Dum Dum Boys
An Iggy Pop and the Stooges obsessed proto-punk outfit from the early 80s. After recording New Zealand’s very first full-length punk LP (1981’s ‘Let there be noise’) the group morphed into The Henchmen.
Java Coffee House
Open-plan two-story Cafe on a (previously) busy corner in central Christchurch – Java was a quirky place with a colorful interior, good coffee and food. When Cafe’s were starting to explode in the late 90’s, Java was one of the places to be for young people in Christchurch.
D-Super
Wellington based garage surf-punk band headed up by Marty Squire (guitar/vocals) wit brothers Dave (drums) and Luke Benge (keyboards), and Jules Desmond (bass). Formed from the ashes of Letterbox Lambs.
Had one catchy single ‘We Ride Tonight’ released as a New Zealand On Air music video
Surface Of The Earth
3 piece featuring Paul Toohey, later of K-Group – freeform Wellington-based experimentation using:
Synth drones, guitars and mutilated electronic debris to create a soundspace where layers of distortion, hum and buzz hang like veils in the air, each disrupting the aural view of the layer beneath, without completely obscuring it from audibility
– Bruce Russell
Lamp of the Universe
Hamilton-based former Datura multi-instrumentalist Craig Williamson has released an ever-growing discography of solo albums since Datura’s demise in the late 1990s, originally under his own name, but now under the bizarre hippy-pseudonym Lamp of the Universe.
Cameron Bain
Between stints in King Loser, Snapper and a million other bands, Cameron Bain released a 7″ release on Stella Corkery and Alan Holt’s excellent Pink Air label.
One-half of the oft-referenced, seldom heard Constant Pain. Bain passed away in 2014.
The Haemogoblins
Christchurch-based art-rock group from the mid 1980’s who put out one EP on Bill Direen’s South Indies label. Several members came from low-key Flying Nun acts Mainly Spaniards and Ballon D’Essai.
Paua Fritters
Auckland-based pop-songwriting outfit based around the trio of Alice Mckenzie, Penny Laybourn and Hilda Mcclutchie.
Julian Dashper
Formerly Auckland-based abstract artist who produced a string of lathe cut releases in the late 1990’s – 2000’s on Circle Records and the Luxus imprint.
The Heptocrats
Auckland duo of Mike Knuckley and Brett Higson. Released a cassette and appeared on a live compilation on Paul Lurkers Industrial Tapes label. Had some songs recorded live by Chris Knox and Doug Hood at the Rumba Bar with ‘One More’ turning up on the famed ‘The Last Rhumba’ live compilation on Flying Nun.
The Palladium Niteclub
The Palladium was a sprawling upstairs nightclub in Chancery Lane in Central Christchurch, with a massive 800 person capacity and 24 hour liquor license.
Murdering Monsters
Dunedin-based outfit who released a split EP with Matt ‘Crude’ Middleton’s Aesthetics, along with a couple other Lo-Fi low-rent releases.
Throw
Christchurch-based shoegazey indie-rock group that started out as a studio project but became a fairly successful touring group with 2 albums and an EP on band member Rob Mayes Failsafe Recordings.
Jousting Vandals
One of Rob Scott’s many one-off bands – this time with R. Dejoux and Sarah Robin. They put out the Ground Level cassette on Scotts’ own Every Secret Thing label in 1985. Scott reissued the Ground Level cassette as a CDr in 2022.
Zanzibar
The Old Star Tavern (aka The Star Tavern, Lion Tavern) was a large old Pub on Lincoln Road, not far from Hagley Park that sprung to life with live entertainment during the mid 1980’s.
Circa 1983-4, local Punk and Dance impresario (and general taste-maker) Tony Peake was responsible for booking bands at the large, popular Gladstone venue, alongside Al Parke. Meanwhile up in Auckland Peter Urlich was establishing the original Zanzibar dance-club in Auckland – and was planning a similar spot in Christchurch with the help of local proprietor John McCarthy, who owned the Old Star Tavern.
Peake was brought in to establish a new nightclub within the pub, taking the same name as the Auckland venue and putting on regular nights, DJing a mix of Post-Punk, Dance, Dub, Hip-Hop – whatever he saw fit.