From Led Zeppelin to Powderfinger, The Drive has long been a spiritual home for live music in Adelaide - and now it's back in a big way.

Queens Of The Stone Age live at The Drive on February 13. The US rockers were the first of three big shows scheduled for revamped venue.

Speak to any South Australian live music fan of a certain age and they'll have a story about a concert at Memorial Drive.

From two nights of rioting at the Rolling Stones in 1973 to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers opening for Bob Dylan in 1986 to Powderfinger's farewell to their fans in 2010, The Drive is something of an institution.

And now it's back, with US rockers Queens of the Stone Age kicking off a new era of live music at The Drive - as it's now officially known - on February 13, the incomparable Sir Tom Jones performing in March and a double-header featuring nineties legends Live and Incubus in April.

Tennis SA CEO Debbie Sterrey said The Drive had "a proud history in the South Australian events landscape".

"When we started the redevelopments, our vision was to see not only sporting and community events return to the venue, but also entertainment and concerts," Ms Sterrey said.

“Many South Australians will remember attending concerts at The Drive back in the day.

The newly redeveloped venue (pictured above), aligned with our partnership with Ticketmaster, holds us in a great position to ensure that a diverse range of events, including concerts, can be showcased at The Drive for many years to come."

Ms Sterrey said bringing live music back to The Drive was an important step in making sure big acts include SA on their tour itineraries.

"To have three concerts in the first four months of this year is an exciting start, and a way to further showcase South Australia as a destination not just for the live acts coming back to perform, but for interstate travellers heading here to see these shows," she said.

"It is something both ourselves and the Government of South Australia had at the forefront of our minds when delivering this redevelopment.

“An additional live music venue also provides further opportunities for local artists to be involved and showcase their talent.”

The three-stage redevelopment of The Drive commenced in 2018 with the upgrade of the outside courts. The roof over Centre Court was constructed in 2019 ahead of the return of the Adelaide International.

The final stage of the redevelopment saw the construction of new northern and eastern facilities. This stage consisted of two parts from February 2021 to April 2023, with the venue taken out of construction mode to host the Adelaide International before returning to construction mode for completion ahead of the Adelaide International in 2023.

So, with that in mind, we thought we should take a look back at some of the greatest live moments at The Drive.

FEBRUARY 19, 1972
LED ZEPPELIN

The English rockers were at the peak of their powers in 1972, thrilling the Memorial Drive crowd with a set that included Immigrant Song, Stairway to Heaven, Going to California and Whole Lotta Love – songs that have gone on to become staples of popular music.

It almost didn’t happen though, with unseasonably soggy February weather causing stage and equipment issues which saw the concert postponed by a night.

All’s well that ends well though, with the reviewer from The Advertiser claiming, “The controlled violence with which the UK group produced many of its sounds, hurled out of two giant banks of speakers at the 8000-strong crowd, has never been seen here”.

FEBRUARY 20 and 21, 1973
THE ROLLING STONES

The Rolling Stones thrived on their bad boy image, but it was their fans who caused trouble when the English rockers arrived in Adelaide for two nights at The Drive in 1973.

The venue, quite naturally, sold out for both nights and crowds gathered on the banks of the Torrens to lap up a set which included Brown Sugar, Gimme Shelter, Honky Tonk Woman and Street Fighting Man.

Perhaps it was this last track that provided the inspiration for two nights of rioting which saw dozens of young fans arrested after police were showered with everything from bottles to eggs.

FEBRUARY 17, 1981
AC/DC

After the tragic loss of enigmatic frontman Bon Scott just one year earlier, AC/DC was back with a new singer in Brian Johnson and a new record called Back In Black that was setting the world on fire. Adelaide plays an important role in the AC/DC story. It was in the City of Churches that the band recruited Scott, who had been the frontman in Fraternity, and it seemed like the whole town had turned up to witness this new lineup in full force.

John Hage, of Nuriootpa, wrote on an AC/DC fan site: “Myself and a mate took a sicky from work and took the train from Gawler to Adelaide to see AC/DC at memorial drive. Went to work next day and the boss said, 'Did you enjoy the concert?'. He was in the grandstand!”

OCTOBER 27 and 28, 1989
U2

Supported by blues legend BB King (pictured above with Bono) and Aussie folk rockers Weddings Parties Anything, Irish legends U2 rattled Memorial Drive over two memorable nights in October 1989.

Opening with Where the Streets Have No Name, Bono and his band tore through a list of songs that epitomised all that was good about 1980s rock, including I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Pride (In The Name of Love), Angel of Harlem and With or Without You.

Bono, recovering from throat problems that saw the Sydney leg of the tour postponed, at one stage excitedly exclaimed, “I can sing!” to the adoring crowd.

APRIL 4, 1990
FLEETWOOD MAC

Any show that starts off with The Chain is probably going to be a good show.

And it just got better from there, with Dreams, Rhiannon, Gold Dust Woman, Go Your Own Way, Don’t Stop and Songbird just some of the highlights from the British-American outfit that wrote some of the most beloved pop songs of all time.

The Behind The Mask tour was the last tour to feature Rick Vito, the guitarist who had stepped in for Lindsey Buckingham.

OCTOBER 30, 2010
POWDERFINGER

Perhaps the biggest band in Australia at the time, Powderfinger’s blend of grunge-lite and earnest songwriting made them a favourite of both alternative and mainstream rock fans.

It was a brave move, perhaps, to shut the whole show down in 2010 and finish on a high.

Memorial Drive was the venue chosen for the Adelaide leg of The Sunsets tour, and it was an inspired choice – big enough to feel like a major event and intimate enough to feel the genuine emotion emanating from the crowd.

There’s no Aussie rock singalong as good as one that includes the likes of Sunsets, My Happiness, Pick You Up and These Days. A fitting farewell.

Article first appeared in WeAreSA on 13 February 2024.