Helensburgh NSW 2508
Greedy Smith - The Bombie Bar, Coalcliff SLSC
Last updated 7 July 2026
Greedy Smith brought Live It Up to the Bombie Bar at Coalcliff Surf Life Saving Club on Saturday, 15 June 2013 — a rare northern Illawarra gig from one of Australia’s best-loved pop songwriters. The performance was captured on video by club captain Robert Deacon.
Greedy Smith (Andrew McArthur Smith, 1956–2019) was a founding member of Mental As Anything, writing and singing hits including Live It Up, Too Many Times, and You’re So Strong. He died in December 2019, aged 63. This recording preserves a small-town surf-club moment with a national music legend.
Quick facts
Greedy Smith
Andrew “Greedy” Smith joined Mental As Anything in 1977 as keyboardist, harmonicist, vocalist, and songwriter. His nickname came from eating fifteen pieces of chicken on stage one night. Beyond the band, he was an artist, television personality, and solo performer — inducted into the Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019, weeks before his death.
Live It Up became Mental As Anything’s signature song internationally, featured in the film Crocodile Dundee and still a staple of Australian radio. Hearing it acoustic at a surf club on the Illawarra escarpment is a long way from Countdown — and that was the charm of the Bombie Bar.
The Bombie Bar, Coalcliff SLSC
The Bombie Bar ran on the top deck of Coalcliff Surf Life Saving Club at the end of Bombora Way, overlooking the coast between Sea Cliff Bridge and Stanwell Park. Run as the club’s main fundraising activity, it was devoted to live music — no Keno, no pokies, no big-screen sport — and gave local and touring acts a stage with escarpment views.
Regular gigs at the surf club ended in 2016 after noise complaints and planning consent issues. The Bombie Bar has since continued as occasional pop-up events at venues across the northern Illawarra, with club volunteers still working to restore upstairs functions at Coalcliff SLSC.
Another Bombie Bar recording on Helensburgh.com.au: Rai Thistle Trio — February 2013.
Live performance — 15 June 2013
Greedy Smith — Live It Up at the Bombie Bar, Coalcliff SLSC. Video: Robert Deacon
Related pages
Sources: Robert Deacon (YouTube), Wikipedia — Greedy Smith, Illawarra Mercury (Bombie Bar history), Coalcliff SLSC.