Biography
25 Cents were known as being an impressive, ass-kicking party band in Christchurch in the early 1980’s, flush with a range of 1960’s garage numbers, Velvet Underground and Pere Ubu covers.
Mary was the drummer and she was the singer and a lot of their stuff was quite full-on. So I remember her singing and rolling her eyes, drumming, singing, and rolling her eyes … we used to joke about how she used to roll, because there was just so much she had to do.
They used to shock and often there’d be guys sort of in the … I used to quite like standing in the crowd when they were playing because there’d be groups of guys and they’d get a few wolf whistles and stuff like that. Then they’d start up and the sheer velocity would actually shock these guys and they’d just go silent.
Peter Stapleton – Oral History (Zoe Drayton – Audio Foundation)
With members Mary and Susan Heney becoming prominent members of the Cogle / Stapleton bands (i.e. Victor Dimisich Band, Scorched Earth Policy and The Terminals) the group didn’t last too long, with just a 7″ single (an early Flying Nun Records release) to their name.
Mary Heney passed away in September 2020.
Members
- Mary Heney (25 Cents, Victor Dimisich Band, The Pin Group, The Shallows, Scorched Earth Policy, The Terminals, drums / vocals)
- Susan Heney (The McGoohans, 25 Cents, The Terminals, bass)
- Melanie Harrison (guitar / vocals)
- Maria Coates (violin)
- Sandra Smith (aka Cindy Roberts, Angel Rock, guitar)
Discography
- ‘Don’t deceive me’ / ‘The Witch’ 7″ single (1982, Flying Nun Records, FN009)
Links
- Discogs Entry
- AudioCulture profile of 25 Cents
- Peter Stapleton – Oral History parts 4- 5 (2009, Zoe Drayton – Audio Foundation)