Heroes play their final gig on 40th anniversary of the Star Hotel riot

"It's lovely we're all here, as a matter of fact!"

Forty years since Heroes played at the iconic Star Hotel on the night of the riot, rocking their way into history, the four members of the acclaimed Newcastle band have played their last ever gig.

The crowd had come from the past. And they had come from near and far.

"It's nostalgia. To see the band again, and to feel young again," said Janelle Spurr, of Edgeworth, who was accompanied by husband Mark.

"Where has the time gone?," asked Jenny Gilroy, who had travelled from Queensland for the show.

In the 1970s, Ms Gilroy had worked behind the bar at the Star, so she regularly saw Heroes play.

"Heroes were the biggest band in Newcastle," she said.

Musician Greg Bryce performed with his band Meccalissa at the Star on its final day in 1979. For old time's sake, he was the support act on Thursday night.

When he asked the crowd if anyone was at the Star on "riot night", the cheers were surprisingly sporadic.

Gary Dempsey was here to make up for missed experiences. A Star regular, he wasn't there on that night.

"I thought I'd really missed the bus, but I'm here to make up for lost time," he said.

Heroes' guitarist Mark Tinson recognised a few familiar faces in the crowd.

"I've seen people who were actually arrested and charged," he said.

One who was there in 1979 was Heroes' sound engineer, Gary Pomfrett, who had to move the band's PA system out of the pub in the midst of the riot.

"The most remarkable thing was the [thrown] beer cans," he said. "Imagine the loudest hail storm you've ever heard; it was the cans."

Forty years on, there was no repeating of history.

Instead of having beer cans in their hands, audience members clasped glasses of wine, and rather than fists raised in the air, there were mobile cameras, especially during the song synonymous with the riot, The Star and the Slaughter.

What's more, the audience was seated this time, which was markedly different to the back bar at the Star.

"There was nowhere to sit," recalled Heroes' bassist Jim Porteus.

The riot thrust national notoriety on Heroes, and they secured a recording contract. Kim Thraves, the producer of the band's first album, travelled from the Southern Highlands to be at Heroes' final gig. Although he hoped they would play on.

"The [Rolling] Stones are still playing," he reasoned. '"It can't be the last time!"

"They might be like John Farnham, they might come back," said audience member Steve Clarke.

Pete de Jong said before the show he had "made peace" with the thought of the band finishing on the 40^th anniversary of the riot.

But drummer Phil Screen left open the possibility of another gig.

"Never say never," Screen said. "Let's see if we can make it to the 50^th!"