Music stars and industry stakeholders pay tribute at Michael Gudinski's state memorial

Music stars including Kylie Minogue, Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes and Ed Sheeran along with industry stakeholders have paid tribute to the life of Michael Gudinski at his state memorial.

Held at the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night, the state farewell also saw international stars including Taylor Swift, Sting and Elton John pay video tribute to the Mushroom Records founder and legendary Australian music industry figure.

Sheeran, who was granted an exemption to fly into Australia with his family, opened the event with Castle On the Hill, saying it became a personal favourite of Gudinksi after Sheeran played it for the Mushroom Records founder and his family at their Port Douglas home in 2015.

Sheeran recalled “he must have misheard the lyric because he started, from that point, screaming whenever he saw me ‘we were younger then’.

“I never told him it was actually ‘I was younger then’.”

Alongside Sheeran, there were live performances by Mushroom-associated Australian acts Jimmy Barnes, Kylie Minogue, Paul Kelly, Mark Seymour, Vika and Linda Bull and Mia Wray.

Before raising spirits with a Sheeran-aided duet of her 1987 hit The Locomotion, Minogue credited Gudinski with kickstarting her critically acclaimed music career, commenting “Michael, the ‘Big G’, took this little girl from Melbourne to the world, and back home again.”

The 15,000-seat arena was packed for its first music event since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, with those who missed out on tickets tuning in online.

In-person speakers on the night included Victorian Governor Linda Dessau, Rabbi Menachem Wolf, and Gudinski’s two children, Matt and Kate.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who was unable to attend because he is recovering from a serious back injury, sent a message paying tribute to his friend, commenting “there are few people who have shaped our state like Michael Gudinski. From local dance hall to festival hall, music was his life's purpose.

"He leaves us with a profound legacy: the artists he inspired, the audiences he entertained and the music he helped to make."

Gudinski died in his sleep at the age of 68 earlier this month.

Images: Over 15,000 people attended the memorial servise at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arean (top, credit: Mushroom Group and middle) and Michael Gudinski pictured last year (below).