Mandy Rollins obituary

In The Sydney Morning Herald.

From the cutting room floor:

• Hellfire promoter Craig Donarski said: “Bears, dykes, fetish freaks, queers, misfits and weirdos – differences evaporate on a good dancefloor.”
• Mandy’s sister, Karen Munro, recalls:  “Mandy asked to borrow my collection of prized 12-inch singles, and they were returned plastered with large stickers where a local DJ had noted the beats per minute on each of them.”
• Jackie McMillan says: “Mandy was the sweetest woman I have ever met. We initially bonded over mutual respect and strong ethics, but it became something more. She became part of our Hellfire crew’s urban family – a family of choice. We would do anything for Mandy – she called us Mum and Dad. I do not anticipate anyone else ever calling me Mum, and I miss our kid so much. Mandy worked for us for over a decade, including at least eight years of Hellfire. We have over 150 posters with her name on them.”
• [The Barracks] She knew the right moment to drop in the perfect tune to create an intimate relationship between herself and the dancefloor. Fitzpatrick recalls: “So many times, men would come up to the DJ booth and ask: “How come the girls play the dirtiest music?’ It was simply a sound Mandy was passionate about.”
• In 2000, Rollins moved down the road to the Phoenix Bar where she held a Saturday night residency with Hardware and then Crash, teaming up with DJ Feisty in 2002.
• In 2006 Rollins started, with Fitzpatrick, a monthly club night called Dirty. Such was its success that in 2008 Rollins held the larger and bolder Extra Dirty three times a year in larger venues including Oxford Art Factory, The Gaff and QBar/34B/Spectrum and featuring big name international DJs.
• Rollins sometimes struggled with depression and she committed suicide on September 4 at The Gap at Watson’s Bay. A tribute held at Hellfire last month [Sept] raised more than $3000 for suicide prevention.
• Mandy is survived by her Hellfire family, mother, sister, and niece and nephew Demi and Luke. The Extra Dirty party at QBar on October 3 will be a tribute for Rollins and proceeds will go towards an education campaign for depression.