Pioneering Music Journalist and Author Ed Nimmervoll Passes
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Pioneering Music Journalist and Author Ed Nimmervoll Passes

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He was 67, and had been battling a brain tumour. After collapsing at the ARIA awards in Sydney last year, he had undergone surgery in December.

His daughter Amber posted he was surrounded by his family at his passing.

Nimmervoll was to have been inducted into The Age Music Victoria Hall of Fame on Wednesday November 19 alongside Daddy Cool, and also to be a speaker at Face The Music.

Migrating with his family from Austria at the age of 10, Nimmervoll was at university when he started collating the Top 40 charts for Go-Set, the first of the great Australian pop magazines. He also included chart trivia in his column, a fascination which he carried through his writings until the end.

He soon became the editor of Go-Set. In the late ‘60s when rock music became serious, and acts as Spectrum, Tully, Richard Clapton, Co.Caine, The Dingoes and Taman Shud began to define the uniquely Australian experience, Nimmervoll moved the paper’s format to a serious analysis of local music, which probably cost it some sales.

Nimmervoll was soft spoken, gentle, unassuming and with a sharp mind that put trends in the music industry into perspective like no other Australian writer.  He remained the rock media’s most ardent supporter of Australian music, not only of its artists but those in the music industry. He mentored many young journalists, including this writer, as well as photographers and designers. Managers and label executives said today he was one of the few in the local industry about whom no bad word was spoken.

In 1975 he founded Juke magazine, again with the aim of showcasing Australian music. After a series of run-ins with its owner, The Age, Nimmervoll stepped down from Juke a year later but continued to write a column for it.  He was a researcher for radio and TV show producer MCM Media and created Take 40 Australia and edited Australian rock history website HowlSpace.

Alarmed at how there seemed to be very little respect or archiving of early Australian music history, he put out a series of books. These included the day-to-day chronology Friday On My Mind, the ‘60s pop scene in The Emerging Years and authored the memoirs of Renee Geyer, Glenn Wheatley, Grinspoon, Slim Dusty and Normie Rowe.

Nimmervoll also co-wrote the track’Eureka’ on Russell Morris’ current album Van Diemen’s Land. Earlier he co-penned ‘Red Headed Wildflower’ from Little River Band’s Sleeper Catcher 1978 album.

On his Facebook page he wrote, “I’ve often described myself as the luckiest man in the world, a life spent doing what I love, surrounded by people I love