Live shows from long ago… Mangaweka Viaduct Blues Band/The Gen
GARY STEEL wrote this gig up for In Touch magazine way back in May 1980. It wasn't his (or their) finest hour.
Live shows from long ago… Gary Numan
When Gary Numan played in Wellington local punks spat on him, but his show was great according to GARY STEEL.
Flight X7 – An NZ Music Month 1980 archive special
GARY STEEL had great expectations of NZ new wave band Flight X7 in this 1980 feature on the band. History had other plans… If
Live shows from long ago… Split Enz 1980 (Second Coming)
GARY STEEL wrote this review of the homecoming heroes' second 1980 Welly gig in the first edition of In Touch magazine.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – ELO Part 2’s Moment Of Truth
MATT KELLY has his sights on a record made by most of ELO (but minus Jeff Lynn) and he's in a vicious mood. What
Live shows from long ago… Racey
In one of his first live review assignments, GARY STEEL was surprised to find that novelty act Racey wasn’t as cack as he’d thought
Sharon O’Neill & Jon Stevens, Wellington Town Hall, 1980
GARY STEEL wrote this review for the Evening Post back in March 1980. It's not something he's proud of.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – Robert Plant’s Shaken And Stirred
MATT KELLY saw Robert Plant as someone to trust to always do the right thing. That is, until he released this piece of unmitigated
An awful record that’s also great, and why: Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds
Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds stubbornly remains as bad as it is beautiful, writes GARY STEEL, who reveals its magic formula.
This Melbourne hi-fi show is worth a trip across the Tasman
Delayed for a couple of years by the dreaded Covid, the StereoNET Hi-Fi & AV show in June is a must for Kiwi audiophiles.
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.
The reluctant storyteller – Scheherazade like you’ve never heard her before
As the APO prepares to play a New Zealand premiere by the world’s leading composer, RICHARD BETTS looks at the many lives of Scheherazade,
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear #18 – Echo by Gracious
Reunion albums often suck but they're rarely as godawful as this egg-on-face progressive rock travesty, writes MATT KELLY.
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.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before Your Hear – Paul Lekakis’s Tattoo It
The 'Boom Boom Let's Go Back To My Room' guy didn't even have one entertaining album in him, MATT KELLY discovers.
Ragnarok’s 1970s NZ space-rock masterpiece reassessed
Kiwi space-rock band Ragnarok’s 1975 debut has been rediscovered and reissued. GARY STEEL with an in-depth assessment.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear #16 – Manic Street Preachers’ Resistance Is Futile
The Manic Street Preachers' depressing schtick gets well and truly tired on an album that MATT KELLY wished never existed.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear #15 – Nicky Wire’s I Killed The Zeitgeist
Why did the Manic Street Preachers let Nicky Wire out to sing so horrendously on his solo disc? MATT KELLY can only sigh.
1001 Albums You Must Die Before You Hear – The Fast Food Rockers’ diabetes-enhancer
MATT KELLY valiantly warns the unsuspecting music fan to stay away from the horrendous 2003 comeback of Stock (of Aitken Waterman).
Forty years ago… NZ post-punk band Rank And File
Back in 1982 GARY STEEL had a bit of a chat with Auckland post-punk group Rank And File.
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