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Flying Nun Records

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 Vacuum

A formative group for 2 significant groups in New Zealand music – The Terminals song-writing duo of Peter Stapleton and Stephen Cogle, and Bilders duo Bill Direen and Allan Meek. Though a fairly significant group at the time, their recordings were sparse.

Crystal Zoom

General craziness in musical form at the hand of Michael Weston and his troops Bruce Mahalski, Eric Neuman and Nathan McConnell.

The Dunedin music compilation But I Can Write Songs OK includes their brilliant stars-on-45 take on Flying Nun bands ‘Dunedin sound on 45’, and even featured guest appearances from some of the targets – David Kilgour and Martin Phillips.

Bill Direen

One of the longest running mythic underground figures of New Zealand rock who has worked (and commanded) such significant figures in the New Zealand music scene as Chris Knox, Peter Stapleton, Maryrose Crook, Dave Mitchell, Malcolm Grant – the list goes on.

Kim Blackburn

Kim Blackburn is a poet and singer-songwriter who put out the ‘Lizards In Love’ album on Flying Nun Records, using acoustic guitar and digital effects to give the album an unusual edge. Her voice has a deep, haunting quality – reminiscent of Nico.

She had previously been associated with underground labels such as Industrial Tapes, performing alongside Sandra Bell on the cassette only release ‘Two Metallic Hearts’.

Fetus Productions

Bizarre but often highly melodic experimental group, one of the first New Zealand outfits to incorporate multimedia elements into their shows and actually classified themselves as a production, creating art shows and (eventually) computer based presentation that encompassed both visual and audible elements.

Hallelujah Picassos

Long-running Auckland group with reggae overtones who have performed an eclectic array of music styles. Probably best known for their 1994 single Rewind, which was a big hit nationally.

The Clean – Compilation

My review of ‘Compilation’, the original retrospective of The Clean’s first phase releases. 2 singles and 2 EPs crammed into a brilliant album.

8 Living Legs

Short lived flying nun band who contributed a brilliant track to the last rhumba compilation (a live single-night recording on flying nun), and split an ep with flak in 1984. In 2005 the failsafe label released ‘false sense of security’… Read More »8 Living Legs

Marching Girls

spawned out of first generation punkers the scavengers, the marching girls we’re a stripped down, and more new wave focused attempt for ronnie recent, johnnie volume and des hefner. they re-recorded the ‘scavs brilliant ‘true love’, and appeared on the… Read More »Marching Girls

Bailter Space

Biography Starting life as the Gordons, Bailter Space were one of the most abrasive aggressive and (primarily) loudest bands to ever emerge out of Christchurch and the Flying Nun Records scene of the early 80s. Comprised of Alister Parker on… Read More »Bailter Space

Michael J. Brassell: A Memorial [Mar 2004]

A memorial I wrote for Michael J. Brassell after he sadly passed away from pneumonia in 2004. I helped organize a music tribute wake here in Christchurch to celebrate his life, whilst a similar event was also help in his then-current home of Dunedin.