The Enemy: Five Songs Live1978

The Enemy were one of the most influential New Zealand bands of the Punk era. They broke up before officially releasing anything. These songs were recorded at The Enemy’s final gig at the Windsor Castle pub in Auckland in 1978. We Are The Enemy and Iggy Told Me were crowd favourites. Don’t Catch Fire reappeared on Toy Love’s only album. Tease was later transformed by Toy Love into Squeeze. A point of interest here is Chris Knox’s fake British accent. Three members Alec Bathgate, Mike Dooley and Chris Knox went on to formed Toy Love after The Enemy’s demise.

The five songs in the zip are

1. We Are The Enemy
2. Iggy Told Me
3. Tease

4. Don’t Catch Fire
5. Gone To The Worms

Chris Knox                Vocals
Mick Dawson               Bass
Alec Bathgate            Guitar
Mike Dooley              Drums

We Are The Enemy.mp3
Five Songs From Live At The Windsor Castle 1978

Spider: Concorde 1998

Spider was a late 90s Auckland band formed by Dave Mulcahy (JPS Experience, Superette), it also featured his flatmates at the time Big Ross (Bird Nest Roys, The Tufnells) and Steve Gilbert (The Tufnells).  Originally a 3-piece they soon grew to a quartet with the addition of Mark Anderson (Gaunt Pudding) on bass.  These 3 songs were recorded in a woolshed in South Auckland by Matthew Heine and released as a single in 1998.  The band changed their name to Raygun as Anderson left to join Sleepers Union and was replaced by Matthew Heine, the band split up in 2006 when Mulcahy made a permanent move back to his hometown of Christchurch.

Mulcahy currently releases music under the moniker Mulchzoid and plays in Christchurch band Sexy Animals as well as occasional recordings with ex-Spider drummer Steve Gilberd as 'Snakedog'.

Dave Mulcahy       Vocals, Guitar
Ross Williams        Guitar Vocals
Mark Anderson                    Bass
Steve Gilberd                    Drums

Concorde.mp3
Summerlite.mp3
Halo.mp3

The Sundowners: Baby Jane 1963

Teddy Toi, Bob Wynyard, Trixie Willoughby, Sonny Day, Lloyd Tangaio and Max Purdy

The Sundowners were formed in the late 1950’s in Auckland, New Zealand.  Originally called Sonny Day and the Sharks. They played a form of Rock and Roll that had yet to be influenced by The Beatles. They recorded three singles and an EP for local label Viking Records before signing to another Auckland label Zodiac Records in 1963. Released in the same year, Baby Jane was their second single for Zodiac. They release three more singles, one under name of Dave Henry and the Sundowners, before folding in 1964. They never recording an album. The song Baby Jane was also recorded by The Applejacks  a year after the Sundowners. The B-Side was a cover of the Little Richard’s gem Keep A Knockin’.

Produced by Dave Dunningham

Sonny Day                                  Guitar
Bob Wynyard                              Guitar
Teddy Toi                                      Bass
Max Purdy                                   Piano
Lloyd Tangaio                     Saxophone
Graeme 'Trixie' Willoughby        Drums

Baby Jane.mp3

Keep A Knockin'.mp3

Greg Fleming & The Trains: Codine Road 1994

Singer songwriter Greg Fleming hails from Auckland, New Zealand.  His backing band The Trains has included an ever-changing line up of impressive musicians. Among them Mark Petersen (Jan Hellriegel, Straitjacket Fits, Cabbage Bomber), Nick Kreisler (the Pet Rocks), John Segovia (Shaft, The Axlegrinders, Boxcar Guitars, Don McGlashan & The Seven Sisters),  Andrew B. White (Bic Runga, Donald Reid, Damien Binder) Dom Blaazer (SJD, The HitList, Don McGlashan & The Seven Sisters), Ricky McShane (Chainsaw Masochist, White Swan Black Swan),  and Cameron Miller (Mike Scott).
In 1993 he released his debut album Ghost Are White. A year later a track from that album, Codeine Road was remixed by Anthony Ioasa and released as a single on Lost Records. The B-Side was All The Time In The World and First Waltz. All songs were written by Greg Fleming.

 

 Produced by Anthony Ioasa

Greg Fleming      Vocals/Guitar
John Segovia                  Guitar
Cameron Miller                Bass
Rick McShane               Drums
Jono Lonie       Violin/Mandolin

Codeine Road.mp3

or the whole EP as a Zip

Codeine Road EP.zip

Roger Sings The Hits: Part 1 1991

First thing, these songs are owned by Flying Nun Records. They are posted here so people can hear them, as they are very rare and currently unavailable. They are for personal listening only.

On the 20th September 1991 Flying Nun Records had organized a gig at Auckland’s Power Station to celebrate their tenth anniversary. Someone came up with the idea to get some of the bands involved in the gig to record songs from other Flying Nun bands, put them on a cassette and sell them at the concert. So the night before the gig, six bands went into Incubator Studios and recorded and mixed six songs. 500 copies of the cassette were sold the next night. As far as I am aware, none of the tracks have ever been issued on CD.

Here’s Jean Paul Sartre Experience covering Fetus Productions’ What's Going On, Straitjacket Fits doing Jean Paul Sartre Experience’s  Flex and The Bats doing Look Blue Go Purple‘s I Don't Want You Anyway.

Roger Sings The Hits 01

Chant R&B: I 'm Your Witchdoctor 1966

 

Chant R&B were formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1964. That same year they won a Battle Of The Bands contest at Addington Showgrounds. Their prize was time in a recording studio. They rarely played outside of Christchurch.  Only releasing two singles before moving to Australia and disbanding in 1967. I 'm Your Witchdoctor was their second single, like their first (I've Been Loving You Too Long) it was a cover.  It was written by John Mayal. At the time Witchdoctor was recorded the band included Australian Max Croke, who it turned out was really named Max Kelly and was a deserter from the Australian Air Force.

 

Produced by James Tomlin

Trevor Courtney                Drums
Michael Rudd         Guitar/Vocals
Martin Forrer                        Bass
Max Kelly                           Guitar

I 'm Your Witchdoctor

Neighbour Neighbour

Russ Le Roq: Never Let You Slide / Shattered Glass 1983

In 1982 future Academy Award winner actor Russel Crowe was a young and ambitious eighteen year old living in Hillsborough, Auckland, New Zealand. At the time his cousins, Martin and Jeff Crowe, were playing International Cricket for New Zealand. After being labelled "the singing cousin of the cricketing Crowes' " more than once he changed his name to Russ Le Roq.  This is his third single, like the previous two it was released on Ode Records. Never Let You Slide and the B-Side St. Kilda were written by Crowe. Fire is a Pointer Sisters (Bruce Springsteen) cover.  Unfortunately it failed to chart like its predecessors. For the next single (Shattered Glass) he changed to a more Synth-Pop sound. It failed too. It was released on CBS(New Zealand). I did not include the B-slide to Shattered Glass because it is a dub version of the A-Side.

From the back cover of Never Let You Slide

Never Let You Slide personal

Produced by  Graeme Mhyre

Russ Le Roq    Guitar/Vocals
Ken Chung                  Drums
Graham Silcock           Guitar
Pat Roxburgh                Bass

Shattered Glass Personal

Produced by Trevor Reekie

Russ Le Roq                Vocals
Graham Silcock            Guitar
Pat Roxburgh                 Bass
Steve Edger                 Drums
John Cooper                TS808
Rohan Hunt                  Synth

***Warning recorded from vinyl surface noise.***

Never Let You Slide

Fire

St. Kilda

Shattered Glass

Or the whole lot as a .zip

Russ Le Roq 

Poster For Mr. Lee Grant's Farewell Concert 1968

Mr Lee Grant was a huge Pop star in New Zealand in the mid 1960’s. His real name was Bogdan Kominowski. He was born to Polish parents in a Nazi concentration camp just outside Dusseldorf. Sadly, his father didn’t survive the war. Bogdan and his mother emigrated to Palmerston North, New Zealand in 1949. Using the stage name Mr Lee Grant he had six New Zealand top ten singles including three number ones. In 1968 at the hight of his popularity he decided to leave New Zealand and try his luck in Britain. This poster is from his farewell concert. In Britain his pop star career ended quickly. He ended up moving into musical theatre. He did have a small part in the James Bond film "A View To A Kill". In which he played a Russian. 

Pipp / The Fourmyula: Otaki 1970

Formed in Wellington’s Hutt Valley in 1967 The Fourmyula were one of New Zealand’s most successful bands. Ten of their fourteen singles reached the New Zealand Top 20. In 1969 at least one Fourmyula song was in the New Zealand chants every week of that year. Otaki was the last Fourmyula single to chart. It, and the B-Side Which Way Did She Go were written by Wayne Mason. To avoid confusion with a similar named British band The New Formula. They to released Otaki under the band name Pipp (a Danish word meaning 'mad') everywhere in the world bar New Zealand. Released on HMV Records in New Zealand, Decca Records in the UK/Europe and London Records in the U.S.A. Otaki is a town in the southern part of the North Island of New Zealand. Just up the Kapiti Coast from Wellington.

Produced by Chris Andrews

Martin Hope                     Guitar Vocals
Wayne Mason    Guitar / Organ / Vocals
Ali Richardson                 Bass / Vocals
Chris Parry                                 Drums

Otaki

Which Way Did She Go

The Bach: I Can Tell You That 2011

The Bach are an alternative pop band from Auckland, New Zealand. The band members are unknown. This is their second single. It was recorded at Gettoe Studios and produced by Karl Tchernegovski. It was released on Double Mono Records.  The B-Side is Public Domain.

I Can Tell You That
Public Domain

West Auckland Punk Gig Poster 2 1983

 

Firstly, sorry about the poor quality of the poster. It’s a scan of a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy. Not many of these West Auckland gig posters survived. This one is from 1983. No Tag were just about to release their album. The Plunket Boys had become Vicious Circle on their way to becoming The Warners.  Zyklon-B contained members of The Mormons and Agent Orange (the Mt Roskill Punk band not U.S. one).

Here’s three songs by bands who played at this gig.

The Henchmen - Bitch Goddess

Zyklon-B - Youth On Our Side

No Tag - Mistaken Identity

Or all of them as a .zip

West Auckland Punk Gig Poster

Four Fours: One Track Mind 1967

Four Fours were formed in Tauranga, New Zealand in 1958. Guitarist Dave Hartstone was a former Police cadet. They developed a large following around the Bay of Plenty area. Before achieving national success. Maurice Greer replaced original drummer Trevor Spitz in 1966. Greer was known for singing while playing the drums standing up. Their set list was a combination of originals and covers, as is this record. One Track Mind was written by the band and was their twelve and last single (They never recorded an album). The B-Side is Hawaii a Beach Boys cover. By the time this single was released in early 1967 the Four Fours had already moved on. They were on a boat going to Brittain and had changed their name to Human Instinct. Soon their whole sound and look would also change after seeing Cream and Jimi Hendrix in London.

Bill Ward                           Guitar
Dave Hartstone                 Guitar
Frank Hay                           Bass
Maurice Greer      Vocals/Drums

***Warning recorded from vinyl. Some Surface Noise***
One Track Mind
Hawaii

Gaunt Pudding: Karangahape 1997

This is Lo-fi Sloppy Pop from Auckland, New Zealand’s Gaunt Pudding. Who along with bands like Cane Slide and O were part of Auckland’s mid 1990’s DIY alternative Pop scene. Recorded in their practice room on an analogy 4-track cassette recorder. Released in 1997 on Icing Records.  All songs were written by the band. Karangahape is about an infamous road in Auckland New Zealand. Gaunt Pudding also contributed one track (Corners Of My Mind) to the 1997 Earwig Studio compilation Earwig and Stinkbug.

Lisa Gordon                          Guitar
Craig Van Kan                     Drums
Karl Tchernegovski   Vocals/Guitar
Mark Anderson                       Bass

Karangahape
D*A*C*C*
Phillippe

Ainsworths / Regulators: Double B-Side 1980

 

Both the Ainsworths and Regulators were part of the late 1970’s early 80’s Pop/Mod scene based in Auckland New Zealand’s North Shore.  Other bands included Screaming Meemees, The Killjoys and Rebel Truce. In 1980 the two bands self-released a split sided 7 inch with Ainsworths’ Coin on one side and Regulators’ Neat Boy on the other. It was to be the only release for the Regulators.  However, Ainsworth also contributed a track (Danger man) to the compilation Class Of ’81.

Ainsworths

Ainsworths – Coin

Producer – Steve Kennedy

Rowan Sheddon       Guitar
Hillary Hunt              Vocals
Adam Holt                   Bass
Phil                           Drums

Regulators – Neat Boy

Producer – Doug Rogers

Andrew Boak                  Guitar/Vocals
Geoff Hayden                              Bass
Richard Foulkes                        Drums

***Recorded from vinyl. Some Surface Noise.***

Ainsworths - Coin

Regulators - Neat Boy

House Of Nimrod: Slightly-Delic 1967

When Auckland, New Zealand’s House of Nimrod released Slightly-Delic in October 1967 they had only been together for a couple of weeks. They only really knew two songs, Slightly-Delic and the B-Side Reflections Of Our Time. The single was a hit in Auckland. So the band got a set together and hit the road. The following year they released their second and final single Psychothartic. The band fell apart shortly after it was released. Both Slightly-Delic and Reflections Of Our Time were written by Bryce Peterson.

Producer  Bruce Barton

Bryce Peterson          Guitar / Vocals
Tony Pilcher                    Lead Guitar
John Breslin                             Guitar
Billy Lawton                            Drums
Larry Latimer                Bass / Vocals

***Warning recorded off of vinyl, surface noise and some clicks.***       
Slightly-Delic 
Reflections Of Our Time
 

Joe 90: Walls Surrounding Me 1987

 

Another obscure one. Joe 90 were a band from Hamilton, New Zealand. In 1987 it was a city better known for its Hard Rock and Metal bands. But Joe 90 had a synthesizer in their line up and they played Pop music. Walls Surrounding Me was not an independent release it came out on EMI. Who in the late 80’s did not spend money on local bands lightly. It failed to chart and was their sole release. Both Walls Surrounding Me and Imperial Measures were written by vocalist Darryl Monteith.

Produced By Mike & Phil Whitehead

Darryl Monteith        Vocals/Guitar

Shaun Joyce      Keyboard/Vocals

Kevin Webb                          Bass

Chris Oaks                           Drum

***Warning recorded off of vinyl. Surface Noise***

Walls Surrounding Me

Imperial Measures

West Auckland Punk Gig Poster 1982

This is a gig poster for a local Punk dance in Auckland New Zealand from 1982. No Tag, The Mormons, The Plunket Boys and Red Cross were  cornerstone bands of the early 1980’s West Auckland hall punk scene. They played self-organised gigs in hired West Auckland halls. The gigs were promoted by world of mouth and self-designed photocopied posters like this one. The Plunket Boys put this gig (and therefore this poster) together. It was closed down early by the Police like many were. The reason the Queen says there are four bands playing but there are five on the poster, is because No Tag were added at the last minute.

Cabbage Bomber: Two Songs 1997

After spending some time in Germany following the demise of The Straitjacket Fits in 1994. Guitarist Mark Petersen return to New Zealand in 1996 and formed the Cabbage Bomber. It was to be the vehicle to perform the songs Petersen had written in the last few years. Which were well crafted Power Pop gems. The ever-prolific Petersen was soon playing in Auckland band Shaft as well. In fact, apart from Cabbage Bomber, Shaft and the Straitjacket Fits he has play in Jan Hellriegal’s Band, Greg Fleming & The Trains, Cane Slide, Working With Walt, Swamp, The Beads, Meatboy,  Mellon Farmer, Lozenge and still more.

The first song, I Done Stuff is from the 1997 Wrong Records compilation Dollar Mixture. Its a song about how one minute you’re touring the world in a band, next you’re living in a Grey Lynn flat on the dole. A common story for kiwi musicians. The second song Never Gonna…hmm is from the 1997 album they shared with Cane Slide; Sloppy Pop Wars. Both songs were recorded on lo-fi four track.

Produced by Mark Petersen

Mark Petersen             Vocals, Guitars
                                   Melodica, Synth
Mario Posa                                  Bass
Andrew Moore                          Drums

I Done Stuff

Never Gonna...hmm

The Steroids: Mr. Average 1980

This is the debut single of Wellington, New Zealand’s The Steroids. Released in 1980 on  their own White Light Records. It is also the debut recording of Alan Jansson. Who, two years after playing guitar on this record was ‘Pulsing’ all over the radio with his new band The Body Electric. In 1995, he scored a worldwide hit as the producer and co-writer of OMC’s multi-million selling How Bizarre. But this is a great example of an early self-released New Zealand punk record.

Produced by P. Blake

Alan Jimson (Jansson)   Guitar
Andrew Dray                    Bass
Robbie Holmes              Drums

Art work by Claudie

***Warning recorded from vinyl. Surface Noise***

Mr. Average

Out Of Control

Flying Nun Records 1987 Catalogue

This is not a photocopy of the 1987 Flying Nun catalogue. The 1987 Flying Nun catalogue was a  photocopied double sided A4 folding in half. You could still buy copies of The Clean's Tally Ho wholesale for $2.30 plus GST (a sales tax. In 1987 it was 10%). Some of these records now go for over a hundred times the then listed prices.