In the heyday of terrestrial television, many of New Zealand’s top acts filmed live specials that received a nationwide airing. The best of these concert films are still available in full on NZ On Screen. Watching them transports the viewer back in time to experience the raw power of these acts in their prime. There’s an electric energy between the musicians and the crowd, with the acts often taking their songs in new directions to suit the live stage.
Watch a quick montage of clips from Radio With Pictures’ Live at Mainstreet series, presented by Karyn Hay, 1983.
Perhaps the jewel in the crown of this collection is the series of Live At Mainstreet concerts filmed for Radio With Pictures in the mid-1980s. Since there is half-a-dozen of them – with acts such as the Dance Exponents, the Legionnaires, Blam Blam Blam, and Coconut Rough – I have included these as an added extra at the end.
These live specials will no doubt spark some great memories for those who were there at the time, though they should also provide younger viewers with a great way to discover why these artists were so revered. So step inside the time machine and experience some of our best live acts at their peak.
The Popco Special
Television first became available in colour in New Zealand in 1973 and this extended episode of Popco, filmed for a Christmas 1974 special, takes full advantage of the new possibilities. There are plenty of schlocky moments – lounge singers belting out covers in the studio or more peculiar mimed sections on the banks of the Avon River – but these add to its charm. The dance routine to Stevie Wonder in Cathedral Square is particularly bizarre to modern eyes. (The show was based in Christchurch.)
There are some moments of real musical power too, particularly in the third part, which begins with Space Waltz giving a full-glam rendition of ‘Out On The Street’. Later, Rockinghorse prove that Kiwis could do a fine take on yacht rock, even turning ‘I Shot The Sheriff’ into a mellow grooving number with the help of Mark Williams, before soulful singer Beaver rounds out the show.
Ragnarok on The Grunt Machine
The visuals on this short live special from 1976 are not as striking, but the music is a perfect representation of its era. Ragnarok deliver a series of prog-rock originals that stand up to anything coming from overseas at the time. The most striking section of the special is the one-two punch when they suddenly go glam rock for ‘Captain Fagg’ at 8:44, before switching back to prog for Viking-inspired epic ‘The Volsung’, with its ominous chanting BVs and spacey synth lines.
Live From Chips – Mark Williams
Mark Williams was somewhat misunderstood when he first arrived on the scene in the mid-1970s. His flamboyant look saw him written off by some as a lightweight pop act. This live special – filmed in a Wellington nightclub in 1981 – helps put that view to bed. Instead, we see a soul and funk singer at the height of his game, backed by the city’s leading session players. He also performs one of his own compositions, which shows that he was also an accomplished songwriter.
Fortunately, the effort to shine a light on his talents has already been underway in recent years, with tunes by Williams at the heart of the compilation Heed The Call: New Zealand soul, funk and disco 1973-83 (2017). If your ears pricked up hearing him on that album, then this live special will be a real treat.
Prince Tui Teka Variety Show
The first two parts of this 1983 special present the incredible showman Prince Tui Teka at his big-voiced, joke-cracking best. However the third part is where it gets really heart-warming. First, he brings his wife Missy onstage to duet on a song she wrote for him.
Next, he shows why he was such a key figure in the movement to revitalise te reo Māori through song. There is a performance by Pita Sharples and his group, then Teka introduces Ngoi Pēwhairangi and her sisters, who sing in compelling four-voiced harmony. The biggest spine-tingling moment comes when Teka presents Pēwhairangi with a gold record for writing te reo lyrics for his hit ‘E Ipo’ (she also wrote the lyrics for ‘Poi E’!). Then Teka and Missy launch into the song itself, at which point his voice pretty near blows the roof off.
Shazam! – Mockers Special
The producers pulled out all the stops for this one – there are smoke machines, a checkerboard stage, and theatrical lighting that divides the stage into different colours during a quiet moment. The Mockers were worthy of the effort, a powerful pop-rock unit at the peak of their popularity in 1984. Their musicianship is precise but always in service to the song, while Andrew Fagan is a hugely entertaining frontman.
It is a poor reflection on the time that such a band couldn’t find a sustainable career at home, and early interest in Australia led nowhere. The untimely death of drummer Steve Thorpe two years later led the band from poor luck into pure tragedy. Thankfully we have this footage of them in all their youthful glory, delivering wonderful renditions of ‘Woke Up Today’ (at 4:05 in Part One) and show-closer ‘Alvison Park’.
Radio With Pictures – Let There Be Rock
Radio With Pictures managed to catch the dawning of the New Zealand heavy metal scene with this 1984 special that included foundational groups Tokyo, Knightshade and Strikemaster. The music leans further toward hard rock than true metal, but there are plenty of signs of what’s to come with this set of long-haired, leather-clad bands displaying their thundering drums and masterly guitar solos.
The special was done in collaboration with Jayrem Records, who had just released the acts on their Three Points Of Metal compilation. Unfortunately, there aren’t full versions of each song, since they are interspersed with interview footage, but it is such a pivotal moment in the rise of New Zealand metal that it’s essential viewing for any local headbanger.
Radio With Pictures Reggae Special
People often point to the Bob Marley concert in 1979 as being a watershed moment for local reggae music, but another important turning came in the mid-1980s when the bands Aotearoa, Herbs, and Dread, Beat & Blood combined for a series of shows (Ardijah joined the bill for a national tour in 1986).
This special captures the three bands playing together in July 1985 at Victoria University's Union Hall. It opens with the directly political songs of Aotearoa, who nonetheless lace their songs with beautiful harmonised singing. Then things get heavy with the arrival onstage of Dread, Beat & Blood, whose sound is underpinned by the fuzzed-up guitar of singer David Grace. However, it is Herbs that steal the show, particularly with their final two numbers (starting at 32:47) – ‘We’re Crazy Man’ sung by drummer Fred Faleauto and their should’ve-been-a-bigger-hit ‘Nuclear Waste’, sung by Willie Hona.
Mavis Rivers And Friends
It often took a long time for some acts to finally be given their own special. While you can get glimpses of what a charismatic lounge singer Ricky May was from his show filmed in 1983, it would have been far more enticing if he’d been filmed in the early 1960s. Howard Morrison’s 1982 special represents the lounge-act period of his career, while the tribute to Morrison filmed in 2008 is only going to appeal to his existing fans.
However, the best example of a legendary act showcasing their talents to a new generation is this special by Mavis Rivers, which is a must-see for local jazz aficionados. Her voice was so unique that she was signed by Capitol Records (US) in the late 1950s and then signed to Frank Sinatra’s label Reprise in 1961. In this special, she is shown in 1985 alongside the Yandall Sisters. Rivers displays the controlled phrasing and perfectly delivered melodies that made her famous more than two decades earlier.
Blood Harmony – The Finn Brothers Live In Concert; Together In Concert
Blood Harmony covers a lot of ground in 45 minutes, with Neil and Tim Finn running through decades of songwriting together, at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington. There are songs from Split Enz, Crowded House, and their joint compositions as The Finn Brothers, along with some fun cover versions. The songwriting is masterly and of course that their voices sound remarkable together.
While we’re on the subject of Tim Finn, it’s also worth mentioning the Together In Concert documentary. It is only 22 minutes long so doesn’t justify its own spot on this list, but it still a wonderful encapsulation of the ground-breaking 2001 tour which saw Bic Runga, Dave Dobbyn, and Tim Finn joined forces to perform each other’s songs live (with backing band). Dobbyn also has an impressive unplugged special on NZ On Screen from 1994 that may better suit his serious fans but this combo performance will appeal more broadly to lovers of local music. The songs aren’t shown in full, but there’s still many remarkable moments.
Runga in particular gets a chance to show her versatility. She provides harmonies for Dobbyn and Finn one minute, then takes the drum stool the next, and duets with Finn doing the Dan Wilson part on ‘Good Morning Baby’ (from 5:24), which adds a bit of rock edge to this relaxed pop hit:
Goldenhorse with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Goldenhorse were well suited to performing with an orchestra, given that singer Kirsten Morrell would also find a career singing classical works. While many local acts have recorded with an orchestra, they often push the bigger ensemble into the background. However, on this occasion in 2005 there is enough space for the orchestra to shine, with extended passages driven by strings and horn parts, while the band is barely audible.
The result is a concert that lifts the original material into new territory. It’s also a wonderful document of Goldenhorse and their wonderfully leftfield pop-rock tunes.
Radio With Pictures – Live At Mainstreet
The most mind-blowing collection of live concerts held on the NZ On Screen website is the series that was filmed in the mid-1980s at Auckland venue Mainstreet for the show Radio With Pictures. I’ve provided a quick intro to each of them, so you can dig into the ones that sound interesting.
The Dance Exponents had only just begun their rise to fame when they were filmed at Mainstreet, but Jordan Luck already seems like a star in the making. The mood changes when he picks up a guitar and gives a stark rendition of ‘Victoria’ (at 9:20) that really highlights what a stunning song it is, though closing number ‘Airway Spies’ is what gets the crowd jumping.
The Narcs and Coconut Rough were both at the pop end of the spectrum, but they show here that they could deliver on the live stage. Unfortunately, this was before the Narcs had their big hit ‘Heart and Soul’, so it’s left to Coconut Rough to steal the best moment with a punchy version of their hit ‘Sierra Leone’ (at 22:37).
By the time the Legionnaires appeared on this series, the line-up had evolved back into the same four-piece that made up Hello Sailor. They still put their all into Graham Brazier’s solo track ‘Billy Bold’ (20:17), but if you’re a Sailor fan maybe you’ll just want to scroll forward to see ‘Blue Lady’ performed in all its rough-hewn glory (23:40).
Blam Blam Blam were just in the process of breaking up when they filmed their 1984 special. As a result, they go all out by extending the band to include a full horn section. They launch into ‘There Is No Depression In New Zealand’ at 11:40.
This special begins with The Idles, who were a punky new wave group that were making waves at the time, though their most enduring claim-to-fame would be through drummer Barry Blackler who spent time drumming for The Jesus and Mary Chain, before becoming a key manager and promoter back in New Zealand. The Mockers deliver a more raucous set than the Shazam! special mentioned above, with the crowd near moshing when they get going with ‘My Girl Thinks She’s Cleopatra’ (38:00).
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