Biography
Loves Ugly Children formed in Christchurch in 1989 when vocalist and guitarist Simon Maclaren assembled a lineup including Scott McArthur on guitar, Angela Leslie (known as Floss) on bass, and Simon Crockett on drums. The band debuted supporting Dolphin at The Subway, and shortly after recorded five tracks in Maclaren’s old mill warehouse with producer Rob Mayes, released as the tape-only Stagger on Failsafe Records. Relationship shifts within the band led to a series of lineup changes through 1990, including a brief stint with Dunedin drummer Gregg Cairns — who departed in July 1990 when offered an album and tour with The Verlaines.
After a nine-month hiatus, Maclaren and Floss reformed the band in May 1991 following a jam with neighbour Jason Young (Excellent Soul Therapy). The classic trio played their first gig just two weeks later, on August 3, 1991 at The Subway — a show that would become legendary in Christchurch circles. As candles burned in bovine skulls set atop the PA speakers, the trio injected a shot of adrenalin into indie Christchurch’s main vein. Key songs written in those first two weeks — “Good Things”, “Strangers Song”, and “Love You Dead” — became LUC standards. “Good Things” reached number one on Christchurch’s RDU, and the band won a War of the Bands at the Carlton before touring the South Island.
By 1992 Loves Ugly Children had established themselves as one of the biggest live draws in Christchurch. Their contribution to Flat City Records’ Freak Scene compilation raised their profile further, and an QEII Arts Council grant funded the recording of their Purge CDEP — recorded by Bart Barkman and released on Flat City in August 1993. The Purge release party drew over 600 fans. Two months later, the Avalanche compilation release party on the Failsafe Records label attracted over 1,000 people — a remarkable figure for the Christchurch scene. It was this groundswell of local momentum that brought them to the attention of Flying Nun.
LUC slowly built up their national following with successive North Island tours, eventually winning over Flying Nun’s Roger Sheppard
AudioCulture
Signed to Flying Nun Records in early 1994, the band released the Cold Water Surf EP before recording their debut album Cakehole (1995) at Fish Street Studios in Dunedin with producer Tex Houston — a “punk rock record” addressing, in Maclaren’s words, “personal politics” in a way he described as “naked, but honest.” The band appeared at the Big Day Out in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 — four consecutive years — alongside support slots for Ministry, Rocket From The Crypt, Regurgitator, and NOFX. An ambitious Australian tour in mid-1995 with fellow Flying Nun artists Garageland and King Loser hit Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, followed by two months in England where they recorded the Suck EP and won favourable coverage in the British music press.
A feast of furies, where heavenly melodies inhabit massive power-chord driven songs
Rip It Up, on Showered in Gold
Their second album Showered in Gold (1997), recorded at York Street Studios in Auckland, was widely regarded as their strongest work — the record “buzzes with the passion and feeling that has made them a thundering (and very loud!) fixture on the NZ live circuit.” A landmark show at Hagley Park, Christchurch on February 1, 1997 for the “Burning In The Light” event marked their peak. Jason Young departed mid-year to play bass in Future Stupid, replaced by Paul Reid for an Australian tour. The band disbanded in September 1998 when Maclaren and Floss separated. Maclaren went on to form The Subliminals and later Psychic Maps; Floss opened The Killing Room practice facility in Auckland.
I stick to melody and make up words that rhyme with that melody, then simplify the guitar down to keep that sound
Simon Maclaren
In 2024 the original trio of Maclaren, Floss, and Young reunited for shows in Christchurch and Auckland — their first performances together since 1998. In February 2025 they released Lost Demos 12″ on Acrid Plume Records, featuring previously unreleased recordings from 1996. Profile based in part on contributions from Jason Young and Rob Mayes of Failsafe Records.
Members
- Simon Maclaren (vocals / guitar, Blue Flesh Syndrome, Loves Ugly Children, Psychic Maps, The Subliminals)
- Angela Leslie (bass / vocals, Loves Ugly Children)
- Jason Young (Drums/Vocals, Cultivation, Excellent Soul Therapy, Future Stupid, Loves Ugly Children)
- Scott McArthur (guitar, Loves Ugly Children, Shreen)
- Simon Crockett (drums, Fuel³, Loafer, Loves Ugly Children, Snuffbox, Sudden Tan Air Hostesses, Trawler)
- Gregg Cairns (Drums, Constant Pain, King Loser, Loves Ugly Children, Marineville, Sferic Experiment, The Idle Suite, The Real Life Tragedies, The Renderers, The Verlaines)
- Paul Reid (drums, Loves Ugly Children, Rubicon, The D4, The Urinators)
Discography
- Stagger [Tape] (1989, Failsafe Records)
- Purge [EP] (1993, Flat City Recordings)
- Cold Water Surf [EP] (1994, Flying Nun Records)
- Personal World [EP] (1995, Flying Nun Records)
- Cakehole [CD] (1995, Flying Nun Records)
- Super Trouper / Honey Honey [7″] (1995, Flying Nun Records)
- Suck [EP] (1996, Flying Nun Records)
- Showered in Gold [CD] (1997, Flying Nun Records, FNCD380)
- Lost Demos 12″ [12″] (2025, Acrid Plume Records, Acrid Plume 001)