The Null Device

The Chapel St. of the north, again

Local community radio station 3RRR has rejected a sponsorship/advertising deal from the DJ bar opening where the Punters Club used to be, on the grounds that the name "Bimbo Deluxe" is offensive. The owners deny any offense intended, claiming that it is named after an Italian café. Are 3RRR being PC nazis? Or would opening a bar named Bimbo Deluxe feed the rise of a Chapel St.-style "show-us-ya-tits" hoon culture in the formerly countercultural, bohemian Brunswick St?

(I wonder how long 3RRR will stick around there; for one, the culture of the area is now a lot more Nova FM than 3RRR, and secondly, the yuppie apartments being built in the former Universal Theatre next door to the station could put a damper on rooftop live-to-air events. It wouldn't surprise me if, within the decade, they relocate to Northcote/Thornbury or some place.)

Anyway, I'm sure Bimbo Deluxe will find that Nova FM/Fox/MMM will be more than happy to take their money and run promotional campaigns for them. And their clientele probably don't listen to weird community stations like 3RRR anyway.

There are 6 comments on "The Chapel St. of the north, again":

Posted by: Graham http://grudnuk.com Mon Oct 14 01:44:35 2002

Never mind offensive, "Bimbo Deluxe" just sounds stupid. Like something I'd come up with for a joke house music outfit.

Posted by: acb http://dev.null.org Mon Oct 14 02:40:42 2002

I suspect that the repertoire of the DJs there won't be too dissimilar from mario-homie car-stereo music, and thus probably quite appropriate.

Posted by: Higgins Whilshire IV http:// Mon Oct 14 21:11:24 2002

shame really, we have a club called Bimbo's in San Francisco. Never heard anyone raise a fuss. Course its a crap club so perhaps no one cares.

Posted by: Ben http:// Tue Oct 15 01:17:09 2002

RRR have always been PC-Nazis, which is why I've been boycotting them for 10 years. The gangsters who sit on the board have their own little agendas and favourites, and won't tolerate apposing points of view, or anyone the Scientologists complain about.

Posted by: acb http://dev.null.org Tue Oct 15 02:08:55 2002

Higgins: a lot of it here has to do with the fact that it's on the site of the Punters Club, which was sort of like Melbourne's CBGB until spiralling rents and commercialisation forced it out. If it was opening somewhere else, nobody would probably care.

Posted by: gimbo http://gimbo.org.uk/ Tue Oct 15 17:03:32 2002

Heh - synchronicity. Yesterday I was leafing through my diary of a holiday in Gran Canaria back in 1999, and spotted a reference to "Bimbo Superior". I believe it was either a brand of bread, or of beer (I'd say bread if you made me choose).