The company originated after
Michael Chugg, a freelance tour co-ordinator with
Paul Dainty, visited the United Kingdom, when he was taken by
Kevin Borich to see a performance of
the Police in London. Upon return to Australia, Chugg was unable to convince Dainty to back a local national tour by the Police, which led to Chugg forming a partnership with
Michael Gudinski, his former boss at Consolidated Rock Agency. The Frontier Touring Company was founded in November 1979 by Gudinski, together with Chugg, Phil Jacobsen – a "financial expert and artist manager", When Wheatley and Wright wanted to concentrate on promoting
Little River Band in the United States, the other partners bought out their share. In the mid-1980s Williams left the company after falling out with Righi. Gudinski was the face of the Frontier Touring Company, due to his profile with his other business ventures; whilst Chugg was the company's general manager, and Jacobsen was the financial director. The first tour arranged by Frontier was the
UK Squeeze in January 1980, which was followed a month later by
The Police, the latter of which remain on Frontier's roster until this day. The next year Frontier arranged
Gary Numan's first Australian tour and a second tour by The Police. In October 1980, Chugg justified the promotion of overseas artists by his company when describing how "[i]t's given work to local bands who play the support spots, and also to rock-'n'-roll service industries who have become incredibly proficient in the last couple of years". In August 1981
Glenn A. Baker of
Billboard described how the company was "building fringe acts and bringing them up slowly". In 1999, after twenty-five years with the company, Chugg left Frontier and formed his own entertainment company the following year. In 2008 according to
Pollstar, the industry's trade publication, the Frontier Trading Company was listed as No. 1 Australasian Concert Promoter and at No. 15, internationally. Main event for Frontier Touring in 2009 was helping stage Australia's
Sound Relief event. In 2010, Frontier Touring celebrated its 500th tour with
Tom Jones. Frontier Touring also were responsible for the first show in a renewed Hanging Rock in Victoria's Macedon Ranges, the company has an exclusive license at the site until 2018. In 2011, Frontier released a comprehensive poster book,
Every Poster Tells a Story: 30 Years of the Frontier Touring Co. to commemorate the 30 years in operation. In 2013, they were ranked the 16th biggest music promotions company in the world, based on ticket sales, In March 2014, Frontier's Australian tour of The Rolling Stones was postponed due to the sudden death of Mick Jagger's partner. == References ==