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A shot in the arm just when we really need it – Die! Die! Die!
I’m very fussy about the kind of noise I throw at my ears, especially these days with tinnitus barking at my heels and threatening to overthrow my auditory system. But the thing is, I love noise. It...
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The resurrection of The Body Electric – NZ’s first all-electronic band
GARY STEEL was there when Wellington synth-pop band The Body Electric’s ‘Pulsing’ took off in 1982. Here’s his take on the phenomenon. I’ve never quite been able to purge my mind of the image: the...
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The best NZ album you never heard in your life – Spacesuit (1997)
In this occasional series, GARY STEEL pays tribute to lesser-known records that really rock. Today it’s Spacesuit’s turn. You won’t find it on the streaming service of your choice or in your local...
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Live shows from long ago… Wolfgang/Coup D’Etat
GARY STEEL’s 1980 review of a gig by the Red Mole theatre troupe splinter band that was soon to become the hitmaking Coup D’Etat. Wolfgang, The Last Resort, Wellington In some instances, audiences...
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Lea Maalfrid’s This Love – a master class in singer-songwriting
Lea Maalfrid – despite a 50-something-year career – is one of Aotearoa’s lesser-known and perhaps least understood talents. I won’t go down the biographical rabbit hole because it’s all there on her...
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Margaret Urlich – 1989-style
As our wee tribute to Margaret Urlich (24 January 1965 – 22 August 2022) GARY STEEL revisits a piece he wrote around the release of her debut album. Pics by Polly Walker. The Cat Is Back – Former Cat...
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Dreamscapes echoing to infinity
For reasons I won’t go into I got way behind on my album reviewing duties this year, and when I finally hear an album like this it pains me that I’ve missed the opportunity to wax (hopefully) eloquent...
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Forty years ago – Philbo keeps a low profile
To celebrate New Zealand Music Month GARY STEEL reaches far back into his archives for a piece he wrote on musician Phil Bowering. I was in pain. My interview subject was across the other side of town,...
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The Gordons: Free birds with massive tweet
To celebrate NZ Music Month GARY STEEL excavates a 1983 interview – 40 years ago! – with legendary noisemakers The Gordons. The Gordons liken their extraordinary sound to a little bird escaping the big...
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40 years ago: Grammar Boys
It’s still NZ Music Month so GARY STEEL continues the excavation of his mouldering story scrapbook. Today’s travesty: Grammar Boys. Original intro: Gary Steel swallowed the last particles of a hurried...
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