium in Sydney that year did end up raising close to $10 million for bushfire relief.

In an ideal world, these types of concerts wouldn’t be necessary. However, it’s amazing that so many people can come together for a good cause and raise much needed funds.