Wed 24th Apr, 2013 in Local News
The City of Port Phillip have unanimously approved a laneway in tribute to the legendary Rowland S Howard, who passed away in 2009.
The proposal to rename a laneway between Eildon Road and Jackson Street in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda after the legendary musician was accepted without objection at a council meeting last night. Many supporters and friends of Howard were in attendance, while Howard’s sister Angela gave a moving address.
Nick Haines – a local music promoter and a longtime friend of Howard’s, who spearheaded the campaign – told M+N he was thrilled with the result. “I’m very pleased that a local who had such an influence on music worldwide is being acknowledged,” he said today. “I also hope it’s the first step in more of this sort of recognition for musicians not only in St Kilda but all over Melbourne. After all it’s a rock and roll city!”
The only potential sticking point is a Vic Roads regulation about multiple word street names, but Port Phillip council have already indicated their intent to apply for an exemption. If the exemption is somehow unsuccessful, other compromises may be reached including a plaque or the renaming of the lane to “Rowland Lane” or “Howard Lane”. But Haines, who first dreamed up the proposal a year ago, said he expects common sense to prevail. “No one actually lives there and it isn’t a vehicle thoroughfare. After all there is a Paul Hester Walk [in nearby Elwood] and people live on that street,” he said.
Howard – a former member of the Birthday Party, These Immortal Souls and Crime and The City Solution – lived on Eildon Road for several years. His funeral was held at Sacred Heart Mission on Grey Street in St Kilda, just down the road from The Prince, where he played his last ever show.
High-profile backers of the campaign included Henry Rollins, The Pogues’ Shane MacGowan and former bandmate Nick Cave. “Rowland and I were friends, bandmates, collaborators and fellow conspirators in the St Kilda music scene in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s,” he wrote in a letter to council. “His artistic legacy endures, and I hope that you can honour him with the cultural recognition he richly deserves.”
(via Mess+Noise)
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