Flying Nun Moments

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  • Simon Grigg,

    And the Bongos 7".

    that was Propeller, I was really proud of that one but it only sold about 150 copies (great reviews though)....its just gone on to Amplifier as an MP3. The other great lost Ripper release was the Techtones home made album, TT23. And the last Ripper, The Spines 12".

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Kerr,

    The Bongos are great - love that song "Falling"...

    Perhaps a NZ post punk comp is in order? Combining best of Propellor and Ripper. Naked Spots Dance, Shoes This High etc

    From memory my Doobie Doo Disc has got Brithday Party on it - does that make it the Aussie edition??

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 9 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    No, NZ..the Australian had Bongos, Dabs, No Tag, Blams, Meemees and (I think) Newmatics

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Kerr,

    that was Propeller, I was really proud of that one but it only sold about 150 copies (great reviews though)....its just gone on to Amplifier as an MP3.

    I guess online MP3 sales is the sensible format to re-release old tracks that are to all intents and purposes owned by the artists. But a nicely packaged CD with booklet etc is so much cooler...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 9 posts Report Reply

  • bob daktari,

    ahhh...but the NZ or the Australian edition?? They are quite different.

    NZ one :) Got Goats Milk Soupmas well, but already had a copy so not as exciting

    seen this before Simon?

    http://home.comcast.net/~cassetto/propeller.html

    sorry back to the Nun...

    Friday Drinks the old phone message compilation tapes were sometimes pulled out for a listen, the Robert Paul from Sony Music USA were hilarious (mentioned in the sets booklet) as was the Captain Sensible message looking for looney Tours - who shared a office with the Nun once...

    simple times

    auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 540 posts Report Reply

  • Rob Hosking,

    Waring does Lennon, yeah well...

    A National MP does a single, one side of which is 'Working Class Hero' and the other was "Couldn't Get it Right'. Do you think she was trying to tell them something?

    I remember it well, I think I may have even owned it at one point. It had a certain novelty value, but then, so did those "my plants are this high" Hitler T shirts...

    I've often thought someone should put a lot of those old compilations onto CD. 'Goats Milk Soap' which someone mentioned, was pretty much the best one, but there was a lot of obscure tracks on the 'Hits and Myths' series as well (especially Vols 2 & 3). And some later ones, like 'Banana Dominion'...

    South Roseneath • Since Nov 2006 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    I've often thought someone should put a lot of those old compilations onto CD.

    I've thought about it now and then. We put Bigger Than Both of Us on CD a couple of years back, and of course we did AK79 a few years back.

    The one that gets the most requests by a country mile is Class of 81, mostly from Germans and the like.

    Maybe one day...

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    The other scene that needs documenting is the eighties post punk electronic one. Andrew White, Tevor Reekie and myself all talked about it at some stage, going as far as doing a track listing.

    As Bob Dakatari so correctly points out on his blog, there were countless other indie lables and scenes going on at the same time as FN throughout the eighties, they just didn't have the same profile. And its easier for the media to get all misty eyed about FN than look a little deeper. Trevor Reekie was doing some incredible stuff throughout the decade..his Obscure Desire single sounds, if you remaster and trim the vocal, as if it could've been released in Europe in 2006. The Car Crash Set tracks are incredible, easily the most revolutionary stuff being produced in AK in the mid eighties. Then there were labels like Unsung, Walking Monk (cassette only).

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Rob Stowell,

    True- the Wellington scene was also pretty cool in '81- bands as divers as the Hulamen, Body Electric and Riot 111 were all putting out vinyl.

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Kerr,

    The other scene that needs documenting is the eighties post punk electronic one. Andrew White, Tevor Reekie and myself all talked about it at some stage, going as far as doing a track listing.

    I'd definitely like to see the tracklisting if poss?

    As Bob Dakatari so correctly points out on his blog, there were countless other indie lables and scenes going on at the same time as FN throughout the eighties, they just didn't have the same profile. And its easier for the media to get all misty eyed about FN than look a little deeper.

    Amen

    Yeah Car Crash Set are great. At least Danse Macabre got reissued by a major recently. I thought that might trigger a little spate of CDs in light of current renaissance of postpunk and electro. But maybe its just 'too obscure', as Graeme Downes might say.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 9 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Kerr,

    Trevor Reekie was doing some incredible stuff throughout the decade..his Obscure Desire single sounds, if you remaster and trim the vocal, as if it could've been released in Europe in 2006.

    Heh heh!

    Which reminds me - why has noone produced a new school production or re-edit of Sierra Leone?? That would be HUGE.

    So far off topic. Sorry.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 9 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    The other scene that needs documenting is the eighties post punk electronic one. Andrew White, Tevor Reekie and myself all talked about it at some stage, going as far as doing a track listing.

    And a remix disc!? I do think a lot of that stuff would be well served by maybe polishing up some of the sounds and backing off some of the vocals. Especially the Body Electric - their recordings sound amazing, but they're a bit spoiled by the rather dated vocals.

    But I recall you once saying, Simon, that Alan Janssen wasn't interested in a remix project?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Which reminds me - why has noone produced a new school production or re-edit of Sierra Leone?? That would be HUGE.

    So far off topic. Sorry.

    Yes, I'm afraid it is, and you'll have to leave. These two large men will see you to the door ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Yule Guttenbeil,

    My best Flying Nun moment lasted about 3 years while I was knocking around the music scene in Dunedin. Being a fledgling musician playing around town there never seemed to be a shortage of legends from the label floating around to have a chat with and glean a bit of earthy advice from. It was always encouraging to see that you can enjoy longevity in the industry without having to compromise on your vision.
    I know a few will be reading this forum so: Thanks.

    High points included being asked to play with the Chills by Martin Phillipps, Having an awesome drunken chat with Simon McLaren and the Straightjacket Fits reunion tour at Sammy's. Phwoar!!

    Auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 3 posts Report Reply

  • stephen walker,

    one of the best FN gigs was my first...

    7th form. April 1984, and a strange-looking new guy who had just shifted up from CHC was in my economics class. i thought i knew quite a bit about post-punk music, but his perspective was quite different and he swore by all these South Island bands i'd only just started to hear on Radio b (sorry kids, bfm was still several months away from being born).

    so he said, "are you up for the gig on the weekend?" i said "sure". so off we went to Mainstreet for an all-day, all ages gig (it might have been Easter Monday, can't remember). i'd been going to all-age gigs at Mainstreet since 1980, but this was frigging unbelievable. The Doublehappies were on a new level of raw power.

    And this incarnation of the Chills was one of the coolest, the "Lost ep" line-up before Martin Kean left. When they played "Hidden Bay" he and MP swapped guitar and bass. It was blistering. I was totally converted to the Dunedin sound that day.

    Other memorable moments:
    - orientation 1985 AU caf: Chills, Verlaines, et al. a standout gig i'll never forget.
    - many, many Loony Tours gigs at the Windsor Castle in 1985 especially. LBGP, Sneaky Feelings, Tall Dwarfs, Verlaines, Bats....thanks Uncle Doug!
    - favourite FN album: Send You (Sneaky Feelings)
    - many, many Headless Chickens gigs over about ten years c85-95
    - getting caught trying to bring my walkman professional into a FN gig at the Power Station in 1987. Bouncers said to come with them, oh shit! Taken back stage to promise to send a copy of the tape to the bands and not to sell it as a bootleg, "oh, and while you're here lads, have a toke". heh.

    nagano • Since Nov 2006 • 646 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Raby,

    Holy shit, so many moments.

    The Clean and The Chills at the Rhumba bar in Victoria St ('81, 82?), everybody jumping so hard in unison the wooden floor was acting like a trampoline. I thought the building was going to pancake. The crowd a solid steaming heaving screaming clusterfuck.

    Toy Love supporting Hello Sailor at an Ak Uni cafe gig in '79; all the students were standing open mouthed on the edges of the dance floor and no-one knew what was going on. Chris Knox had scampered up the PA and was singing hanging upsidedown from the lighting grid 15-20 ft off the floor. The only people dancing were a dwarf and a beautiful blonde girl. The whole scene was surreal. I think the dwarf might have been Richard Von Sturmer.

    Auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 1 posts Report Reply

  • Grant McDougall,

    Oh boy, where do I start...growing up in Gisborne in the early '80s, my first live exposure to Flying Nun, was, alarmingly, Marching Orders.
    Oh, the ignominy...things could only get better...
    Anyway, a few years later, '87 or so, I was throwing a sickie from work to bunk off to Auckland or Wellington to see The Chills at The Powerstation or The Verlaines at the Cricketers Arms.

    In Oct '87 I was in Hamilton to see Straitjacket Fits (Adult Mayflies, featuring ex-Stone Graeme Anderson, supported). I interviewed them for my fanzine (God, there's an antiquated term / concept in the digital age).

    I was expecting Shayne Carter to be as per his reputation: belligerent, sarcastic and a general grump. But he was surprisingly decent.
    They played a great gig - to about only 30 people, as the Hillcrest had forgotten to put up the promo posters around town.
    It was after the gig that Carter wore his Mr Grumpy hat and really gave the Hilly's manager a piece of his mind. I taped the interview, the gig, I wish I'd taped that, too...

    By the late '80s I was in Dunedin. In early '89 I went to a party at Alastair Galbraith's warehouse in Stafford St. Check out the line-up: the 3ds (their second-ever gig), Dead C and Plagal Grind.
    Anyway, there was umpteen gallons of David Mitchell's homebrew free to all. So I ripped into it. There were these funny-looking yellow things floating in the mixture and under the impression they were "Cheese Balls" chips I munched about 14 of them. Boy, was I paralytic.

    A week or so later I bumped into Mitchell and asked him why all these "Cheese Balls" were in his brew.
    "You idiot!" Mitchell replied. "They were raisins I put in the brew, which soaked up the alcohol - they're like mezcal worms!"

    Later that year I saw Buster (Lesley Paris's short-lived post LBGP band), Cyclops (ex-Alpacas, LBGP, etc), Stephen (D.Kilgour's post-GU band)and the 3ds at the Savoy, of all places. I _think_ it may have been Paul and Lesley's going-away party.
    Myself and the late Andrew Heal were talking to David Saunders after the 3ds gig and rambling on to him about "the new song, the one that goes 'I try to sing a sing-song, but all the words are coming out wrong'..."
    David said they still didn't have a name for it and Andrew and I said "you should just call it 'Sing-Song' ". David was probably just keen to get rid of us two drunken morons and said "Yeah, 'Sing-Song' that's a good name for it".
    Grant Smithies says he never saw the 3ds live. Right now is where I make him turn green, by sawing that I saw them in 13 different venues, let alone how many times I saw them at Sammy's or the Empire. They were just such an ace live band.

    A few weeks later I took some photos of the final Sneaky Feelings gig, at the Oriental. Years later, one turns up, uncredited, in the Bannister book and I still don't know how he got hold of it.

    Then there was the time my bag caught fire at a Bailter Space gig. It was '90, at Sammy's. I took a lot of photos at gigs those days and my camera in a bag. I was standing near the front and I couldn't figure out a) where that intense stench of smoke was coming from, and b) why people were scattering away from me so quickly...I was just happily standing there seeing them, er, scorch their way through Grader Spader or whatever.
    A few seconds later, I finally clicked: my bag was going up in flames and my hair was getting pretty badly singed. I threw the bag off and somehow got rid of the flames. Thankfully my camera survived ok.

    Also, while fitba is the sport most often associated with FN, there are a fair few closet rugbyheads among 'em as well.
    In '93 one Saturday night myself and a few mates trundled around a few parties, then ended up at the Empire.
    I got talking to Bruce Blucher (ex-Alpaca Brothers, later in Cyclops, Trash, etc) who invited us back to his place in Bond St, which was then also operating as an art gallery. Ever so conveniently, the current exhibition was an 'installation' of TVs, including a life-size screen.
    Thus it was that my mates and I, along with a handful of others including , Blucher, Bob Scott, Stephen drummer Steven Hoani and, I think, Stephen Kilroy, watched the All Blacks vs Scotland, live from Murrayfield.
    There are two things in particular I remember: 1) Jeff Wilson scored four tries and whenever he did, Hoani would jump into the air and yell out "Otaaaaaaaaaaaaaagoooo 17, Scotland 3" or whatever the score was., and, 2) There were 15 (!!) riggers of delicious Otago Strong beer in front of the screen at kick-off. By half-time there was only four.

    Later that year I was up at Radio One one Saturday afternoon and saw Bruce Blucher and Peter Jefferies watching the North Harbour vs Auckland clash and discussing the subtleties of play with a great deal with expertise.
    Carter once told me that both Peter and Graeme Jefferies were very good school-boy rugby players. He may well have been pulling my leg, but Peter sure knew what he was talking about, either way.

    There are a million other anecdotes and great memories I have associated with Flying Nun. But I'll stop now.

    Dunedin • Since Dec 2006 • 760 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    and you, Mr Raby, produced a killer 7" single about 1981. Its a lost classic that should be on soem compliation. I played it to death for months and still pull it out regularly.

    Russell...I think Alan might be persuaded now. He's less precious about it now. Body Electric do need to loose the vocal. Greg Churchill was asking about it a while back and Roger Perry has been angling to do sometime with CCS for a long time.

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    god my spelling is atrosious

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    Body Electric is back anyway it seems, or as we used to say back then, Gordon Bennett!

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Crunchy Weta,

    Thanks for a life less ordinary.

    Bought Tally Ho from the boys in the back of their van
    Outside the Record Warehouse in Durham lane
    Just doin it.

    The Chills played Clean support on the first tour.
    Some able Tasmans were in the audience.
    Doesn’t anyone think Coldplay were inspired
    And even ripped off riffs by the Chills?

    The Gordons (technically preNun) shredded ears
    Like the Skeptics at the City Hotel
    Sound system filling half the venue
    Their sound the other half.

    Drank beers with Chris and Mark E
    On the first night of the great bootleg
    Discussed The Seeds (Try Raw and Alive)
    Before double drummed divinity.

    I used to think JPSE (As they came to be known)
    had a great song in
    Lime Green, falling down down down
    Until I like Rain was released.
    Somehow it made perfect sense.

    “In poetry, the symbolist procedure - as typified by Verlaine- was to use subtle suggestion instead of precise statement (rhetoric was banned) and to evoke moods and feelings by the magic of words and repeated sounds and the cadence of verse (musicality) and metrical innovation” –Wikipedia
    Oh and the sexiest of bass players was a bonus.

    Doublehappies last performances
    Mindblowing.
    Sadness.
    Beating Debbie to the dancefloor
    Then the masses
    As the phoenix arose.
    Sadness again at an Abrought departure,
    Climaxing at the BDO.

    To the many D’s
    Thanks one d for your discovery playing wargames
    You halved my annual petrol bill.
    Could never understand why another d was always appearing
    beaten in Ardmore Rd – such a nice guy.
    Ardmore Rd, 24 hour dairy, a friendly hub.
    The silliest Rossi was obvious!

    Spud boys,
    The OZ crowd could not reconcile
    What they saw
    and heard.
    Just doin it
    For the music.

    Hairy breath monsters
    I carried your Jesus on A Stick
    All the way home.
    You were preachin to the converted.

    As with many explorers, Tasman's name has been honoured in many places:
    the Tasman Glacier
    the Tasman River
    Mount Tasman (aka Tasman Hill)
    the Abel Tasman National Park
    Tasman Bay
    the Tasman District

    HC’s Maximum points for song about a fat man.
    LBGP love your cat.
    GU shame about the Pollock

    This twenty five year moment
    Of life lived
    Under a shower of creation
    Of trips taken
    To the beat of aural devotion
    Of friends made
    Who shared the best
    The revolving doorway
    twixt heart and soul and mind.

    Thanks
    I’m glad I was here.

    Glenn Cassidy

    Mamaku • Since Nov 2006 • 35 posts Report Reply

  • Peter Darlington,

    Also, while fitba is the sport most often associated with FN, there are a fair few closet rugbyheads among 'em as well.

    Yes indeedy, Roger himself for one. I'm sure I was involved in holding him upright for the last quarter of a Canterbury Ranfurly Shield match on the terraces at Lancaster Park in 1984.

    One hipflask of whisky too many went down that afternoon, things are a bit hazy.

    We won by the way...

    Nelson • Since Nov 2006 • 949 posts Report Reply

  • Leigh Sturgiss,

    I could be wrong, but I'm sure the Clean played at the Reverb Room, (is that the one that was at the top of Symonds St?) or maybe it was the Rumba Bar, the night of the last All Black/Springbok test -Eden Park 1981.
    We have travelled down by car from Whangarei and were right behind the cars that stopped on the Auckland Habour Bridge, the drivers got out of their cars, locked them and then threw the keys over the edge. I hope I'm not imagining all this (it was a long time ago).
    The whole day was surreal, and the night at the pub was just amazing.

    wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2 posts Report Reply

  • Kimberley Atkinson,

    Any" time" with Shayne Carter. ;) 15 years or so ago I'd see any SJF gig I could get to. Introduced then boyfriend now husband to some decent music.I have somewhere as much vinyl etc stuff i could buy of them and even used to keep a scrapbook of every article review etc - pretty sure I don't have it any more and it would have been a great archive to look back at now. Poor husband astounded that when Shayne was on the cover of the Sunday Star Times Sunday magazine back in July, I kept the cover and pinned it on our wardrobe door where it still is to this day!

    Sandringham • Since Dec 2006 • 1 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Yes indeedy, Roger himself for one. I'm sure I was involved in holding him upright for the last quarter of a Canterbury Ranfurly Shield match on the terraces at Lancaster Park in 1984.

    There's a good story about Roger and Bill Direen attending a test match at the Park, and Bill - literate intellectual that he is - spending the game loudly abusing the French referee, in French. Classy.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

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