Rumours

Rip It Up, Issue 93, 1 April 1985, Page 4

Rumours

UK & USA All Stevie Wonder records have been banned on government TV and radio by the South African Broadcasting Corporation following Wonder's dedication of his recently-won Oscar to Nelson Mandela. The dedication came on the heels of Wonder's arrest at anti-apartheid demonstrations in New York ... the ZTT book about Frankie, And Then There Came A Bang has, rather predictably, been banned by its distributors, because of what they considered indecent content. Next book planned is the Art Of Noise tome, Daft As A .... Latest ZTT artist is torch singer Anne Pigalle, with single 'He Stranger' ... latest Bowie film role is a cameo as a hired killer in new John Landis film Into the Night. His role features a knife fight with yer actual Carl Perkins. Meanwhile, the Actor is threatening another world tour in 1986 ... the Rolling Stones plan to begin another tour

later this year, after the release of their new LP, currently being recorded in Paris, in August ... footage of the Velvet Underground has been conveniently unearthed in New York to go with the likewise unearthed lost Velvets tapes which make up the new V.U. LP The film is to be shown on Brit . TV ... the new lineup for Nick Kent’s Subterraneans, which includes our own former Miltowns, Kelly and Syd recently supported the Smiths at the Hammersmith Odeon ... and just who is this Bryn in the new Damned lineup? The Captainless Damned have a new single, 'Grimly Fiendish'... dub crazy Lee Perry has again (with his new single ‘Judgement In A Babylon) accused Island Records boss Chris Blackwell of witchcraft and of causing the death of Bob Marley through evil practises. Blackwell’s not saying anything ... Squeeze have reformed with their original lineup, apart from new bassist Keith Wilkinson. First single is ‘The Last Time Forever'... Black Uhuru will carry on despite the loss of frontman Michael Rose to a solo career. His replacement will be Junior Reid BRAFA (British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal) is ■the latest musical endeavour in aid of Ethiopia. More than 200 musicians and singers, including Mikey Dread, Dennis Brown, Aswad, etc, got together one day in February to record ‘Let's Make Africa Green Again’ ... the new

Graham Parker band is the Shot and it includes the venerable Brinsley Schwartz on lead guitar ... Brix Smith, wife of fun-loving Mark E has recorded her first solo single. It’s a version of an old Strawberry Alarm Clock number, 'lncense and Peppermints... will the New York Dolls reform for a few gigs? ... Stewart Copeland continues to strenuously deny reports that the Police have split for good. Meanwhile, he’s completed his own film, The Rhythmatist and the first single is 'Koteja; a reworking of an old Zaire folk song ... Pete Best, the man who was nearly a Beatle, at last tells his own story in his new book, Beatle! The Pete Best Story ... so-called "writer" Tony Parsons has landed a deal for several books with Virgin Books ... Bob Geldof has his second film role (his first was as Pink in The Wall) in The Hustler, the tale of a snooker hustler ... Robert ‘Bumps' Blackwell, who got Little Richard’s hit career off the ground as a producer and later worked with such as Sam Cooke and Quincy Jones at seminal stages of their careers, died recently... and, after 16 years, Dr Hook are planning to split. Albums: Dire Straits Brother In Arms, Luther Vandross The Night I Fell In Love, Chaz Jankel Looking At You, Yello Stella, Gary Numan White Noise, Frank Zappa ThingFish, Gary Glitter Boys Will Be Boys, Jonzun Crew Down To

Earth, Marc Riley and the Creepers Fancy Meeting God. New Style Council LP due in June. Singles: Simple Minds ‘Don't You (Forget About Me)' (from Breakfast Club film soundtrack), Bronski Beat and Marc Almond 'I Feel Love’ (completely new version), ABC 'Be Near Me’, Jesus and Mary Chain 'Never Understand' (now on Blanco Y Negro label), Joßoxers 'ls This Really The First Time’, Cocteau Twins Aikea-Guinea’ (EP), Billy Bragg 'Between the Wars’ (EP). Christchurch In a sharp turn around of events, drummer Stevie Birss has left the Dance Exponents after only two live appearances. The Exponents curently plan to use session drummers for touring and recording, rather than adding another member... meanwhile, Birss has wasted no time in forming a new band with fellow ex-White Boy Kevin Stokes (guitar) and Wee Rob Failsafe (bass and guitar). They will debut soon ... and long time stalwart of the local music scene, Mark Brooks, (Vauxhalls, Newtones and latterly the White Boys) has also put together a new project which is apparently "heavier than the White Boys”. Joining Brooks are Brent (from Street of Flowers and the Vibes) on drums and Jamie from the Venetians on guitar. Members of the AEB were over the moon when some 400 peo-

ple turned up to see Horizin and No Idea at a Dole Day Rage at the Gladstone, because of your support they have many more similar gigs planned... the debut LP from Southern Front is on the racks in your favourite rekid shop now! Southern Front recently pulled off a minor coup in having one of the tracks, ‘Southern Comfort’ chosen as the theme music for Viewfinder. LP can be got for a mere $8.50 from Failsafe, Box 3003 ChCh ... the Flying Nun compilation is now not called Bison, but Tuatara, which seems toTnake more sense ... Westport has a new music venue put together by the Buller Unemployment Collective The Chills ... and speaking of the land’s favourite band, the Chills played to packed houses in ChCh over Easter. But the real suprise came from Sneaky Feelings who must now be a force to be reckoned with, both nationally and internationally... the next Sneakies single will be 'Husband House’, which they recorded recently in Auckland. They will tour to promote it in two or three months. Recent visitors to Dunedin have been Now We Are Six and the Punch, who supported the Wastrels . The Punch have various Exponents tour support slots and plan some gigs at local high schools. Will gangly Geoff Hopkins become a heart-throb? ...former bass and sax player for onetime groovers My Three Sons,

Deb Frame, has joined Wayward Witches and they plan a North Island tour ... found recently at Lyttleton’s low-key venue the British were promising four-piece Vague Secrets ... also appearing there have been new heavy-ish ensemble the Allies and the Skeptics, who were forced to cancel their Gladstone dates following a petty and meaningless disagreement with the local constabulary over words on one of their posters. Because of this we were forced to miss the future of rock ‘n’ roll. Maiden China have been recording at Auckland's Mandrill Studios and have some live work set up ... the Shazam concert in the ChCh Town Hall will feature mainly Nl bands; Katango, Politicians and Grey Parade, with either the Chills or the Punch making up the lineup. It’s on May 22. A RWP concert at the same venue is planned for Sept 11 ... the on-again-off-again career of the Back Door Blues Band would appear to be on again, with new members joining original Ted Clarke and Aynsley Day. They have a South Is tour planned for May-June ... Louie and the Hotsticks, who have shown a lot of courage in moving from the Marine, have an LP planned, but we hear they need a lot of new material first. New EP from the Bats is due out in a month or so ... also ex-

pected soon is an Onset-Offset EP featuring the Bottletops on one side and Toerag on t'other... No Idea planning a national tour ... new in town are the Bohemians Naughty Thoughts continue to show promise and recently did a Thursday night at the Gladdy with another Timaru band the Never Never, who’count RIU and Shake! photographer Colin Bower amongst their number. White soul project These Bad Strings have recorded their debut single 'Sizzlin'', with 'River Deep, Mountain High' ... Dick Driver recently left the country to work for his uncle in Malawi. Alister Cain

Auckland Mushroom Records NZ will continue despite the (amicable) departure of Mike Chunn, but will now be run out of the Festival Records office ... busy times at Progressive Studios, with EPs in the pipeline from Able Tasmans and Diatribe, Ivan Zagni and Steve Garden working on a couple of film scores as well as their own album, an LP just completed by Last Man Down and Mike Farrell and Guy Wishart doing solo LPs. Recently completed have been a Not Really Anything EP and a Jay Clarkson solo record. The Builders are expected to pop in and record a couple of songs while they're in town to play (new

LP CoNCH3 just released, distributed by Flying Nun)... new phone no. at The Lab is 602-462. Recently recorded have been an EP by Dunedin’s Look Blue Go Purple, Marie and the Atom and a Stonehenge four-track EP. The studio will soon be closed for six weeks while Lab goes to the UK on a gear hunting search and to see his Mum. The next Chills single will be Oncoming Day’. It and other toons (including a couple of recently remixed songs from the Dunedin double EP) will go on a mini-album to be released in Britain (and here as well!) to coincide with their visit there in July. Germany is also doing 'Pink

Frost’ as a 12’! There’s a possibility they’ll do a live performance based on their successful live Campus Radio show The Chills In Space at some point... Dunedin's loveable Doublehappys borrowed a bit of gear from the Chills and snuck into Radio One to record five songs, 'Needles and Plastic’, 'Nerves’, ‘Moss Monster', 'Some Fantasy’ and 'I Don’t Wanna See You Again'... Aucklander Nat Curno will have a single released by F Nun; features synth playing by Mick Raye of the Table Committee. RlU’ s glossier relative, Shake!, has its own crack soccer team which has thus far repelled all challenges with almost disdainful ease. Squad is: Damien Holt (Moving Barricades), Adam Holt (Sons In Jeopardy), David Gent (Dance Exponents), Tony Drumm (Meemees), Mike Harrilambi (Grey Parade), Eddie Diehard (Grey Parade), Paul Eversden (Katango), Paul Majsa (Sons in Jeopardy), Wayne Flintham (Sons in Jeopardy), Karl Robinson (Katango), Terry Towelling (Rebel Truce) and Pat Brunten (all-round good guy) ... and in case you haven’t noticed, Mainstreet is no longer with us. The Chase Corporation’s demolition men moved in this month. Low Profile are remixing 'Elephunk' for overseas release. Meanwhile Phil Bowering leaves for England early in May. He’s hoping to join up with other musicians there and pursue his Moving Lines musical theme ... Gloria’s Peccadilloes have been busily recording a four song EP at Montage Studios and have done a video for Shazam. Leila Andrews has joined the band on keyboards ... Goblin Mix are to do a single very soon. Things should be looking up on

the Whangarei entertainment front with the establishment of the Goodtimes Promotion Company, who will be organising regular venues and parties for the local folk. Any bands interested in playing can contact them at PO Box 888 Whangarei or ph 88-912 ... after a week-long stint with Dr Feelgood the Crew went into Last Laugh to do some recording with Martin Williams at the controls... a new feature on the ZM network will be Band Aid, not a fund raiser, but a chance for bands with demos but no record deals to get some exposure. The half hour show will take place at midnight every two weeks. Scheduled so far are Hoi Polloi (April 29), Politicians (May 13), Last Man Down (27) and the Wait (June 10). Tracy and the Coldstep is an Auckland music/theatre group presently booking a two month tour thru the country's pubs, prisons, galleries, and universities. Lineup at present is Bruce Davis-Goff (vocals/dance/saxophone), Roy Martyn (guitar/synth/vocals), Phil and Gareth (bass and drums) and Bruce Naylor (dance), although others will be added soon. One song has been recorded for a single. Russell Brown Palmerston North Great news for Palmerston North is the formation of a local record label, Meltdown Records. Initial funding comes from the recent Battle of the Bands held at Massey Uni. Spokesman Peter Sheppard informs that first recordings will be the Mannequins, the Remarkables and Dosage B Radio Massey, 92FM, is halfway through its longest broadcast yet. All concerts held at the Uni will be broadcast live on the station ...

newish vehicle for the more alternative bands to play at is Manelitos Mexican Restaurant soon to visit PN and not to be missed are Sneaky Feelings Massey Orientation went extremely well, strong support for all events. Orientation organisers due a lot of credit. D.W.L. Reid Wellington Vietnam are active again and release a five track EP next month ... Steve Wilson’s new band is Violet Summer (not Violent Summer as reported last month). It comprises Mr Wilson and Leo Kean (ex Steroids and Gale Force and the Cyclones) and has “absolutely nothing to do with the Legionnaires". Their record ‘The Morning . After’ should be available as you read this... local reggae outfit Aotearoa release a 12” single in early May ... other vinyl from local acts out now includes Rodger Fox/Midge Marsden collaboration Let the Good Times Roll. The new Spines album does not have a title like a Cars song. It’s called The Moon. David Taylor Dunedin The age of chivalry is not dead: .the Rip won a recent Chingford Park live competition but gave the free recording time to the Orange ... the Rip’s Alistair Galbraith plays violin on the new Bats six-to-nine song EP ... the new Sneaky Feelings single will have horns and strings ... the Rip are scheduled to record an album, probably in Christchurch ... Luke Hurley has recorded and taped a band version of Japanese Overdrive’ ... Graeme McLauchlan has left the End, so they're looking for a new drummer. GK