The Aranui Tavern at 317 Pages Road was a working-class pub in Christchurch’s eastern suburbs that became one of the city’s most significant live music rooms from the mid-1970s through the 1980s. Bon Marché and The Newz held a three-year residency from 1978 to 1981, nurturing emerging acts including Pop Mechanix and the Dance Exponents — whose own Aranui residency led directly to their Mushroom Records signing in 1982.
New-wave pop / post-punk group from early 1980’s Christchurch, featuring future Wastrels front-man Anton Jenner. Recently got their sole 7″ single reissued on Leather Jacket Records.
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Christchurch power-pop Pop Mechanix began their life as ‘Splash Alley’. They built up a strong reputation locally and around the country with Dick Driver (and later, Peter McLennan) as front-man; but never quite made it to the next level in Australia.
Before Dimmer, before Straitjacket Fits, before even the Doublehappys, Shayne Carter was in a Flying Nun Records-type punk band called Bored Games, who opened for the likes of the Clean and Toy Love before the lads had even left high school.
Biography jordan luck’s insistent pub band – born out of the south island port town of timaru and forged through beer and indulgence, there was never ever an exponents song that couldn’t be sung in a drunken haze with a… Read More »The Exponents
Biography An early pop punk band featuring Eugene Butcher (later of Desperate Measures and Evasive Action), David Gent and Michael Harrallambi (both of Dance Exponents). Never saw this band but ‘You Were The One‘ (Failsafe Records‘ ‘Accident‘ compilation) is a… Read More »Channel Four