Derek Jolly introduces electronic music to Australia with Moog synthesiser at 1960s North Adelaide studio

Derek Jolly (right), with Ohil Cuneen, working the Moog Modular 3 synthesiser he brought to his Gamba Studios in North Adelaide. Jolly received a credit on Johnny Farnham's 1967 single, "Sadie (The cleaning lady)", for providing the vacuum cleaner solo with his synthesiser.

Born into the wealthy Penfolds wine dynasty, Derek Jolly saw music as part of his vision for Adelaide as a progressive city with a cutting-edge arts culture.

That vision extended to racing Lotus motor cars, owning the well-known Magic Flute restaurant, and being a talented photographer.

In the mid 1960s, Jolly built the state-of-the-art Gamba Studios (or Derek’s Place) within his Decca’s Place development in Melbourne Street, North Adelaide. The studio had high-quality recording equipment and an open door policy for musicians to experiment, making it a unique and frequently used space.

One of its most prized pieces in Jolly’s studio was the Moog Modular 3 synthesiser, the first available outside the United States. One of the first instances of the Moog being used in Adelaide was for Bob Gardiner of The Harts to add an orchestral sound to the song “I’m in a dream” he’d written for another Adelaide group Inkase.

Jolly also received a credit on Johnny Farnham's 1967 single, "Sadie (The cleaning lady)", for providing the vacuum cleaning solo with his synthesiser.

Jolly also made the Moog available to students of the Elder Conservatorium of Music at Adelaide University. The Moog was demonstrated by Ian MacDonald in the exhibition building on North Terrace Adelaide, at the Expo electric in 1969.

The demonstration presented the first price to be composed on the instrument: “Vitenam Image” by Elder Conservatorium student Martin Wesley-Smith. In 1974, Wesley-Smith was asked to create the electronic music studio at the New South Wales conservatorium, where he stayed for nearly 30 years.

Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium lecturer Peter Tahourdin started Australia’s first practical course in electronic music, using the Moog, in 1970. Tahourdin was also commissioned to compose electronic music for a play on Captain James Cook’s travels for the 1970 Adelaide Festival.

Other Adelaide musical associates of Jolly included singer/song writer Doug Ashdown and composer/pianist/ teacher Stephen Whittingdon.