On New Year’s Eve 1991, Richie McNeill, under the banner of his newly founded Hardware brand, threw his first rave party at the Mercantile Rowing Club on the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne’s CBD. A fundraiser for his dad's charity, which helped young kids throughout Victoria at a time when state funding for youth projects was in short supply, the event was a runaway success.
Fast forward 30 years and Richie has taken the Hardware juggernaut on a rich journey, putting Melbourne on the international map and unquestionably contributing the most to Australia's storied electronic culture. From an inthemix Lifetime achievement award to countless legendary award-winning festivals, including Apollo, Two Tribes, Stereosonic and now Festival X, Hardware has had a profound impact on the Australian electronic-music scene.
Richie DJ’d across the planet, flying the flag for his proud Melbourne town from 1990 ‘til the mid 2000s, all the while establishing record stores, music distribution businesses, record labels and infamous club nights. He also ran Australia's most influential independent dance distributor, Mushroom’s DanceNet, from 1992-95 during the global explosion golden era of dance music.
The Hardware impression on Australia is undeniable and this 30-year book tells the story through Richie’s eyes across more than 400 pages of stories, photos, posters and memorabilia.
