This magazine documents the inaugural Australian National Record Awards. Published early in 1966, it illustrates the strength of Australian pop music in the period following the so-called 'British invasion'. The Beatles and other British groups and singers had a huge impact on Australian music in 1964. The local rock scene flourished, making 1965 a tremendously successful year for home-grown recording artists. Australian bands began to write their own songs and found they found they too could have hit records. Fans of Australian pop artists were soon admiring local heroes like Normie Rowe and the Easybeats with the same fervour they had shown the Beatles. Jennie Small was one such teenage fan and a regular concert-goer. She enjoyed a measure of affluence and independence in her discretionary spending. The new youth culture and teenage consumerism, which first appeared in the mid-1950s with rock n roll, expanded during the 1960s. The sponsorship of the Australian National Record Awards by Revlon (and the many Revlon advertisements in the magazine) exemplify the efforts of a cosmetics manufacturer to tap into the growing female teenage market.

Magazine, 'The First Australian National Record Awards', paper, printed by Conpress Printing Ltd, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1966

Magazine consisting of 32 pages, stapled. Front cover shows a black and white illustration of a young woman tossing her head back and the text 'Revlon Presents the First Australian National Record Awards. Pictorial pin-up souvenir of top stars'. Contains an introduction by Maggie Makeig (from Everybody's magazine), biographies and photographs of 21 Australian pop groups or singers, a voting form for the awards and numerous advertisements for Revlon products. Contents are mostly in black and white, with some red text in the Revlon advertisements. The 21 pop groups or singers are Billy Thorpe, Merv Benton, the Easybeats, Mike Furber, Pat Carroll, John Perry, MPD Ltd, Normie Rowe & the Playboys, the Purple Hearts, Bobby and Laurie, the Seekers, Billy Adams, Peter Doyle, Little Pattie, the Groop, the Bee Gees, Tony Worsley, Tony Barber, Johnny Young & the Strangers, Lynne Randell and Ray Brown. Also contains bios of the disc jockeys Grantley Dee, Stuart Jay, Tony McLaren, John Vincent, Grahame Cherry and Graeme Boyd.

Designer unknown.

Printed by Conpress Printing Ltd, of 168 Castlereagh St Sydney, at 61-63 O'Riordan St Alexandria.

The centre page states that the Australian National Record Awards are to be presented on 14 March 1966. Therefore the magazine can be dated to January-February 1966.

Used by Jennie Small when she was a teenage pop music fan in Sydney.
Purchased by Jennie Small in 1966.

Gift of Jennie Small. 2003

Front cover has printed text in black and pink, across top 'REVLON PRESENTS THE FIRST AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL RECORD AWARDS', and across bottom 'Pictorial pin-up souvenir of top stars'. Black and white graphic of a young woman tossing her head back fills front cover.

Image of woman repeated on back, smaller in the bottom half. Top half has text in print and black advertising Revlon.

2003/97/10

286 mm

210 mm