PLAYING THE POKIES IS LIKE BEING A JUNKIE.
-Christine Sams, The Sun-Herald, August 27, 2000, p 10.
Musician Tim Freedman has declared war on poker machines in NSW pubs after the death of a close friend with a gambling addiction.
The lead singer of the Whitlams has revealed the real-life heart ache behind his popular tune Blow Up the Pokies, after writing the song as a warning to two friends who were gambling in pubs.
In a tragic sequel to the success of the Whitlam's new single, one of Freedman's friends killed himself after being unable to admit his addiction to poker machines.
"I originally based the song on two friends addicted to pokies, one of whom eventually got help and went to a counsellor and is now cured," said Freedman.
"The other guy was never very open about the problem and though he worked a straight job during the week, on his way home to his wife and kid he'd put all his wages into the pokies. After the album was released, on the way home one day, he committed suicide."
It was a huge emotional shock for the singer, who found fame across Australia two years ago when his band scooped the ARIA music awards with their album Eternal Nightcap.
Freedman would not name his dead friend but said the suicide occurred in March, while the musician was on the way to Los Angeles to remix a version of Blow Up the Pokies.
When Freedman was writing the anti-gambling anthem for his new album Love this City, he never imagined his friend would die as a result of his addiction to poker machines.
"When I heard what had happened I was already on my way to remix the song in Los Angeles. It felt like I was on a mission. It certainly made the whole process more poignant," he said.
Five months later Freedman has compared poker machines to heroin - and he is calling on the NSW Government and publicans to stop taking advantage of people's lives.
Freedman said: "One thing I wanted to do with the song was to portray people who play these machines in a negative light, because it's like being a junkie. It is socially acceptable at the moment, but just as we exposed the myths with heroin, we need to expose the myths with pokies. I think the government is the major villain in this whole drama - because it's willing to prey on the weaknesses of it's own citizens to fill it's coffers. People need to understand the atrocious odds with pokies, they need to realise they can't win. It's a destructive pastime - it's not Space Invaders."