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Alec Bathgate

Toy Love

Though lasting just 18 months, Toy Love were one of New Zealand’s most influential groups. Chris Knox, Alec Bathgate and Mike Dooley had come from The Enemy were joined by the Christchurch duo of Paul Kean and Kate Walker to form the most brilliantly dynamic new wave group.

Alec Bathgate

Alec Bathgate’s always kept a couple steps back in his fellow Enemy, Toy Love and Tall Dwarfs shadow, but released a lovely little Byrds-jangle-pop album (with heavy Beatles and Beach Boy flourishes) in 1996.

More technically competent than Knox, and somewhat reserved (in comparison at least), Bathgate is a reflective, precarious song-writer of great talent.

The Clean

The Clean have left a giant stamp on New Zealand Independent Music. The group that came to define ‘The Dunedin Sound’ had a terrific topsy-turvy career that spanned 5 albums and a number of EPs, singles, compilations and live releases over a 31 year time-span.

The Clean – Compilation

My review of ‘Compilation’, the original retrospective of The Clean’s first phase releases. 2 singles and 2 EPs crammed into a brilliant album.

Tall Dwarfs

Biography After Toy Love (the bastard son of The Enemy) disintegrated in 1980, Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate were so fed up with the ‘band’ approach to making music, that they formed The Tall Dwarfs as a performing collective absolutely… Read More »Tall Dwarfs

The Enemy

Biography Young Dunedin guitarist Alec Bathgate and drummer Mike Dooley lined up Invercargill-born record store employee Chris Knox as a bassist in mid 1977, unaware he couldn’t actually play. Eventually the group would secure a gig at the Old Beneficiaries Hall,… Read More »The Enemy

Chris Knox

Biography I’ve had a hard time starting this profile. A man who’s done so much for New Zealand (underground) music that it wouldn’t really be the same without him – Knox was responsible for so many changes in the way… Read More »Chris Knox

Flying Nun Records

The independent label that put New Zealand Music on the map. From Roger Shephard’s formation of the label in 1980 through to now, Flying Nun has been a mark of creative, quirky, inventive music with a distinct kiwi flavor.