Biography
Spines were a Wellington band active from 1981 to 1987, founded by Jon McLeary after his duo Negative Theatre relocated to Wellington in 1980. The band formed when McLeary met Caroline Easther and Rob Mahoney at the Arts Centre during Victoria University’s student union orientation week. McLeary wrote all the band’s songs, crafting a sound that defied easy categorization.
The band blended ska-punk with folk-rock and gothic-folk influences, creating what one contemporary observer described as a distinctive “New Zealand gothic-folk feel.” McLeary later characterized their approach as “defiantly post-punk/ska in the early days, with the folk hangover I kept going back to.” Their music featured angular arrangements with a dark edge, incorporating elements that ranged from ska-like rhythms to jazz-influenced complexity and noir-folk atmospherics.
Spines made their recording debut with the Fishing EP on Bryan Staff’s Ripper Records in June 1982, co-produced by Staff. This was followed by the Punch 12-inch single, co-produced by Ian Morris and Andy Drey in 1982 but not released until March 1983. The band recorded for three notable labels during their career: Bryan Staff’s short-lived but influential Ripper Records, Jim Moss’s Jayrem, and Roger Shepherd’s Flying Nun.
Wellington group who had a sort of angular approach to some of their music, ska like, but also had an appealing dark edge. They released the impressive ‘Fishing’ 7″ EP on Ripper Records. This was followed by another couple of singles then a lack lustre album on Flying Nun.
Rob Mayes
In their early stages, the band featured the drumming skills of Caroline Easther. Later incarnations became more technical and less moody in their songs and delivery as the lineup evolved. Live, the band had an intensity about them, though there was something very Wellington about their quirky ska elements that surfaced in their performances.
The band’s song “Your Body Stays” became particularly celebrated—TV personality John Campbell would later name it his all-time favorite New Zealand song. After releasing Idiot Sun on Flying Nun in 1986, the band disbanded in 1987. An unreleased album, A Snakelike Life, was recorded but never officially released. In 2017, McLeary released Epidural on the Forgotten Goddess label, reviving the Spines catalog.
Members
- Jon McLeary (guitar / bass / vocals, Negative Theatre, Spines)
- Caroline Easther (drums / vocals, Barry Saunders, Beat Rhythm Fashion, Chicago Smoke Shop, Circus Block Four, Let’s Planet, Orangefarm, Spines, Steph Casey, The Chills, The Hobnob Boots, The Verlaines, Throw)
- Rob Mahoney (bass / vocals, Hot Cafe, Spines, The Hot City Cats)
- Tim Robinson (Drums/Guitar/Percussion, Spines, The Brainchilds, The Hulamen, The Rodents)
- Gregory Brice (drums / percussion, Spines)
- Neill Duncan (saxophone / drums, Darth Vegas, Four Volts, Jungle Suite, Primitive Art Group, Six Volts, Spines, The Jews Brothers Band, The Surgeons)
- Ross Burge (drums, Dribbling Darts, Midge Marsden Band, Spines, The Mutton Birds, The Rodger Fox Big Band, The Roger Fox Big Band, The Stereo Bus, Two Armed Men)
- Wendy Calder (bass, Spines, The Body Electric)
- Anthony Donaldson (Drums, Four Volts, Primitive Art Group, Six Volts, Spines, The Black Sheep, The Family Mallet, The Front Lawn, The Mantarays, The Melancholy Babes)
- Andy Craig (Spines, Steroids, The Body Electric)
- Rikki Gooch (drums, Cave Circles, Dr Kevorkian and the Suicide Machine, Labcoats, Orchestra Of Spheres, Spines, Trinity Roots)
- Simon Sweetman (drums, Spines)
- Hannah Fraser (keyboard / violin / glockenspiel / vocals, Spines)
- Les Knight (bass, Spines)
- Malky Taylor (drums, Spines)
Discography
- Fishing [7″ EP] (1982, Ripper Records, RIP021)
- Punch / Your Body Stays [12″ Single] (1983, Ripper Records, RIP025)
- Act Your Age [EP] (1984, Jayrem, JAY116)
- The Moon (1985, Jayrem, JAY316)
- Idiot Sun [12″ EP] (1986, Flying Nun Records, FN072)
- A Snakelike Life (unreleased)
- Epidural (2017, Forgotten Goddess Records)