PRESS RELEASE: Vince Contarino, Steve Williams, Zep Boys and The Bridgeway Hotel are set to be inducted into the SA Music Hall of Fame on Friday 18th March at the Bridgeway Hotel.

Vince Contarino, Steve Williams, Zep Boys and The Bridgeway Hotel are set to be inducted into the SA Music Hall of Fame on Friday 18th March at the Bridgeway Hotel.
Tickets at Oztix

Vince Contarino has been entertaining audiences worldwide for over 40 years in bands such as The Dukes, Serpentine, Party Boys, Mega Boys and Adelaide’s Iconic Zep Boys. Vince won a song writing competition at the age of 16 in his high school band ‘Magnum’ and was offered a contract with EMS Records. Vince then pursued a professional music career and formed Serpentine in 1978. Serpentine toured Australia wide performing countless gigs and proved popular on the eastern seaboard. After two years, Vince returned to his roots, writing and performing original rock tunes forming
‘The Dukes’. The Dukes unintentionally pioneered a unique Adelaide circuit for up and coming original bands, breaking down barriers to venues previously reserved for Top 40 acts. The Dukes developed a large following and would go on to perform to between 40,000 – 50,000 people, kicking off 1984 in a huge Elder Park concert with Swanee and Mickey Finn. The Dukes found it difficult to gain interest from recording companies and as a result split. Vince then formed original band ‘Savage Hearts’ with Chris Tennant (later of SuperJesus) which lasted a year, until Vince was offered to front Mickey Finn with former members of Fraternity. Bruce Howe (Fraternity & Mickey Finn) upon meeting Rockin’ Rob Riley (Rose Tattoo) whilst recording and touring in Jimmy Barne’s band, decided to form ‘Mega Boys’. Vince was again asked to sing. Simultaneously, Vince formed ‘Zep Boys’, a makeshift band solely dedicated to performing the music of Led Zeppelin. Little did Vince know at the time that Zep Boys would change the face of the Australian music and touring industry. After several years of touring in Zep Boys, many other concept bands would appear nationally, giving many out of work musicians a job and putting punters into venues that desperately needed them. Zep Boys would pioneer unique agreements with venues and booking agents, fighting for better financial deals and work conditions. Whilst still fronting Zep Boys and Mega Boys, Vince was invited to join The Party Boys by Paul Christie (Mondo Rock) performing with Joe Walsh (The Eagles) and many of Australia’s well-known musicians. Paul Christie would specially form a new line up of The Party Boys based around Vince, and would go on to have charting single ‘Do Wah Diddy’. For the next decade Zep Boys would conquer Australia, but Vince would long to write and perform his own songs again, forming ‘Adult Toys’ in 1997. Adult Toys would gain top 10 hits in Adelaide with songs ‘Animal’ and ‘Poison Forrest’. Adult Toys opened for Status Quo on their ’97 national comeback tour, the first of several times Vince would perform with Quo over the years. Vince then pursued a career in theatre and continued to tour Australia in productions such as ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, ‘Joseph’s Technicolour Dreamcoat’, ‘Radio Brain Storm’, ‘Great Southern Land’ , ‘Bully Boy’ and cross cultural drama ‘Bread and Onions’ until 2004. Vince was still continuing to tour with Zep Boys performing large concerts at the Grand Prix, Adelaide 500, Adelaide Entertainment Centre (supporting Alice Cooper) and various New Zealand Theatres.
In 2004, Bruce Kulick of KISS invited Vince to join his band for an Australian tour to promote his album ‘Transformer’. In 2005 Vince would embark on the first national Symphonic tour of Led Zeppelin’s music with Zep Boys, which would span over 15 years. In 2008, he fronted ‘Deepest Purple’ featuring Jon Lord (Deep Purple, Whitesnake) and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. After recently returning home from a sell-out Orchestral tour of over 17 capital cities in Europe, performing at venues such as the London Palladium and Hammersmith Odeon, Vince embarked on recording an original solo album titled ‘Goin’ Home’ with some of SA’s greatest musicians. Vince has also taught countless vocal and guitar students throughout his career, passing on his knowledge and experience to future generations of South Australian and national talent.

Steve Williams is one of Adelaide’s greatest talents, having been a member of iconic 80’s band Wa Wa Nee. Wa Wa Nee’s debut single Stimulation peaked at #2 nationally in April 1986. I Could Make You Love Me peaked at #5 in August 1986. Their debut LP was a smash hit with singles such as Sugar Free and One and One (Ain’t I Good Enough) taking them to #35 in the US Top 100 Billboard Charts. He later went on to play in Choirboys, Party Boys, Jon Lord, Matt Finish, James Freud, Brian Cadd, Real Life, Richard Clapton, Lee Kerneghan, Absolutely 80’s, Ray Parker Jr Band and many others. Throughout Steve’s career he has performed on a variety of television shows such as Countdown, Hey Hey It’s Saturday, MTV, Sounds Unlimited and in the USA, Solid Gold, Top of The Pops and The Late Show. Steve also performed many years in Musical Theatre such as The Man from Snowy River, Sweet Charity, Singin’ In The Rain, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Elvis The Musical.
After working with Vince Contarino in The Party Boys, Steve became a member of Zep Boys. Zep Boys will also be receiving a band induction.

Join Vince, Steve and their band as they celebrate their induction and the launch of their brand new albums written and recorded during Covid. Performed live at the iconic Bridgeway Hotel (formerly the Pooraka Hotel) which will be inducted as a venue, the home of Adelaide rock.

The Bridgeway has hosted some of the world’s greatest performers including Stevie Wright, Graham Bonnet, Eric Burden, Hot Chocolate, Kim Wilde, Split Endz, The Angels, Skyhooks, The Black Sorrows, Mississippi (Little River Band), Paul Kelly, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Iggy Pop, Motorhead, Cold Chisel, The Church, UB40, Rodriguez, Rose Tattoo, Daryl Braithwaite, SuperJesus, Screaming Jets, Sammy Hagar, Midnight Oil, Glenn Shorrock, Jimmy Barnes, Hunters and Collectors, Frankie J Holden and Wilbur Wilde, Russell Morris, Ross Wilson, Mondo Rock, Crowded House, Masters Apprentices, Fraternity and many more! The newly renovated hotel has had a new lease of life, again hosting some of the nation’s greatest talent over the past couple of years.
The Bridgeway also is where Bon Scott first performed with AC/DC in 1974. You can’t get anymore iconic then that!