If you grew up on the North Shore, chances are you would have spent at least one late night belting your heart out to John Watson at the iconic Minskys Hotel.
Known as the last place to stop by on your way home, John Watson aka ‘The Piano Man’ would be there, ready to keep the night going into the early hours of the morning.
With a vast collection of songs, a charismatic demeanor, and the impressive ability to read a crowd, John and his piano bar became a staple of Sydney’s nightlife.
“So many people have these amazing
stories that make me feel so special,
whether it was a story of them falling in
love listening to me play, or simply just a
personal connection they had to me on
a particular night, it all means something
to me,” John says.
“People would come up to me often
to request a song, and I could already
tell what they were going to say. It’s
about trying to read the room and
understand what they want to hear.”
John tells North Shore Living that
it was the people that frequented the Cremorne watering hole that shaped
the name behind the venue.
“Minskys is such a special place for so
many people, everyone that went there
was there to have a good time, and I just
happened to be the person facilitating it
all. It was a perfect marriage,” he says.
Humble to say the least, it is
undeniable that John was a key figure
that made Minskys such an iconic venue.
But the North Shore icon never realised he was going to end up playing
at a piano bar.
“I got a call from a guy one day saying
they had a position open for a solo
pianist at a new cocktail bar,” John
recalls.
At the time, he was a part of harmony
band with his brothers and wife and had
never played solo.
“Its not the sort of thing I would have
ever gone after. I called back and what
do you know, 37 years later I finished up
in 2020. Life just sort of put me there.”
“But the glory days have certainly well
and truly gone. It was great fun when it
lasted, but things have changed,” he says.
Last month, the famed late-night drinking spot was sold by previous
owners Redcape for $39 million to pub
and retail investors, the Karellas family.
It is the first time in two decades the
popular pub, with its 4am licence, was
offered for sale.
But more importantly, is the famed
Piano Man still there?
Sadly, after 37 years John is no
longer playing at Minskys. Like many
musicians, restrictions during the
pandemic forced him in and out of
hibernation over the last two years.
However, with the world returning to
normal, John has moved on to bigger
and better things, now playing his own
shows around Sydney and the country.
“I never really wanted to stay at Minskys
until I was forgetting the words. I always
thought if I stayed there that long it would
start to get a bit sad,” he chuckles.
So, the legend of the Piano Man lives
on, just in a different setting this time.
If you would like to catch John again, he will be playing a floorshow at Norths Club Cammeray on Friday 19 August.