The Siege of Sinatra – “Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back” Australian Tour (1974) – Nostalgia Central

Following a decade of weak record sales and a short-lived retirement, 58-year-old crooner Frank Sinatra arrived in Melbourne, Australia, via private jet on 9 July 1974 to perform five dates on his “Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back” comeback tour – two in Melbourne and three in Sydney

He refused to grant interviews when he arrived, so the local press instead wrote of his alleged mafia ties and ran photos of his many female companions captioned “Sinatra’s molls.”

Following his opening number at his Festival Hall concert in Melbourne that evening, Sinatra expressed his frustration with the Australian press onstage, calling them “parasites who take everything and give nothing”, and then adding: “As for the broads who work for the press, they’re the hookers of the press. I might offer them a buck and a half. I’m not sure”.

The Australian Journalists’ Association demanded an apology the following morning, and Sinatra refused.

Head of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (and future Australian Prime Minister) Bob Hawke intensified the squabble and mobilised other unions, who immediately blackbanned the Sinatra tour, refusing to refuel his jet, handle his luggage, or provide room service at his hotel.

Sinatra cancelled his second Melbourne show and retreated to Sydney via commercial plane.

Between 11 and 13 July 1974, Sinatra was effectively under siege at the Boulevard Hotel in Sydney as the standoff continued.

Hawke raised the stakes further, threatening: “If you don’t apologise, your stay in this country could be indefinite. You won’t be allowed to leave Australia unless you can walk on water.”

The US Consul General in Sydney, Norman Hannah, called Australian Labor Party leader John Ducker on 12 July and discussed the “threat to impede Mr Sinatra’s freedom of movement”, including “holding him hostage in Australia”.

Ducker took the point, agreeing the matter – which had been dubbed the “Siege of Sinatra” –  should be resolved amicably through negotiations.

Sinatra refused to apologise but agreed to sign a “statement of regret” that he “did not intend any general reflection upon the moral character of working members of the Australian media”.

In exchange for the statement, the unions agreed to lift the industrial boycott immediately. Ground staff refuelled his plane, hotel workers resumed service, and theatrical stagehands returned to work.

Both sides agreed to frame the settlement as a mature resolution rather than a capitulation, allowing Sinatra to save face and the unions to claim a victory for worker solidarity.

Sinatra eventually played four of his five scheduled shows – the final three being at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on 14, 15 and 16 July – before quickly leaving the country and heading for the UK.

Sinatra later told an audience in New York: “A funny thing happened in Australia . . . I made a mistake and got off the plane!”

The Night We Called It a Day (2003) is a semi-fictional, comedy film retelling the whole sorry saga, starring Dennis Hopper as Sinatra (with his concert singing vocals convincingly dubbed by soundalike Australian actor Tom Burlinson); Melanie Griffith as Barbara Marx, Sinatra’s glamorous partner and future wife; David Field as Bob Hawke, the brash, beer-swilling trade union leader; Portia de Rossi as Hilary Hunter, a fierce television reporter who clashed with Sinatra at the airport, and David Hemmings as Mickey Rudin, Sinatra’s intensely protective attorney.

The film – released in the US as All The Way – takes major creative liberties with the real historical timeline and paints Bob Hawke as a comedic caricature, but was widely praised for its entertaining performances, particularly Hopper’s eccentric portrayal of Sinatra and the excellent, nostalgic musical numbers.