Biography
Formed while the trio were still students at Northcote College around 1983, the Auckland group embraced a poppy, jangly sound—a style far removed from the fiery intensity guitarist Dave Mitchell would soon become famous for in Goblin Mix and The 3D’s.
Despite this early melodic lean, two elements clearly hinted at Mitchell’s future trajectory. The first was the track “Kenneth Anger,” a sharp ditty centered on the eponymous experimental filmmaker and his obsession with the occult, a thematic well Mitchell would return to repeatedly. The second was Mitchell’s distinct, debauched hand-drawn art style, which already defined the aesthetic of their gig posters and solitary release.
The group only survived a year or so, with ‘The Grotesque Singers‘ (an EP on Flying Nun records) coming out posthumously in 1985 after drummer James Murray had left for England. The EP was eventually compiled alongside Goblin Mix’s output as ‘The Complete Exploding Budgies and Goblin Mix‘ – an easy intro in Mitchell’s early material. The EP has quite a varied sound – particularly due to the use of multiple singers – including the uncredited ‘Linda’ on the folky William Blake interpretation ‘Sunflower‘.
Bassist Glen Eisenhut went on to engineer a number of notable New Zealand releases through the mid to late 1980s, whilst Mitchell wasted no time forming Goblin Mix.
Members
- David Mitchell (guitar/vocals, The 3Ds, Chug, Evil, Floating Eels, Ghost Club, Goblin Mix, Heliogabalus, Leather Apron, Plagal Grind, Exploding Budgies, The Magick Heads)
- Glen Eisenhut (bass/vocals)
- James Murray (drums)
Discography
- Grotesque Singers 12″ EP (1985, Flying Nun Records, FN033)
- The Complete Goblin Mix and The Exploding Budgies (1991 w/ Goblin Mix, Flying Nun Records)