Welcome to the weekly AudioCulture Quiz. Clue: answers are on the site or, for those in a hurry, at the link below. 

AudioCulture Quiz, 18 November, 2024

Che Fu. - Publicity photo

1: Che Fu won the 2002 APRA Silver Scroll for his hit song ‘Misty Frequencies’. Name the keyboard player/ songwriter who co-wrote it with him.

2. Which Māori hip-hop group recently announced a vinyl reissue of their classic 1997 debut album?

3. Name the Japanese-New Zealand multi-instrumentalist and singer who has performed with Iggy Pop.

Delaney Davidson. - photo by Sabin Holloway

4. What is the title of Lyttelton singer-songwriter Delaney Davidson’s most recent album?

5. Which South Canterbury-born pop and adult contemporary singer sang the lyric “Come on and do de blue beat”?

6: Martin Kini from Gisborne’s Kini Quartet was the brother of bass player Thomas Kini. What was the name of the soul-funk band Thomas was a member of in the United States?

Look Blue Go Purple, Dunedin, 1985 - Denise Roughan, Kathy Bull, Lesley Paris, Norma O'Malley, Kath Webster. - Jeremy Freeman

7: What is the title of Dunedin alternative-pop band Look Blue Go Purple’s debut 1985 EP?

8: Name the Auckland-based Samoan rapper who made his name selling CDs and T-shirts door-to-door.

9: Who was the founder of Urban Pacifika Records?

10: Which New Zealand drum & bass DJ/producer duo created music for the trailer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 11 November, 2024

Netherworld Dancing Toys, Dunedin, 1983.

1. Who was the Netherworld Dancing Toys’ lead singer on their hit single ‘For Today’?

2. What was The Chills’ second single?

3. In 1969, The Fourmyula released a concept album called what?

4. Which 80s Dunedin band released three eps for Flying Nun and this year won the Independent Music NZ Classic Record award at the Taite Music Prize event for their compilation album?

Split Enz, c. 1981: L to R: Neil Finn, Tim Finn, Nigel Griggs, Eddie Rayner, Malcolm Green, Noel Crombie

5. “When my baby’s walking down the street” is the opening line to which 1978 Split Enz single? 

6. Early 80s experimental trio Marie & The Atom’s first EP was called what?

7. Which landmark song, written by Ruru Karaitiana, sung by Pixie Williams, was released by Tanza in 1949 and would sell 50,000 copies?

Andrew Brough - Photo by Becky Nunes

8. What band was Andrew Brough in before Straitjacket Fits and after the Blue Meanies?

Blam Blam Blam. - Photo by John Reynolds

9. Blam Blam Blam recorded a song on their self-titled 1981 EP called ‘Battleship ... ’ – what?

10. Who was a staff writer for Rip It Up in the 1980s, ran the Public Address website and currently has a regular column in the Listener?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 4 November, 2024

Margaret Urlich

1. What is the name of Margaret Urlich’s cousin, who was also successful in the local music scene? 

2. In 2000, Bic Runga joined with two of New Zealand’s top songwriters to tour the country and release a live album which reached the Top 5. Name one of her two companions on the project.

Tomorrow People - BBQ Reggae (2018)

3. Tomorrow People’s No.1 album BBQ Reggae shows a cartoon of a local music reviewer cooking sausages on an open grill, in order to poke fun at him for his critical comments about the local reggae scene. What was the reviewer’s name?

4. Under what artist name did Stella Rose Bennett achieve a billion-streaming hit song?

5. This turn-of-the-90s pop band was a Top 20 act in both New Zealand and Malaysia, due to its Malaysian lead singer Aishah. What was its name?

Johnny Cooper - National Library of NZ Ref: PAColl-10069-11-06

6. Johnny Cooper helped kick off original homegrown rock’n’roll with a composition about a food vendor selling which favourite New Zealand takeaway item?

7. This guitarist ran his own record label, played guitar and mandolin on the Greg Johnson hit ‘Isabelle’, and went on to become a RNZ music host. He has also written the AudioCulture weekly quiz. Who is he?

8. Which New Zealand band had Bernard Butler from Suede as producer on their second EP?

With fellow Quin Tikis (L-R) Anzac Te Oka and Rim D. Paul is Sam Mateparae. - Courtesy of the Rim D. Paul Collection at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

9. Sam Mateparae was a member of the Quin Tikis, Maori Troubadours, and Del-Rockers. His younger brother Jerry later took on a high-profile role within New Zealand – what was it?

10. What was the first band released by Lil Chief Records?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 28 October, 2024

Note: Acrostic fun! The first letter of each answer spells out the name of a celebrated New Zealand songwriter

1. Which country music star rode a horse outside the Sounds Unlimited record store and down Queen Street, Auckland, to promote their 1981 LP release?

2. Mariah Carey sampled 2004 hip-hop hit ‘A Life With You’ on her song ‘Your Girl’. Which Aotearoa act, made up of brothers Nainz and Viiz Tupa’i, took ‘A Life With You’ to No.3 in the New Zealand Top 40?

Viiz and Nainz Tupa'i at the Pacific Music Awards, 2005.

3. Which band, fronted by Murray Grindlay, had its 1969 cover of a Frank Zappa song released as ‘There Will Come A Time’ because Eldred Stebbing refused to put it out under the Zappa title ‘Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance’?

4. Name the shampoo that sponsored New Zealand’s prestigious Golden Disc pop music award held annually from 1965 to 1972.

5. Which band walked the red carpet at the 2012 NZ Music Awards leading a goat, then went on to win Best Hip-Hop album and thank God for not existing?

Economic Wizards - The Second Coming. Artwork by Paddy Neville aka Jim Steel. 

6. Which Wellington label released discs by The Hulamen, The Pelicans, and Economic Wizards in the early 80s?

7. Ladies Bring A Plate and The Money Or The Bags were early suggestions for the name of which New Zealand supergroup?

8. After playing a significant role in the OMC anthem ‘How Bizarre’, whose debut album – recorded in 1996 and 1997 – was finally issued by huh!/Universal in November 2017?

Prince Tui Teka - The Maori Album (1976)

9. Name the New Zealand record label, founded in the late 60s, that had to change its moniker to Manu in the early 1990s after it was threatened with legal action from a US label of the same name. It released many discs by Prince Tui Teka, Nash Chase, and many jazz and Polynesian musicians. 

10. International acts such as Roy Orbison, Los Lobos and Nona Hendryx began pulling out of which failed New Zealand music festival when plane tickets and fees had still not appeared in the days prior to its late January 1988 commencement?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 21 October, 2024

The Deceptikonz in 2002. - Rip It Up Archive

1. Mark Sagapolutele made his name as a solo artist and a member of Deceptikonz, recording for Dawn Raid. What was his stage name?

2. His first two names are Brian Timothy, but he’s better known by the diminutive of the second. He’s also one of the elder statesmen of New Zealand music, one with a career that goes far beyond the band that made him famous. Name him and the band.

AHoriBuzz. - Dean Mackenzie

3. AHoriBuzz was which musician’s irreverent soul-rock-whatever outfit?

4. Michael Braithwaite had a history that went back to 1960s and 1970, recorded for Flying Nun and had a backing band called The Blue Beetles. By what name is he better known?

Aimee Renata is also known by which name?

5. Aimee Renata had a 2024 Taite-nominated album with Not Your Cupid. Who do we know her as?

Mark Hough at the Windsor Castle, Parnell, Auckland, 1979. - Peter Tocher

6. He came from Hawke’s Bay, was in Neil Finn’s first band, wrote or co-wrote two classic singles, ‘Saturday Night Stay at Home’ and ‘Counting The Beat’, and his real name was Mark Hough. What name was he known by?

Yoh at The Gluepot, Ponsonby, Auckland, 1982 - Photo by Michael Thompson

7. Name the 1980s band whose drummer was known to everyone except his parents and the taxman as Yoh?

8. His family knew him as Daniel Bolton. What name did he use on his home-recorded indie classic?

9. Our AudioCulture profile starts: “Bass Player Needed: who you gonna call? For over 50 years the answer has simply been ‘Billy’.” What was legendary bassist Wiremu Karaitiana’s stage name?

Kingdon Te Itinga Chapple-Wilson in 2017.

10. Kingdon Te Itinga Chapple-Wilson is quite a name. By which name do we know him?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 14 October, 2024

Dam Native - Kaupapa Driven Rhymes Uplifted (1997, Tangata Records)

1. Dam Native’s 1997 album Kaupapa Driven Rhymes Uplifted has just been reissued on vinyl. Who produced it?

2. Annah Mac initially emerged from which nationwide school songwriting initiative?

3. In which US state did Troy Kingi and his band The Cactus Handshake record their latest album Leatherman & the Mojave Green?

4. Whe came from Te Kūiti, moved to Dunedin, worked at the Post Office, then with The Enemy and Toy Love, before becoming a recording engineer, producer and promoter?

5. On September 20 we lost “a voice in a million”. After joining The Quin Tikis in 1966 and appearing in the film Don’t Let It Get You, he left in 1969 to start a successful solo career. Who was he?

6. Which band released the single ‘Murder in Manners Street’ in 1980?

Dubhead at Auckland Domain band rotunda for the One Love Unity Celebrations, 6 February 1997.

7. Patrick Waller (aka Dubhead) was in which Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland band in the early 1980s with Brent Hayward and Julie Cooper?

8. As featured in AudioCulture’s new Māori Music Collection Ngā Puoro Arotini, in 1927 which singer sang on New Zealand’s first commercial recording with her cousin, the great baritone Deane Waretini?

Rocky Douché in Marmalade Studios.

9. In 1971 Rocky Douché founded Marmalade Studios, where hits by Jon Stevens, Holidaymakers, Dennis O’Brien, Sharon O’Neill, Netherworld Dancing Toys, and Dave Dobbyn were recorded. In which Aotearoa New Zealand city was Marmalade?

10. Who was awarded the 2024 APRA Silver Scroll for her song ‘Kātuarehe’?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 7 October, 2024

The Beths: Tristan Deck, Ben Sinclair, Liz Stokes, and Jonathan Pearce. - Mason Fairey

1. Which song by The Beths won the 2023 APRA Silver Scroll?

2. Name the winning song from 2013 in which “we’re driving Cadillacs in our dreams”.

3. Name the songwriter who won twice, in 1988 with ‘Soviet Snow’ and in 1992 with ‘Mercy of Love’.

4. James Milne and Luke Buda wrote the 2009 winner, ‘Apple Pie Bed’. By what artist name is Milne also known?

5. Avalanche City’s Dave Baxter won in 2011 with ‘Love Love Love’. Which television channel ran the song as a promotional ad?

Don McGlashan, 2021. - Diane Smithers

6. In 1994 Don McGlashan won the Silver Scroll for ‘Anchor Me’ (The Mutton Birds). He won again in 2006 for which song?

7. Name the songwriter behind the 2018 winner, ‘Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore’.

8. No Silver Scroll award was presented in 1981. It was remedied in 2015 when APRA retrospectively announced The Swingers as the 1981 recipients. Name that song.

9. 2002 winner ‘Misty Frequencies’ was cowritten by Godfrey de Grut and which other performer?

10. Name the well-known songwriter who has won the APRA Silver Scroll three times and in 2021 was named Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to music.

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AudioCulture Quiz, 30 September, 2024

Gary Thain in his trademark Ugg boots

1. In 1964, bassist Gary Thain joined Ōtautahi Christchurch band The Secrets. Then in 1969 he joined a high-profile UK hard rock band, playing on their 1972 album Demons and Wizards. What was the band?

2. Before Dion Palmer co-founded The D4, he played bass in which Auckland North Shore-based band?

3. Which Ōtautahi Christchurch band, who recently reformed for a couple of shows, released the album Showered in Gold in 1997?

4. In July, The Narcs’ biggest hit single hit a milestone: it was released 40 years ago in 1984. What was the song?

Studio fun with Miss Nicky Says and @larrikinpuppets, February 2024. - Photo from Facebook with permission.

5. Children’s music superstar Miss Nicky Says hails from Kirikiriroa Hamilton. In which country was she living in 2021 when she set up her hugely popular YouTube channel?

6. In 1972, a musical opened at His Majesty’s Theatre in Auckland which drew the ire of the attorney-general, Sir Roy Jack. He authorised a police prosecution, accusing the producers and promoters of the “Distribution or exhibition of indecent matter.” What was the musical?

7. What was the first band for which Ōtepoti Dunedin producer and engineer Tex Houston did live sound?

8. Name the Aotearoa New Zealand singer who sang and starred in the 1980s television commercial for Gerard roofing.

Fan Club (L-R): Dave Larsen, Paul Moss, Malcolm Smith, Aishah, Glenn Peters

9. Sensation – the 1988 album by Auckland band Fan Club – did well in New Zealand, but even better in singer Aishah’s homeland, where it became the biggest-selling English language album ever at the time. Which country was that?

10. In 2023, the Play It Strange Trust celebrated 20 years of running secondary school songwriting competitions. Which former member of Split Enz and Citizen Band founded it?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 23 September, 2024

Name the musican performing in Vulcan Lane, Auckland, c.1982

1. Who is the future member of Marie and the Atom pictured here playing the banjo on Auckland’s Vulcan Lane?

2. Name the sound engineer who created the Tex Tone speakers.

3. At which Wellington experimental music venue was Anita Clark the 2020 artist-in-residence?

4. Ventry Parker performs under what name?

Anna Coddington.

5. In which seaside Waikato town did Anna Coddington grow up?

6. Name one of the members of the short-lived Dunedin band The Cartilage Family.

7. Which band released the albums Max Harris and DR503 in the 1980s?

8. The Phoenix Foundation composed the original soundtrack which 2010 film?

Delaney Davidson and Barry Saunders - Word Gets Around (2019)

9. After releasing Word Gets Around, Delaney Davidson and Barry Saunders won which Tui award in 2020?

10. ‘Dancing the Columbine’ was used as an advertising jingle for Columbine hosiery in the 1990s. Who sang on the jingle?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 16 September, 2024

Oceania, a collaboration between Hinewehi Mohi and ...

1. Who was Dame Hinewehi Mohi’s musical collaborator in the Oceania group?

2. Which Māori pop singer, actor and television personality played the lead role in Tearepa Kahi’s Mt. Zion film?

3. Wellington indie rocker Vera Ellen won this year’s Taite Music Prize for her album Ideal Home Noise. Which local musician produced Ideal Home Noise for her?

4. Who sang and performed the 1990s Interislander ferry theme song, ‘Cruising On The Interislander’?

Marie and The Atom - She Said (1984)

5. Which New Zealand cassette tape record label released Marie & The Atom’s second EP, She Said?

6. At which classic New Zealand festival did Talking Heads play their final live performance?

Anita Clark aka Motte - David Dunham

7. Anita Clark, aka Motte, is a violinist, cellist, composer, and vocalist from Northern Canterbury. Which famous Australian post-punk musician did she tour New Zealand with earlier this year?

8. Name the longstanding Auckland recording studio and music manufacturing company that recently started pressing vinyl again in New Zealand.

9. In the early 1980s, Martin Phillipps wrote a letter to a famous American children's author and cartoonist asking if they would create cover art for The Chills. Who did Phillipps write to?

10. Which recently deceased New Zealand jazz big band leader spent five years playing in The Quincy Conserve?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 9 September, 2024

The Verlaines in the Californian desert, 1993. - Jeff Bender

1. Which 1993 album by The Verlaines was re-released on vinyl for Record Store Day earlier this year? 

2. On which New Zealand label was Split Enz’ 1975 debut album Mental Notes released?

3. Australian DJ Timmy Trumpet teamed up with which local hip-hop star to reach No.1 in New Zealand in 2014 with a song called ‘Freaks’?

At the Top 20, Auckland, 1966. Left to right: Mick Sibley, Clive Coulson, Vaughan Stephens, Red McKelvie, Ian Thomson. - Ian Thomson collection

4. Guitarist and pedal steel player Red McKelvie, who died in 2022, had a long career in country music. But which South Auckland R&B band – pictured above – did he join in the mid-1960s?

5. Dragon songwriter Paul Hewson found the inspiration for ‘April Sun in Cuba’ in a 1921 newspaper column on what subject?

6. The Redwood 70 National Music Convention was held in which Auckland suburb?

7. Who won the inaugural Taite Music Prize in 2010 with his album Chant Darling?

8. Name the punk band that evolved out of Smokefreerockquest 2001 winners Carriage H from Logan Park High School in Dunedin.

9. Name the New Zealand band which in 1978 took to busking in the streets of Manhattan in NYC and played at legendary venues CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City.

Bill and Boyd in the mid-1970s. Boyd Robertson left, Bill Cate right. 

10. What was Bill & Boyd’s highest charting hit in Australia?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 2 September, 2024

Split Enz: Nigel Griggs, Tim Finn, Eddie Rayner, Neil Finn, Paul Hester, Noel Crombie

1. Which former Split Enz member released a solo album called Horse?

2. Christchurch band Gorilla Biscuit evolved into which hit-making 2000s group?

3. “I went to sleep that night and woke up with a start, with the name ‘When the Cat’s Away’.” Who said that?

Barry Saunders

4. Barry Saunders’ late 70s/early 80s Wellington guitar-pop band had a hit with ‘Red Dress’. Name the band.

Ticket's Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, 1972

5. Who designed the sleeve of Ticket’s classic album Let Sleeping Dogs Lie?

6. Centred around David Mitchell, their only Flying Nun EP was called The Grotesque Singer. Who were they?

7. Who had a massive hit with ‘Miss September’?

8. “Bought a dog off a bloke who was passing through / for a retread tyre and a beer or two / its name and breeding no one knew / it was black and tan, so I called it Blue.” Who sang that?

Josie Rika

9. Josie Rika, Mark Williams and Murray Grindlay created the soundtrack to which classic canine-entitled New Zealand movie?

10. What was the Kiwi Hit Disc?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 26 August, 2024

Howard Morrison, 1965

1. Name Aotearoa’s first full-length musical film, which featured performances by Howard Morrison, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eddie Low, and Eliza Keil.

2. Graham Wardrop was vocalist and lead guitarist for which 1970s Dunedin band?

Name the artist. - Photo by Dave Simpson

3. Who is this artist?

4. Which hair-metal band performed their song ‘TV Blue’ on after-school programme 3:45 Live! in 1989?

5. Which member of The Beths plays a G&L Tribute Fallout guitar?

6. Steph Brown performs under which stage name?

Kimbra. - Publicity image

7. In 2018 Kimbra opened shows for which highly influential American musician during his Australasian tour?

8. Johnny Sagala and Lucia Ablett (Emcee Lucia) hosted which Max TV video show?

9. Which band, formed at Onslow College in Wellington, led on to The Hulamen and Holidaymakers?

10. ‘We Light Fire’ by Julia Deans was covered by Beastwars for their covers album. What is the name of that album? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, 19 August, 2024

Stan Walker in 2013. - Photo by Gareth Shute

1. Which musician appeared alongside Stan Walker in the film Mt Zion and had supporting actor roles in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The Kick, and The Pā Boys?

2. In the 1990s, Flying Nun was gradually bought by which music label from Australia?

3. Which band won the 2023 APRA Silver Scroll for its song ‘Expert In A Dying Field’?

4. This New Zealand composer has written or arranged popular music with Bellbirds, Neil Finn, Tami Neilson, Anika Moa, Strawpeople, Greg Johnson, Finn Andrews, Shapeshifter, Sandy Mill, Don McGlashan, Sean James Donnelly (SJD), and TrueBliss. Who is she?

5. During his time as a judge on the TV show Studio One, this 1960s rock/pop star admitted he hated country music. Nonetheless he later returned to New Zealand screens as the host of That’s Country. Who was he?

Pam Sheyne, 2021 - Publicity photo

6. New Zealander Pam Sheyne co-wrote a US No.1 hit for Christina Aguilera. What was the name of the song?

7. The New Truth headline “Naked Kiwi rockers make Split Enz look like Mormon Tabernacle choir!” was about which 1990s band?

8. Who is this quote from? “We [The Basketcases] played at Mollett Street – Chris Knox came up and jumped on me, he thought I was the bee’s knees, chick drummer and all that.”

9. This multi-talented singer has been added to the New Zealand Order of Merit (in 2004) for services to Māori and music. In 2019 her band’s 1993 album received the Independent Music NZ classic record award. Who is she?

Dave and the Dynamos - Kevin Findlater (top), Bernie Reber, Dave Luther (front)

10. Dave Luther from 1970s band Hogsnort Rupert released a novelty song in 1983 under the band name Dave and the Dynamos. It was that year’s only No.1 by an New Zealand artist. What was the song?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 12 August, 2024

The Clean, 1981. - Photo by Carol Tippet

1. In which city was Nightshift studio, where The Clean’s ‘Tally Ho!’ was recorded?

2. Which Auckland based independent label signed Bic Runga before she went to Sony Records?

3. Name the Wellington band that had a No.1 hit in May 1988 with their cover version of Bill Withers’ ‘Sweet Lovers’?

4. What is the Bob Dylan-inspired title of Matthew Bannister’s 1999 memoir about the early days of Flying Nun?

5. Name the soulful lead singer of 1960s R&B band The Action.

Stanley Manthyng in Cactus: live at The Venue, Auckland, 1989. - Graham Hooper

6. Stanley Manthyng’s early 1990s band World Gone Wild was produced by Michael Den Elzen – which band was Den Elzen in with Phil Judd, Nigel Griggs and Noel Crombie?

7. Which Canadian-born New Zealander opened for US rock band Heart at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz Fest?

8. Mark Tierney co-produced which album by the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience?

The Face in 1972. From left: Mack Tane (bass), Willie Hona (front, guitar), Mark Williams (at rear, vocals) and Gregg Findlay (drums). - Phil Warren Collection

9. The late Willie Hona, who died in May 2024, is best known for his work in Herbs. Years before joining Herbs he was in a band called Face along with Mark Williams and Mack Tane. Which town in the Kaipara district did they form in?

10. Who was the local promoter behind David Bowie’s 1983 Serious Moonlight tour of New Zealand?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 5 August, 2024

Max Merritt and The Meteors at The Teenagers Club, 1958

1. Run by Max Merritt’s parents from 1957, The Teenagers Club was the first rock’n’roll venue of which city?

2. Name the biggest hit of C&W musician Garner Wayne, from 1964.

Janet Roddick and band, Threepenny Opera. - Janet Roddick collection

3. In a production of Kurt Weill’s Threepenny Opera, at Downstage Theatre, Wellington, in 1988, with Janet Roddick as musical director, which electrifying combo played the band?

4. Which cult hit by Darcy Clay had a video budget of $250 and a bottle of whisky?

Maisey Rika. - Publicity photo

5. In 2004, Maisey Rika was chosen as a contestant on NZ Idol. Why was she eliminated after the first few days of the competition?

6. In 1983, the Skeptics played a gig at the Cricketers Arms Tavern in Wellington, to a small but mutually influential audience consisting solely of the entirety of which Australian band?

7. Which New Zealand beat group was on the bill of early New Zealand tours by the Rolling Stones and Roy Orbison?

8. Which Christchurch band made their cassette tape album Equinox stand out in record stores by using full-sized LP record sleeves, adorned with a garish day-glo screen-print style that would become their trademark?

9. When they met in the 1960s, Danny Kaye performed an impromptu haka for which Māori showband?

Clementine Valentine

10.  What does the long-running jingle for Geddes dentures (“Broke my dentures, broke my dentures …”) have in common with the sister duo Clementine Valentine?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 31 July, 2024

Erny Belle

1. Erny Belle’s first album Venus is Home (2019) was named after which member of her family?

2. Clive Coulson was the singer with The Dark Ages, then became a respected road manager and soundman in London in the mid-1960s. After a US tour with Jeff Beck fell apart, he became a roadie for which hugely popular UK rock band?

3. Mt Zion (2012) tells the story of a band in 1979 trying to get the support slot for Bob Marley’s concert at Western Springs. The main role was taken by someone who could convincingly take the role of a musician – who is he?

4. Who produced Tex Pistol and Rikki Morris's 1988 hit ‘Nobody Else’?

Instigators

5. Ska/punk band Instigators recently had their two early 80s Ripper Records singles, and a side of live tracks, released on vinyl on The Best of Instigators. Who was their lead singer?

6. One of Gisborne Tairāwhiti’s longest-running venues (opened in 1990) features a DC-3 aircraft suspended over the outdoor seating, and a vintage Morris Minor car by the front gate. What is the name of the venue?

7. Who founded Urban Pacifika Records (UPR) in 1996?

8. David Gapes passed away in March this year. Which radio station did he co-found?

Three Houses Down

9. During Three Houses Down’s performance at the One Love festival in 2016, they brought a special guest onto the stage. Rob’s 10-year-old son Lotima delivered a version of 80s hit ‘Pass The Dutchie’, and a young star was born. What is his stage name?

10. Which member of The Clean and The Bats also ran the magazine Every Secret Thing?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 22 July, 2024

Jon Stevens in the late 70s

1. Name one of the Australian bands that Upper Hutt-raised ‘Jezebel’ hitmaker Jon Stevens went on to front.

2. ‘The Cigarette Duet’ has clocked up over 110 million plays on YouTube – name one of the duet partners.

Greg Carroll, Kilburn, London, Christmas Day, 1984. - Richard Morris

3. What Auckland landmark is celebrated in U2’s tribute to their Whanganui-raised roadie Greg Carroll, who died in 1986?

4. Which iconic 60s New Zealand pop singer did Tami Neilson team up with for a tour last year?

5. Which Samoan-New Zealand family group’s 1961 debut album was entitled Take Off?

6. ‘Pulsing’ was a hit for which Wellington electronic group?

7. Name the longstanding Wellington band fronted by Jon McLeary which has released music on Flying Nun, Ripper and Jayrem.

8. Name the founder of Jayrem Records.

9. Which Flying Nun artist won the prestigious Taite Prize in 2024?

10. What was the name of Warren Maxwell’s post-TrinityRoots rock band?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 15 July, 2024

Footrot Flats soundtrack album cover, 1987

1. Which Auckland college supplied members of its choir to sing on Dave Dobbyn’s ‘I Love Rugby’, from the Footrot Flats soundtrack?

Nesian Mystik, from left: Heath Manukau, Junior Rikiau, David Atai (at back), Donald McNulty, Feleti Strickson-Pua (at back), Te Awanui Reeder

2. Which Auckland high school, near a famous outdoor venue, did the members of Nesian Mystik attend?

3. Which Dunedin high school taught sound engineer Tex Houston, many members of Cripple and Netherworld Dancing Toys, and had Rip It Up writer George Kay as a history teacher?

Goodshirt, from left to right: Murray Fisher, Mike Beehre, Rodney Fisher, Gareth Thomas

4. Goodshirt’s Rodney and Murray Fisher went to which Taranaki high school?

5. Logan Park High School in Dunedin is the alma mater of several Flying Nun acts. Name one of them.

The Ainsworths: Rowan Shedden, Hilary Hunt, Phil Jackson, Adam Holt - Simon Grigg collection. Photo by Anthony Phelps.

6. The Screaming Meemees and The Ainsworths made good use of which North Shore high school’s music room? 

7. Name the high school, on Auckland’s North Shore, that nurtured Lorde and The Checks.

Hollie Smith. - Steve Dykes

8. Nathan Haines, Joel Haines, and Hollie Smith were also educated on the North Shore, closer to the harbour bridge. Name their college.

9. Which member of The Exponents said goodbye at Geraldine High School?

10. Two Auckland high schools had their caps worn by The Beatles during their 1964 New Zealand tour, photographed by Michael Willison for the NZ Woman’s Weekly. Name one of the schools.

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AudioCulture Quiz, 8 July, 2024

Johnny Devlin, 18 November 1958. Taken in Wellington by an Evening Post photographer, during Devlin's 1958-59 national tour. - Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington; Ref EP/1958/3934-F

1. In which provincial city did pioneering rock’n’roll star Johnny Devlin grow up?

2. Whose first release was under the name Tono and the Finance Company?

3. Kevan Moore was the producer of which groundbreaking late 60s TV pop show?

4. Which band is named after a 1970s sci-fi programme, and named its 2018 EP BBQ Reggae?

Gill Civil performing in The Holy Trinity Cathedral, Dunedin, 1983 - Gill Civil Collection

5. With which Australasian band did Gill Civil briefly play keyboards in 1986?

6. I released my first album, You Can Do It, in 1979, fronted early 80s Australian band Koo De Tah and sang the theme song for TV drama Shortland Street. Who am I?

7. In the past five years, two acts have released double-live albums recorded at The Auckland Town Hall. Name one of them.

8. In the 1970s, Mandrax Mansion was a notorious party flat in Auckland. Name one of two bands that lived there.

9. Stella Bennett is better known by what name?

10. Who recorded the Slugbuckethairybreathmonster EP?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 1 July, 2024

Jenny Morris, 1980s - Simon Grigg collection

1. When Jenny Morris was living in Australia in the early 1980s – after The Crocodiles but before coming into her own as a solo artist – which rapidly rising Australian band did she sing backing vocals for? 

2. Who was the first female New Zealander to reach No.1 on the Australian pop charts with her 1964 cover of Jackie Wilson’s ‘Reet Petite’?

3. Dave Dobbyn, Neil and Tim Finn, Geoff and Mike Chunn, Ian Morris, and Peter Urlich are all late 1960s-early 1970s alumni of which Auckland college?

4. Pranksters ?Fog (aka Surgical Brain Implant) formed in Auckland in 1983, playing about 50 gigs under several different iterations of both band and name. During a gig supporting Flesh D-Vice at The Windsor Castle in Parnell in the mid-80s, why was one of the vocalists – Sam Swan – rushed to hospital?

Bressa Creeting Cake, L to R: Geoff Creeting, Joel Bressa, Edmund Cake - Photo by Bridget Jones

5. Bressa Creeting Cake (formerly Breast Secreting Cake) were signed to Flying Nun backstage at Auckland’s Powerstation in 1997 after opening for Australian band Hunters & Collectors. Which song did they cover on Abbasalutely, Flying Nun’s 1995 ABBA tribute album?

6. Circa 1977, before climbing the pop charts with Thompson Twins, a New Zealand musician started a band with a London punk named Traci; the band was called The Unf*ckables. Who was the New Zealander?

Will Crummer performing with his daughter Annie, 2011.  - Trevor Villers

7. Annie Crummer’s father Will Crummer was a prize-winning singer in his own right. Where was his favourite spot in Rarotonga from which to command an audience?

8. Emma Paki’s 1993 single ‘System Virtue’ – for which she won Best Songwriter and Most Promising Female Vocalist at the 1993 NZ Music Awards – was produced for no charge by Jaz Coleman, as a thank you to local Māori for what assistance?

Kim Krueger with the Folkstone Three, before the trio left for the UK. - NZ Teen Scene, 7 January 1963

9. In 1964 Wellington’s The Folkstone Three renamed themselves the Harbour Lites and headed for London where, in 1966, they recorded a song off The Beatles’ Rubber Soul album. Name the song.

10. Around the time of her 1995 album Tremble, Jan Hellriegel was asked for her autograph by a Ponsonby bank teller. Which enormously popular North American female musician had they mistaken her for?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 24 June, 2024

Vera Ellen - Photo by Nicola Sandford

1. What was the title of Vera Ellen’s 2015 debut album?

2. Godfrey de Grut and Che Fu won the APRA Silver Scroll for which song?

3. Name a member of Across the Great Divide.

Miho Wada with Iggy Pop in 2011.

4. Which wind instrument did Miho Wada study at Trinity College in London?

5. Monster was the early name for which 1990s Auckland band on Flying Nun?

6. Where did Julian Temple study music after moving to Aotearoa?

7. Which member of Look Blue Go Purple had the cat that inspired their song ‘Cactus Cat’?

8. Which member of Split Enz spearheaded the ENZSO project?

Jonathan Bree in 2023 - Chelsea Nikkel

9. At age 12 Jonathan Bree was playing drums in his cousin’s band. In which band did he become prominent in the early 2000s?

10. What was the name of the record label set up by Tim Finn, Eddie Rayner and Debbie Harwood?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 17 June, 2024

The Beatles arrive in Wellington - Chris Bourke collection

1. Which New Zealand band supported The Beatles at the Princess Theatre, Hong Kong, just prior to their Aotearoa tour? 

2. Name the Beatles song recorded by Ray Columbus and the Invaders which was first recorded and released by the Rolling Stones.

3. In 1969, Paul McCartney was at Abbey Road recording ‘Oh Darling’. Which New Zealand band came in to the studio to say hello – and then quickly say goodbye?

Barry Markwick: a 1963 publicity shot.  - Jo Jules collection

4. Young Christchurch jazz pianist Barry Markwick was among the first to do what relating to The Beatles?

5. In 1963 The Beatles covered Smokey Robinson’s ‘You Really Got a Hold On Me’. Which New Zealand female singer recorded it at the beginning of her solo career?

6. Wellington teenager Rochelle Vinsen recorded ‘My Boyfriend Got a Beatle Haircut’ in 1964. Which New Zealand female singing star recorded ‘Yeah Yeah, We Love Them All’?

The Beatles at Auckland Town Hall, 1964

7. Who was the Auckland mayor who battled his council to give The Beatles a civic welcome during their visit to the city? 

8. Name the drummer, later well-known as an actor and host of 1980s TV music show Dixie Chicken, who sat at the Beatles’ Wellington show, looked at Ringo and thought, “Fall off that f’n stool and I’ll be up there so fast. I know all the songs ...”

9. Which New Zealand musician released an album of Beatles interpretations called Evolver in 2013?

10. Who was the drummer of The Merseymen, the resident band at Phil Warren’s teenage club in Auckland, The Beatle Inn?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 10 June, 2024

Grace in 1996: Paul, Jason and Anthony Ioasa

1. Brothers Anthony, Jason and Paul Ioasa formed the neo-soul band Grace in 1993. What was the name of their 1994 album, released on the Deepgrooves Entertainment label?

2. Which Auckland band on the Flying Nun label was Dominic Stones in before he joined Snapper and The 3Ds?

3. Name the singer who had a 1980 hit in Australia with ‘Love At First Night’ and went to Penrose High School with Tina Cross, sharing vocal duties with her in a group called Chalkdust?

Name this band. Left to right: Phil Toms, Mike Croft, Rick Bryant, Sam Ford, Tim Robinson, Trudi Green, Wayne Baird, Greg Heath

4. Which Auckland band of the early 1980s included Sam Ford, Trudi Green and Rick Bryant in its line-up and recorded a live album at the Gluepot called Vocal at the Local?

5. The Netherworld Dancing Toys’ Graham Cockroft and Sneaky Feelings’ David Pine were two founders of which student radio station?

6. Which late 90s/early 2000s metal band from West Auckland, who in 2003 played the main stage at Big Day Out and performed showcase gigs at South By Southwest in Austin Texas, was named after a very tall plant?

7. Omega-B and Koma are two founders of which Hamilton Kirikiriroa hip hop group?

8. Name the musical brothers from Taranaki who formed Nocturnal Projections and This Kind of Punishment.

9. ‘Codeine Road’ was the name of a 1994 single by which singer-songwriter on the Deepgrooves Entertainment label?

Al Hunter at The Gluepot, October 1992 - Photo by Alan Fon

10. In the early 1990s after a decades-long career playing in pubs and clubs, Al Hunter recorded a weather-themed song for a television advertising jingle. The song, written by Jim Hall, Ian Morris, and Callie Blood, raised Hunter’s national profile, and was included on his 1993 album The Singer. Name the song.

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AudioCulture Quiz, 3 June, 2024

Ritchie Pickett on the set of That’s Country, early 1980s

1. Who did Ritchie Pickett nickname “His Midgesty”?

2. “Let me be your ruler / I can be your queen bee” – name the song.

3. “Thank God It’s Over!” was the advertising slogan for which cataclysmic 1984 event?

4. Superpop 70 was a royal variety show held in Auckland in 1970, featuring The Chicks and Bunny Walters. Name one of the royals who was a guest of honour.

5. Which female singer, born in Tokoroa and now based in Australia, opened for Prince on his 1986 European tour?

6. Which Dunedin tavern was the venue for the private party for Nunfest ’96: the 15th anniversary celebration of Flying Nun?

7. Who was nicknamed “the queen of the mods”?

8. Whose songs ‘The Cigarette Duet’ and ‘I Love My Boyfriend’ have received tens of millions of streams?

9. Which fondly remembered Auckland pub began its time as a venue with an Al Hunter residency and went on to host countless local and international acts?

10. Which song on Dave Dobbyn’s Lament for the Numb album described the lavishly decorated Auckland cinema The Civic?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 27 May, 2024

Airstrike - Peter Chilton on the truck, Timaru 1980.

1. 1980s rock band Airstrike came from the same city as Chris Knox, Jason Kerrison, and Suzanne Prentice – name the city.

2. Godfrey de Grut and Che Fu won the APRA Silver Scroll for which song? 

3. Which legendary Māori songwriter formed the performing arts group Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū during World War II?

Linn Lorkin performing at Watershed Theatre, Auckland, 1992. - Linn Lorkin Collection

4. Which song by jazz vocalist and pianist Linn Lorkin celebrated the Aotearoa summer? 

5. Which sister duo first started out as The Purple Pilgrims?

6. Whose album Shake Up won the 2017 Tui award for Best Country Music Album?

Drax Project opening for Six60, Eden Park, Auckland, 24 April 2021.

7. Which song by Drax Project had over 180 million streams by 2022?

8. Coco Solid began as a duo. Apart from Coco (ie, Jessica Hansell), who was the other original member?

9. ‘Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore’ won the APRA Silver Scroll in 2018. Who first recorded the song with Marlon Williams?

10. Name the musicians who toured under the name Reid & Ruins in 2020.

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AudioCulture Quiz, 20 May, 2024

What’s that album? by Graham Reid

AudioCulture readers no doubt immerse themselves in the music they hear, but how aware are we of what we see? As we noted recently, album covers in the resurgent era of vinyl have become important art object, the kinds of things we scan for lyrics, clues, information and imagery. 

So here’s a quick test of observation skills. What follows are 10 partial images taken from various album covers. See if you can identify the album and artist. Take an extra bow if you get within a year or so of the album’s release date.

--

1. 

2.

3.

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8.

9. 

10. 

and a bonus to turn it up …

11. 

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AudioCulture Quiz, 13 May, 2024

Delaney Davidson. - Veronica McLaughlin

1. Which APRA “music genre” award has singer-songwriter Delaney Davidson won three times?

2. What group won the Independent Music NZ Classic Record Award at this year’s annual Taite Music Awards?

Willie Hona with Herbs at Ruatoria

3. Sadly, long term Herbs front man and songwriter Willie Hona recently died. He grew up in a small town called Rawene. Which province is it in?

4. Which well-known bass player taught internationally successful artists Nadia Reid and Aldous Harding during his 30 years as Head of Music at Logan Park High School?

5. Who engineered the tom-tom sound played by drummer Ricky Ball in the 1977 Hello Sailor single ‘Gutter Black’?

6. Starting in the early 1980s a small and ugly pub venue (not The Empire) played an important role in the development of Dunedin's music scene. What was it called?

7. What musical genre plays a key part in the sound of Ōtāhuhu’s Shepherds Reign?

8. Which Auckland studio has been the been the location for recording classic songs such as The Chills’ ‘Pink Frost’, Chris Knox’s ‘Not Given Lightly’, and ‘Young Blood’, the international hit by The Naked and Famous?

9. Which singer, who toured the country with Tami Neilson late last year, also played to New Zealand troops in the Vietnamese jungle in 1966?

10. Which New Zealand band, in its 2024 line-up, recently toured the country with Hello Sailor to celebrate its 50th anniversary?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 6 May, 2024

Superette:  Greta Anderson, Ben Howe, Dave Mulcahy

1. What connects the groups Lanky, Superette, Dimmer and The Stereo Bus?

2. By what name is the Wellington venue previously known as Ali Baba’s and Indigo now known?

3. What is the name of the Samoan metal band whose 2023 album was called Ala Mai?

The 3Ds.

4. Which former member of The 3Ds and Look Blue Go Purple now plays in the band Living Clipboards?

5. What was the name of the cassette-only compilation of Flying Nun bands covering each other’s songs (sold only at the 10th Anniversary show at the Powerstation)?

6. Which Taita-raised bassist for Rockinghorse, Taylor, Sharon O’Neill and The Warratahs sadly passed away in February of this year?

7. Whose classic 1998 electronica album Inside A Quiet Mind was recently reissued on vinyl?

Minuit. - Photo by Georgia Schofield

8. Name a member of Nelson based electronic/ dance trio Minuit.

9. Stephen McCarthy, of Christchurch indie rock trio Pine, is also well-recognised graphic designer. He created much of the distinctive sleeve art for which label?

10. Michael Franklin-Browne replaced drummer Hidee Beast (Mark Hamill) in which band?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 29 April, 2024

Strawpeople, 1990s: Mark Tierney and Paul Casserly

1. Strawpeople gave some rare live performances this year, at Splore and Womad 2024. In the 1990s they opened for friends the Headless Chickens with a performance that, according to founding member Paul Casserly, “fell apart like a bad pavlova” and discouraged them from playing live shows. What was the venue?

2. Which Flying Nun group of the 1990s covered the apocalyptic folk song ‘Morning Dew’ and – another with folk origins – Dick Dale’s surf guitar classic, ‘Misirlou’?

3. Name the Auckland band of the 1990s who had good airplay on student radio and Max TV with songs like ‘Day At The Fair’ and ‘Red Velvet Sofa’ but called it a day before releasing their album, which finally saw CD release through Failsafe Records in 2023?

4. When The Beatles visited Auckland in 1964, what caused a fuss among the city councillors?

5. Name the New Zealand musician who has played for Split Enz, Crowded House, Space Waltz, and for international artists including Australian Crawl, Phil Manzanera and Paul McCartney.

6. Keyboardist Mal Logan enjoyed a lengthy career in Australia, where he played with Charlie Tumahai in Healing Force, joined the Renee Geyer Band for the Ready To Deal album (featuring ‘Heading In The Right Direction’), played on Little River Band’s ‘Reminiscing’ and was among the personnel for Jimmy Barnes’ Soul Deep album. But prior to that, which famous New Zealand garage-pop group did he join in 1968?

The Netherworld Dancing Toys, venue unknown - Nick Sampson collection

7. At which venue did the Netherworld Dancing Toys play their debut show – or “Consummation Party” – in June 1982?

8. Name the former cellist (also percussionist, trumpeter, and guitarist) from The Kiwi Animal who is the host of 95bFM’s longstanding show The Rhythm Selection, broadcast on Monday nights from 9-11pm?

Southside of Bombay at York Street Recording Studios, 1995. - Teresa McGregor

9. Auckland’s York Street Recording Studios began in 1992, spearheaded by three people – engineers Malcolm Welsford and Martin Williams – plus which international rock performer/producer?

10. Name the drummer and singer (and later, TV host and actor), known for his work in Australian band the Missing Links, and New Zealand bands including Arkastra and BLERTA – who sat six feet behind Ringo Starr’s drum position at a 1964 Beatles show in Wellington.

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AudioCulture Quiz, 22 April, 2024

Which artists recorded albums with the following titles?

We Light Fire (2018)

1. We Light Fire (2018)

2. Flk Y’Self off Y’Self (1994)

3. Silencer (2000)

4. Pipeline Under the Ocean (2005)

Hey U X (2020)

5. Hey U X (2020)

6. Burning Up Years (1969)

7. White Sunday (2003)

A Study In Black (1967)

8. A Study in Black (1967)

9. Jump Rope Gazers (2020)

10. In Perpetuity (2022)

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AudioCulture Quiz, 15 April, 2024

1. Which South Island town does Deja Voodoo sing about in this 2004 song: ‘Today, Tomorrow …’?

2. Which Pacific nation is the ancestral home of brothers Rob, Sione/John, and Charlie Pome’e of Three Houses Down?

3. On which street does Jordan Luck of The Exponents wait in this song from 1985? ‘Christchurch – In ? Street I Wait’

Charlie Tumahai with Healing Force in Melbourne, Australia, 1971

4. Charlie Tumahai (Herbs/Be Bop Deluxe) grew up on what became known as “Boot Hill” – Ngāti Whātua’s home base in the Auckland suburb of Ōrākei. What is it more commonly known as?

5. In 1980 Jon Stevens had a No.1 hit about which Jamaican bay?

Anna Coddington.

6. Anna Coddington grew up in which seaside Waikato town?

7. Hamilton-based New Zealand rapper Raiza Biza’s parents are from which African nation?

8. Gary Wallace (aka Gary Wahrlich), the Quin Tikis’ drummer, starred in the 1965 film Don’t Let It Get You. The plot centres on Wallace trying to get to play in Howard Morrison’s band in which town?

9. The second album in Troy Kingi’s 10 albums/10 genres/10 years (10/10/10) project is called Shake That Skinny Ass All the Way to … where?

Sneaky Feelings: Matthew Bannister, David Pine, John Kelcher and Martin Durrant, photo by Jeremy Freeman

10. In which Aotearoa New Zealand city is Sneaky Feelings’ ‘Husband House’?

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AudioCulture Quiz, 8 April, 2024

The Knobz, L-R: Kevin Fogarty, Mark Stanton, Peter McManus, Bob Reid

1. The Knobz’ only album was Sudden Exposure. What was the name of their big hit in 1980? 

2. The Rhythm & Vines festival in Gisborne has a spin-off festival in Wanaka. What is it called?

3. The White Hart was a major venue for many years in which city?

4. Bronson Price is better known as which rapper?

5. Who was the singer in early 80s Auckland ska-punk band The Instigators?

Andrew Brough - Photo by Murray Cammick

6. What band was Andrew Brough in before joining Straitjacket Fits?

7. In the 2023 AudioCulture Readers’ Poll, Split Enz’s True Colours was voted best New Zealand album. Which album was second?

8. The 2009 album Stroke was a tribute album and fundraiser for who?

9. My mother was a folk singer, I played with Lyttelton band The Eastern, I appeared on Later ... With Jools Holland on the same episode that Lorde performed ‘Green Light’, have released four acclaimed albums and am currently signed to 4AD. Who am I?

10. Whose 1993 album Tahi won the Independent Music NZ Classic Record award at the 2019 Taite Music Prize?

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AudioCulture Quiz, April 1, 2024

1. On Easter Monday 1980 police and Post Office inspectors found and confiscated the hidden transmitter of which fledgling student radio station? (Current name is accepted.) 

2. The first of four hugely successful and influential National Banjo Pickers’ Conventions took place over Easter Weekend in 1967. In which city did these festivals occur? 

How many banjo pickers does it take to stage a national convention? - Photo by Tony Ward

3. The New Zealander who got rock’n’roll rolling in the UK shared his name with a US president. Which president? 

4. Which character in a Beatles’ song gave The Lab’s Bill Lattimer his nickname?

5. An alternative singing group to When the Cat’s Away featured Charlotte Yates, Jackie Clarke, and Robin Nathan. What did they call themselves?

6. The entrance to the venue Smash Palace is decorated with flying Morris Minors. Which city is it in? 

Look Blue Go Purple, 1983. - Michael Smith

7. Which Look Blue Go Purple EP shares its name with a 1960s TV comedy?

8. ‘Saddle Hill’ is a Ruru Karaitiana song, recorded by Pixie Williams in 1950. It is named after a location in which New Zealand city? 

9. What is the number of the state highway that was the subject of a Silver Scroll-winning hit by Rob Ruha and Ka Hao?

10. Which Auckland singer acted as the manager of TrueBliss in the TV series Popstars? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 25, 2024

Jan Preston - Jan Preston collection

1. Classically trained pianist Jan Preston was a member of which hitmaking group in the 1980s?

2. Ray Columbus had a No.2 single in 1989 with a hip-hop remake of ‘She’s a Mod’. Which South Auckland duo did he perform with on the single?

Clinton Brown

3. The late Clinton Brown opened a live venue in Wellington in 1978, with his business partner Danny Ryan. What was it called?

4. ‘Dance Stamina’ was a 2006 hit for which Auckland band?

5. American band The Neighbourhood has had a string of Top 10 hits in the US, several produced by a New Zealand guitarist. Who?

Ana Hato in the 1930s

6. Ana Hato and Deane Waretini (senior) performed on the very first locally recorded commercial records. In what city did the recordings take place?

Murray Grindlay in the 2000s

7. Murray Grindlay was the frontman for which famed 1960s blues rock band?

8. Who wrote the book Dead People I Have Known?

9. Our band featured a former Split Enz bassist and guitarist, sold out the Auckland Town Hall, our drummer later joined The Angels, and our second album was called Just Drove Thru Town. We were?

10. Which album topped the AudioCulture Classic NZ Album Readers Poll in 2023?

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 18, 2024

David Yetton. - Photo by Murray Cammick

1. What was the name of David Yetton’s post Jean-Paul Sartre Experience band?

2. What was the name of the “girl group” assembled on 1999 TV series Popstars?

3. Whose debut solo LP, released in 2021, was called Bad Meditation?

4. Which fine New Zealand singer had a 1977 hit with his cover of Buddy Holly’s ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’?

5. With what song did singer Deane Waretini have a No.1 hit in 1981?

6. Which local artist supported David Bowie in his 2004 A Reality Tour show in Wellington?

The Datsuns, 2003: Matt Osment, Dolf de Borst, Christian Livingstone and Phil Somervell

7. The Datsuns hail from which Waikato town?

8. … And Out of The Void Came Love is the title of whose sixth album, released in 2023?

9. Which band member did The Terminals, The Great Unwashed, Nelsh Bailter Space, and The Pin Group have in common?

10. Which Hamilton hard rock band had hit singles with ‘Out For The Count’, ‘You Don’t Need Me’ and ‘The Physical You’?

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 11, 2024

Myele Manzanza, David 'Taay Ninh' Wright, Mara TK.

1. Mara TK, Myele Manzanza and David Wright formed which globally acclaimed band in the late 2000s?

2. Name the EMI studio band from the mid-1970s that had a hit with ‘Thru The Southern Moonlight’.

3. Sea Breeze Motel was an album by which singer-songwriter?

4. When the Haka Became Boogie was what?

Ambitious Vegetables, 1979.

5. Who did the Ambitious Vegetables evolve into?

6. “Oh my Gard! Real live Americans! And here we are, these New Zealand dorks playing rock’n’roll to them!” Who said that in 1990?

7. Neil Finn, Sharon Finn and Sean “SJD” Donnelly recorded a 2011 album under what name?

8. His debut album entered the charts at No.1 in November 2003, sat in the Top 40 for seven months, was certified five times platinum in 2004 and platinum in Australia. It is?

9. A wild 1950s nightclub in Auckland’s Karangahape Road was once described as “New Zealand’s Naughtiest Nitery”. What was it called?

10. Which legendary Auckland graphic and comic artist once said, “I’ve been called a legend but it doesn’t mean anything, I certainly don’t get legendary pay. I keep doing it and I’m happy when people like my work”?

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 4, 2024

Valhalla, 2020. - photo by Chris Bourke

1. Wellington venue Valhalla has had a number of other names. Name one of them.

2. The Upbeats released their debut album on which local label?

Crash. - Publicity Photo

3. Name the vocalist for Auckland band Crash.

4. Name the jazz musician who recorded an album of Lennon-McCartney covers in 1965.

5. The interior of which Dunedin venue features on the cover of French for Rabbit’s’ album The Weight of Melted Snow?

Straitjacket Fits - Melt (1990)

6. Which member of Straitjacket Fits also created the cover art for their EP and albums?

Name the band. - Photo by Darryl Ward

7. What is the name of the band pictured above?

8. Name the pioneering Mosgiel entrepreneur who ran the Dunedin Town Hall dances and the Miss New Zealand pageant.

9. Name the member of Knightshade who ran the cult heavy metal radio show The Axe Attack and went on to form Devilskin.

10. Which band played at the Shortland Street TV wedding of Chris Warner and Rachel McKenna?

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 26, 2024

Space Waltz, 2022. From left: Brent Eccles, Peter Cuddihy, Greg Clark, Alastair Riddell, Eddie Rayner. - Publicity photo

1. What is the name of the brand new, 2023 Space Waltz album?

2. With whom did Kelly Horgan of Heavy Jones Trio make up the duo Love Soup?

3. Which bassist was a member of the UK based Be Bop Deluxe as well as New Zealand reggae band Herbs?

4. Which Auckland band’s 1983 debut EP on Flying Nun was named Flesh?

5. Which Auckland-based MC is now part of Fat Freddy’s Drop’s live touring act?

6. Which Wellington jazz/ experimental combo backed The Front Lawn on their 1989 Songs From The Front Lawn LP?

7. In 1985 Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil took part in a nationwide tour in support of nuclear disarmament with which local harmonising siblings?

Dianne Swann and Brett Adams

8. What is the name of Dianne Swann and Brett Adams recent band?

9. Name one of the two legendary late 80s High Street, Auckland, nightclubs where DJs such as Greg Churchill, Manuel Bundy and Nick Dwyer cut their teeth and drew big crowds (including international visitors, among them Bono, Mick Jagger, Janet Jackson).

10. Name one of the two New Zealand artists who feature on the recent Nick Drake tribute album The Endless Coloured Ways.

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 19, 2024

Pam Sheyne, 2018 - Publicity photo

1. Pam Sheyne wrote the massive hit ‘Genie In A Bottle’ for which US artist?

2. Which Auckland folk musician founded the Java Jive Café?

3. Which Māngere group has featured a guest artist, General Fiyah, since he was 10 years old?

4. Jim Montecino was twice defamed by NZ Truth. What instrument did he play?

Elephunk in My Soup - the 1984 Low Profile EP

5. Low Profile and ‘Elephunk in My Soup’ gave which Wellington musician his highest profile?

6. Who released an album in 2016 called Guitar Party at Uncle’s Bach?

7. Which sister duo, whose 2023 album was The Coin that Broke the Fountain Floor, originally called themselves Purple Pilgrims?

Name the band in this Decca publicity photo from December 1967

8. Which New Zealand band, whose founding drummer plays standing up, is seen in the above photo trying to break it in Britain in 1967?

9. Which former member of So So Modern released a solo album, Holding Patterns, in 2023?

10. Which veteran music critic is calling his AudioCulture series of retrospective reviews “The Tinnitus Years”?

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 12, 2024

The debut self-titled albums from Hello Sailor (1977) and Golden Harvest (1978)

1. The debut Hello Sailor and Golden Harvest albums, both recorded at Stebbing Studios in Auckland, were released on what label?

2. Geoff Hayden and Steve Thorpe were the rhythm section of 1980s trio The Dabs until they joined which hit-making New Zealand pop band?

3. What is the title of the 1982 debut album by DD Smash?

Johnny Devlin

4. What mode of transport did rock ’n’ roller Johnny Devlin use to travel for gigs between Whanganui and nearby cities including Palmerston North and Napier?

5. Name the Nelson trio of the late 1990s/early 2000s that merged drum machine beats, samples and hypnotic vocals to create their own individual style of dance music.

6. Which member of the Phoenix Foundation was co-producer of the 2023 self-titled album from Mermaidens?

7. Salmonella Dub’s sound engineer composed and sang their big late 1990s hit ‘For The Love Of It’ before embarking on a successful solo career. Name him.

8. Which Wellington singer-songwriter released an album in 2023 produced by Bic Runga and Kody Nielson?

Rikki Morris in 1988 - Simon Grigg collection

9. What is the title of Rikki Morris’s 1988 No.1 hit single?

10. Who sang the 1968 song ‘Hush ... Not a Word To Mary’?

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 5, 2024

Name the band.

1. This Wellington band’s original line-up was Simon Morris, Steve Robinson and Denis Leong and their 1972 debut album Say No More is listed in Nick Bollinger’s 100 Essential New Zealand Albums. What were they called?

2. Who is behind the Camp A Low Hum festivals?

3. Which Modfather used to say, “I don’t go to the toilet without a return ticket”?

4. We were formed at Cashmere High School in Christchurch and our biggest hit was ‘Renegade Fighter’. Who were we?

5. My recent advice to a 16-year-old me was: “Get a lawyer. Beware of flattery. Read Machiavelli. Get a lawyer”? I am?

6. Out for the Night – Live! was a live album by which 80s metal band?

7. What TV show launched the career of Carly Binding?

Bob Paris, Showtime Spectacular tour, 1961

8. Auckland guitarist Bob Paris is regarded as New Zealand’s first rock’n’roll guitar hero. His nephew was in a Flying Nun band which had the label’s only No.1 single. Who is he?

9. “Politics is show-business in drag.” Who said that? 

10. Which famed music emporium was at 192 Queen Street, Auckland for 50 years?

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AudioCulture Quiz, January 29, 2024

1. Kaylee Bell opened for all of Ed Sheeran’s New Zealand shows in 2023, and headlined Christmas in the Park. Which Canterbury town is she from? 

Kaylee Bell - Publicity photo

2. Kevin Kaukau was famous for playing his guitar with his teeth, especially when covering ‘All Along the Watchtower’. What band was he in? 

3. What is the name of Mermaidens’ new album, which was released on 3 November 2023?

4. In March 2023, a New Zealand slang word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary. It was popularised by The Howard Morrison Quartet. Now often said as “**** bro” it was originally “**** doy”. What is the first word (four letters)? 

5. The soundtrack to 2021 TV series The Panthers was created by choicevaughan, Troy Kingi and which other artist?

6. What is the name of DJ Dubhead’s long-running show on 95bFM?

7. Which Christchurch Ōtautahi record store shares its name with a Beatles’ song?

8. Smokefree Rockquest was founded by music teachers Pete Rainey and Glen Common in which South Island city?

9. The late Bones Hillman’s New Zealand pedigree includes Suburban Reptiles and The Swingers, and he moved to Australia in 1985. Which successful Australian band did he join in 1987?

"New Zealand's Shirley Bassey"

10. This singer left The Keil Isles in the mid-60s and became known as “New Zealand’s Shirley Bassey”. She released three LPs under her own name before departing for the United States in 1972. Who is she? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, January 22, 2024

Dinah Lee in 1965

1. Dinah Lee burst onto the music scene in the 1960s with hits such as ‘Do the Blue Beat’. Which prominent female singer did she tour New Zealand with in 2023?

2. Julien Dyne is a key member of an Auckland jazz group who released an album in 2023 called Spirits – name the group.

3. What was Dave McArtney’s nickname in Hello Sailor?

4. Name the band who released the single ‘Maybe Tomorrow’, which became New Zealand radio’s most-played local song of 2003?

Goodshirt

5. Which South Pacific country is mentioned in a Goodshirt song?

6. Which South Island city are the Feelers from?

7. Carly Binding was a member of which all-female singing group?

8. What is the title of singer-songwriter John Hanlon’s 1975 No.1 hit?

Sisters Underground

9. Who produced hits for Sisters Underground and OMC?

10. Jazz musician Judy Bailey gained fame in Australia in the 1960s. What instrument is she known for? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, January 15, 2024

1. Fur Patrol released two singles in a row titled after people’s names. The first one – ‘Lydia’ – was fictitious, the second was named after a band member at the last minute because they needed a song title in a hurry. What was the second song called?

2. A band of home-schooled brothers had to make up a school name when they entered Smokefreerockquest in 2000. They won and became incredibly successful in Australia. After the band broke up, two of them went on to separately have co-writing credits on billion-streaming songs. What was the band?

The New Loungehead - Came A Weird Way (Deep Grooves, 1997)

3. The cover of the New Loungehead’s 1997 album Came A Weird Way shows a popular tourist spot on the Coromandel Peninsula. What is the location?

4. Which New Zealand pop singer of the late 1970s later became the lead singer of chart-topping Australian band Noiseworks?

5. Which New Zealand singer and songwriter won a 2018 Grammy award for Best Contemporary Christian Music?

Sharon O'Neill 

6. Sharon O’Neill met her future husband Alan Mansfield while supporting a New Zealand band. The pair soon co-wrote a song for the band, its final hit ‘Young Years’. What was the band?

7. This HMV press release was written by a New Zealand band while recording at Abbey Road: “At a little before eight we came back from a short tea break and looked through the door of the adjoining studio to see singing at a piano a huddled figure. T’was the legendary McCartney. A voice said ‘excuse me’ from behind – it was Ringo, followed by George, and then John and Yoko (dressed identically in blue jeans and black jerseys) … To be quite honest we just couldn’t believe it was true! It was like a dream.” Name the New Zealand band.

8. A 17-year-old trainee radio reporter was sent to a Wellington press conference given by Lou Reed. She later recalled that he “threw my tape recorder across the bloody room, and so I left after that thinking – this isn’t the life for me.” She moved to the UK and became a key member of an internationally famous pop band with multiple songs in the US Top 10. Who is she?

9. In the early 2000s, Neil Finn brought together Johnny Marr, Eddie Vedder, Lisa Germano, and two members of Radiohead (Ed O’Brien and Phil Selway) to work on which project?

10. Which bassist for two top New Zealand acts in the 1960s went on to produce Top 20 albums for Herbs in the 1980s and 1814 in the 2000s?

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AudioCulture Quiz, December 25, 2023

Harry Sinclair and Don McGlashan, The Front Lawn. - Publicity photo

1. Which beach is being referred to in these lines from The Front Lawn’s song ‘Andy’: “Let’s take a walk along the beach before the tide comes in / On ____ beach I can still see you.” 

2. Cut For Summer was a 2006 album by which Wellington Te Whanganui-a-Tara band?

3. From 1994 to 2014, radio station 95bFM held the “Summer Series” concerts in which Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau park? 

4. Which member of Hello Sailor wrote and sang their 1977 hit ‘Lyin’ in the Sand’? 

5. ‘Hidden Bay’ was the b-side to which 1984 single by The Chills? 

DD Smash with their 1983 haul of music awards. 

6. In ‘Outlook For Thursday’, Dave Dobbyn sings “Tell me where a weatherman should start / When he's miles from his ____” Where is he miles from? 

7. In 1962, 14-year-old Gisborne school girl Julie Nelson charmed the country with a cute Christmas song about our national bird. Name the song. 

Matty J Ruys, Johnni Sagala, Darryl 'DLT' Thomson and Danny 'Brother D' Leaosavai'i, at the 1999 APRA Silver Scrolls

8. Dawn Raid co-founder Danny Tanielu Leaosavai’I, aka Brotha D, started his music career in Lost Tribe. Complete the name of their single which went to No. 16 in the NZ singles chart in 1996: ‘____ In The Winter.’ 

9. Which band – precursors to the Headless Chickens – was ‘Looking for the Sun’? 

10. Which band describes their music as “Sunshine Reggae”, and released an album named BBQ Reggae in 2018?

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AudioCulture Quiz, December 18, 2023

Kimbra. - Publicity image

1. Kimbra sings on the billion-streaming song ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ alongside which Belgian-born Australian artist?

2. Nick Sampson’s Songwriter’s Choice is an excellent selection of New Zealand songs he loved in his youth. Which chart-topping Dunedin Ōtepoti-based band was he in?

3. Which record store did Chris Priestley co-found in the early 1980s in Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau?

4. Name the rapper who began recording under the name Con Psy in the late 1990s before switching to his real name in 2008.

5. Name the Chris Knox song that was listed at No.13 on APRA’s list of Best New Zealand Songs Ever.

The Merseymen.  - Ken Cooper collection

6. From 1964 to 1965 The Merseymen had a residency at Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau club The Beatle Inn. The drummer played under the name Jett Rink, and he went on to be a beloved broadcaster. What was his real name?

7. Two New Zealand bands supported Nirvana’s show in February 1992 at Auckland’s Logan Campbell Centre. Can you name one of them? (Add a half point if you can name both)

Tomorrow People, left to right: La'i Lepou, Elia Feterika, Lio Fili, Liam Va'ai, Avina Kelekolio, Tana Tupa'i, Aaron Davey, Analote Faletolu.

8. Over the course of this year, Tomorrow People have been releasing a series of covers of much-loved songs, including ‘Best Of My Love’. Who did the original?

9. In July 1985, Radio With Pictures filmed a “reggae special” at Victoria University's Union Hall. The bands in the TV special were Aotearoa, Dread Beat & Blood and Herbs. They went on a nationwide tour in 1986, adding which group to the line-up?

10. Which was the first New Zealand band to feature on the cover of Rip It Up? (Issue #3, August 1977).

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AudioCulture Quiz, December 11, 2023

Ngoi Pēwhairangi

1. Ngoi Pēwhairangi wrote the lyrics for two No.1 hits in te reo Māori in the early 1980s. What were they?

2. Decades before he coached New Zealand’s national rugby league team, Graham Lowe was neighbour to which of our first rock’n’roll stars? He discusses the young singer and his family in the following quote: “They were really kind to me … He taught me chords on a ukulele. Queen Salote of Tonga was related to their mum and used to visit them … Everybody loved [him] and so did I. At one stage he drove around in a brand-new Hillman Minx ... We felt so proud because he used to take us for a drive around the block.”

3. Which esteemed New Zealand composer has also provided lead vocals for a Strawpeople single and was part of the Bellbirds with Sandy Mill, Sean Donnelly, and Don McGlashan?

4. John Harrison was the bass player in The Embers, The Sundowners, and Max Merritt & the Meteors. During a brief stint in Ray Columbus & the Invaders, he appeared in the video for ‘She’s a Mod’. What was his nickname?

5. In 1973, Split Ends lost the New Faces television talent competition to the Bulldogs Allstar Goodtime Band. One of the judges had been promoting gigs since the 1950s and explained that he thought Split Ends were “too clever” to win. Who was he?

6. Mark Loveys and Deane Sutherland were in a hitmaking 80s band, before each going their separate ways and forming new versions of the same band on opposite sides of the Tasman. What was the band called?

7. In the 1960s, Diane Jacobs became a famous singer here and in Australia under what artist name?

8. Which Flying Nun act was nominated for best country album at the 1992 NZ Music Awards?

The 3Ds - The Venus Trail (1993)

9. How many people with a first name beginning with “D” played in The 3Ds?

10. Which former songwriter from a well-known Flying Nun band recorded his own version of the Beatles album Revolver (as Evolver)?

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AudioCulture Quiz, December 4, 2023

Headband at Ali Baba's, 1971: Billy Kristian, Jimmy Hill, Dick Hopp, Tommy Adderley, and Ron Craig

1. What Wellington venue was once known as Ali Baba’s?

2. Andrew Tolley and Brendan Moran performed and recorded as?

3. In 1983, Auckland-based guitarist Ivan Zagni put together two groups using a government fund for unemployed musicians. Name one of them.

Amelia Murray. - Frances Carter

4. Amelia Murray has been releasing music since 2014 under what name?

5. Who did ENZSO celebrate orchestrally?

6. The Circling Sun released their debut album Spirits on the UK Soundway label in 2023 to international acclaim. Who is the band’s drummer, percussionist and producer?

7. Who wrote the book Positively George Street?

8. What city was the legendary Dunedin Double EP recorded in?

9. I was born in Christchurch but moved to Wellington to study jazz in the 1990s. I joined a band called Banshee Reel, but my next group had one of the biggest New Zealand hits of the early 2000s. Who am I?

10. Which Māori entertainer was defined for decades by his early 1980s No.1 hit ‘How Great Thou Art”?

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 27, 2023

BLERTA kids show at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth on the first North Island tour, 1972. Corben Simpson (vocals), Bruno Lawrence (drums), Alan Moon (Hammond organ), Beaver (vocals) and Chris Seresin (keyboards). - Photo by Helen Whiteford

1. What does the band name BLERTA stand for?

2. Sheelahroc’s 2000 single ‘If I Gave U Th’ Mic’ won them Most Promising New Act at the 2001 bNet NZ Music Awards. Tyra Hammond and Voodoo Child (Sarah Tamaira) were two of the three members. Name the other performer.

3. Name the Dunedin-born drummer from 1980s bands The Idles and Crystal Zoom! who moved to London where he played with The Exponents and The Starlings (with Chris Sheehan), and was enlisted as a touring member of Scottish band The Jesus and Mary Chain before returning to New Zealand and becoming a tour promoter.

4. Name the Auckland-born, Onehunga-raised jazz-pop nightclub singer whose musical idol was Bobby Darin, and who won Australia’s Entertainer of the Year award in 1979 and 1980.

5. John Rowles, OMC, The Datsuns – these three Aotearoa acts all appeared on which UK music show?

6. Name the popular country music gentleman whose family created and ran the Whitecliffs Music Festival on their Canterbury farm for many years?

7. Vocalist Renee Brennan fronted which New Zealand band, who earlier this year re-released their 2000 album The Buddhafinger? 

Voom: Nick Buckton, Murray Fisher, Mike Beehre, Buzz Moller.

8. What is the title of Voom’s second album, first released on Lil’ Chief Records in 2006 and re-released in 2021 on vinyl through Flying Nun Records?

9. On which song and short film by The Front Lawn is there “a man, at the bar, staring into space”?

10. Name the song co-written by Fane Flaws and Arthur Baysting that hit No.17 on the chart and through its video clip brought singer Jenny Morris onto the nation’s television screens.

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 20, 2023

The original Rockinghorse line-up in 1973 (L to R) Keith Norris, Clinton Brown, Wayne Mason, Bruce Robinson, Carl Evensen

1. In 1975, Rockinghorse won best group and best single at the New Zealand music awards, but their extended celebrations had an unfortunate outcome – what happened?

2. Which groundbreaking 1994 compilation had early appearances by Pauly Fuemana, Ermehn, and Dei Hamo?

3. Dave Baxter played hardcore music before suddenly going into acoustic pop in 2011 and writing ‘Love Love Love’, a love song that hit No.1. What artist name did he use?

4. After Supergroove ended, bassist Joe Lonie had a role in the careers of Tadpole and Goodshirt. What was his involvement with those bands?

5. In 1984, Gray Bartlett, Brendan Dugan, and Jodi Vaughan all left the television show That’s Country in quick succession. What was the controversy that led to their departure?

6. In 1997, Mushroom Records took full ownership of Flying Nun. What act was label owner Michael Gudinski referring to when he said: “We’ve taken a Flying Nun band to England and toured them and put money behind them, certainly more than any other Flying Nun act ever. We’ve got a big deal for them now in America. They’re touring America now.”

Kirsten Morrell - Photo by Georgia Schofield

7. Kirsten Morrell released her first solo album in 2010, before returning with new music in 2023. What was her former band?

8. Which singer-songwriter started in Dunedin, sang and played keyboards in prog band Ragnarok, then moved overseas and wrote million-selling hits for Sheena Easton and Bonnie Raitt. Who is she?

9. In the early 1990s, three members from glam rock group Bad Boy Lollipop decided to start a new, more grunge-influenced band and signed to Wildside Records. What was the new band called?

10.  Which New Plymouth-born R&B musician hosted the NZBC radio show Blues Is News in 1969 and, in the 1990s, taught “bluesology” at the Waikato Institute of Technology?

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 13, 2023

Supergroove. - Photo by Polly Walker

1. Supergroove originally had another name. What was it?

2. Which well-known New Zealand film director directed the video for ‘Bad Note for a Heart’ by Straitjacket Fits?

3. Failsafe Records is based in which New Zealand city?

A still from the opening credits of Radio With Pictures.

4. Name the member of BLERTA and The Crocodiles who created animations for Radio With Pictures.

5. What connects these musicians? Ladi6, Delaney Davidson, Maisey Rika, Shayne Carter, Ariana Tikao, Coco Solid, Rob Ruha, Richard Nunns, Chris Knox, Whirimako Black, Moana Maniapoto, Alastair Galbraith, Don McGlashan, and Phil Dadson.

6. What is the name of Lorde’s 2021 five-track EP of te reo Māori versions of songs from her album Solar Power?

Cassandra's Ears

7. Who was the lead vocalist for Cassandra’s Ears?

8. The Doublehappys originally had a drum machine. What was it called?

9. Who duetted with Samuel Flynn-Scott on the Phoenix Foundation song ‘Hounds of Hell’?

10. French for Rabbits, Julia Deans, The Bats, Lawrence Arabia, and Charlotte Yates were some of the artists who interpreted the poetry of a female New Zealand writer for a tribute album. Who was the writer?

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 6, 2023

DLT, 2000

1. Darryl Thomson, also known as DLT, was an original member of which ground-breaking Aotearoa hip hop group?

2. Former prime minister Sir Robert Muldoon was a cast member in which famous sci-fi rock and roll musical?

3. Which local artist released a single in 2008 called ‘Paris Is Burning’?

Victoria Girling-Butcher. - Smash Photography

4. Lucid 3’s Victoria Girling-Butcher is a band member in which prominent New Zealand songwriter’s live show, a regular fixture on the summer live circuit?

5. 1971’s ‘Come to the Sabbat’ by Timberjack was the first big pop success for which local record label, started by Terence O’Neill-Joyce?

6. English graphic designer Storm Thorgerson of art design group Hipgnosis designed album covers for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, 10cc, and Bad Company, among many other acts. Thorgerson kept working on album designs until he died in 2013. Name the New Zealand rock act whose 2012 album cover was designed by him.

7. Which 1970s Dunedin band dressed in zany costumes as a bee, a baby, a mouse, a pixie and a ballerina?

8. Who wrote and sings the anthemic reggae song ‘Thou We Are’ under the name Unity Pacific?

9. Name the New Zealand saxophonist, active from the late 1950s until his retirement from live performing in 2022, who during his career was a regular at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London, toured with or backed acts such as the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Lulu, The Small Faces and T-Bone Walker, and had a double-platinum selling album called Moonlight Sax.

10. Which 1970s band “with a hint of disco” was tutored by drummer Frank Gibson Jr, bassist Billy Karaitiana (Billy Kristian), guitarist Tuhi Timoti, and opera singer Lynne Cantlon?

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 30, 2023

Th' Dudes at The Cricketers Arms, Wellington

1. Which longtime NZ On Air music manager appeared dancing in Th’ Dudes video for ‘Bliss’, sporting an Afro? 

2.  Driving south out of Auckland, Kevin Hotu of Taste of Bounty heard a radio DJ disparage music from elsewhere in the country. This gave him the name for which Wellington band?

3. Which New Zealand singer had a No.3 hit in the UK with an English translation of the French song ‘Je n’aurai pas le temps’?

4. Who is the third member of the trio Anika, Boh and … ?

5. Which musician, formerly a member of So So Modern, composed the soundtracks to the New Zealand dramas Shopping, The Most You Can Have Dying, and Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story?

Myele Manzanza in a publicity photo for his 2012 album, One.

6. What is the name of Myele Manzanza’s father, who helped introduce Afrobeat and Highlife music to New Zealand audiences?

7. Which Wildside band featured in a NZ Truth scandal story headlined “Out of his tree: naked Kiwi rocker hits a real bum note …”?

8. Which Dunedin band wrote and recorded the song ‘Baked Beans’, a hit in Australia and a live favourite?

9. Which female singer-songwriter, currently touring, was a member of Eb & Sparrow?

10. Which Auckland hip hop band arrived at the 2012 NZ Music Awards walking up the red carpet “leading a goat and dressed like they were about to board Noah’s Ark”?

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 23, 2023

Jonathan Bree in 2023 - Chelsea Nikkel

1. Jonathan Bree’s 2023 album Pre-Code Hollywood features which famous US guitarist and producer on two tracks?

2. Dianne Swann, Geoff Hayden, Brett Adams and Nick Yeatman were in a 1990s band whose lost, previously unreleased album has been released for the first time in 2023. What were they called?

3. They started life as Father Time then Fragments of Time. What name did they use when they topped charts on both sides of the Tasman?

4. “In 2000 Steve and AJ began experimenting with the idea of being able to emulate turntable-style scratching of audio with a computer mouse”. What is the name of the world-beating software these Aucklanders invented?

The Wastrels' The Jenner Affair EP ( Hit Singles Records, 1983)

5. 1980s band The Wastrels came from which city?

6. The Hallelujah Picassos’ Peter McLennan also makes music, often Caribbean inspired, under another name. What is it?

7. What was the name of Kane Massey’s Auckland-based record label, formed in the 1990s?

8. Auckland 60s club The Galaxie, located in Little Queen Street, was formerly another club – what was it called?

Micronism - Inside a Quiet Mind (1998)

9. Denver McCarthy aka Micronism is a devotee of which religious group?

10. The Mt Raskil Preservation Society was an alias featuring which vocalist?

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 16, 2023

Opetaia Foa’i performing in Tahiti, 2005

1. Opetaia Foa’i of Te Vaka had chart success and won awards for his music on the soundtrack to which 2016 Disney animated film?

2. Originally by Diatribe, the song ‘Dangerous Game’ was covered by which artist on the Deepgrooves label?

3. Named single of the week by Melody Maker magazine in 1990, ‘Heavenly Pop Hit’ is on which album by The Chills?

4. Which New Zealand Prime Minister attended a concert by Mi-Sex in 1980?

5. What was the name of Andrew Brough’s post-Straitjacket Fits band?

Roger Giles, former president of the Devonport Folk Club. 

6. Roger Giles was President of the Devonport Folk Club for 50 years until he passed away in 2020. The venue for the club, based on Devonport’s Mt Victoria, is known by what name?

7. Pluto’s second album, released in 2005, uses the letters of the band name as an acronym for the album title. Name the album.

The Datsuns in 2002: Dolf de Borst, Matt Osment, Christian Livingstone and Phil Somervell

8. The Datsuns’ 2003 single ‘Harmonic Generator’ is named after a New Zealand creation – the Prunes and Custard effects pedal. Who designed and builds the pedal?

9. The group Pacific Eardrum, who released two albums in the late 1970s, was fronted by which musical couple from New Zealand?

10. Name the Wellington rock band who in the mid-90s released an album on Wildside Records called Double Your Strength Improve Your Health And Lengthen Your Life.

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 9, 2023

Myele Manzanza

1. Where does soul-jazz drummer Myele Manzanza live? 

2. Which LA-based female New Zealand songwriter was almost signed to Geffen Records (the same label as John Lennon) and has connections to Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and Brian Eno?

3. What is the name of the music festival founded by photographer Ian Jorgensen (aka Blink), which is re-emerging in 2024 after a nine-year break?

4. The original RDU studio was destroyed in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, but within six months the RDUnit was up and running. In which type of transportation was this temporary studio based?

5. “Little” Stevie McCabe sadly passed away in late September. Of which band was he a founding member?

Victoria Kelly, 2011, photographed by Gareth Watkins. - Ref: 5090, PADL-000860. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand

6. Victoria Kelly was musical director or co-director for which music awards ceremony from 2003 to 2007?

7. What was the name of Avalanche City’s 2011 hit single, which was used as a promo for TV2?

8. In 1952, Auckland Council banned jazz musicians from playing the Auckland Town Hall’s Steinway grand piano – why?

9. Alan Loveday was one of 10 violinists performing the string arrangement for a Beatles recording on Thursday 1 August 1968 at London’s Trident Studios. Name the song.

10. Oakley Grenell’s song ‘Limited Time ft. J9’ is featured in The Nomad’s Songwriter’s Choice selection of 10 of his favourite Aotearoa songs. Who is Oakley’s father?

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 2, 2023

Shona Laing won the APRA Silver Scroll for 'Mercy of Love' in 1992 - Photo by Murray Cammick

--

These are the first lines of 10 Apra Silver Scroll winners. Below them are 10 song titles, in alphabetical order. Match the lyric with the song title. 

1. “I know that window’s closed / why you gotta draw bad memories”  

2. “Flame, flash fire through heartland / And I wind up red, red anger yellow fear / Is there any other colour?”  

3. “Everyone else has left now / I bet that this got you stressed out”  

4. “Full fathom five / Someday I’ll lie / Singing songs that come / From dead men’s tongues” 

5. “I do my makeup in somebody else’s car / We order different drinks at the same bars” 

6. “I know it’s late now, I know I ought to go” 

7. “Tapa reireia tapa / Konunua tapa / Tapa konunua koe ana tukua” 

8. “I feel your love, I feel time is up / When I was a child, I never knew enough / What that do to me?” 

9. “Savage thoughts addictive, to your system / intervals of time make I selective / penetrate your earlobe and all of your protection” 

10. “If I want you / it’s purely that there’s nothing else / Or no one in this world I know like you” 

‘35’
‘All Your Ships Have Sailed’
‘Anchor Me’
‘Belle of the Ball’
‘Drive’
‘Glitter’
‘Green Light’
‘My Only Friend’
‘Reverse Resistance’
‘The Barrel’

[This week’s quizmaster: Chris Bourke]

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 25, 2023

Strawpeople: Fiona McDonald and Paul Casserly

1. What is the title of the 2023 album by Strawpeople?

2. Which band, founded by members of Kora, had a 2020 hit with the song ‘In the Air’?

3. Name the Auckland band who in 2002 released their debut album Riverhead.

4. Name the New Zealand country pop singer-songwriter who in 2023 has been touring the US as opening act for Boz Scaggs?

5. Which alt-country singer-songwriter wrote and performed ‘29 Diamonds’ in tribute to the workers who died in the 2010 Pike River mining disaster?

6. Which notable Auckland rock venue of the late 70s/early 80s was formerly the Peter Pan Ballroom?

The 1975 Dr. Tree album.

7. Dr Tree was a New Zealand jazz band that released a self-titled album in 1976 on EMI and later evolved into Space Case. Name at least one member of Dr Tree.

8. Which New Zealand band sang ‘How Is the Air Up There?’

9. What is the name of the musical collaboration between Trevor Reekie and Tom Ludvigson?

10. Which Aotearoa New Zealand artist covered The Cars’ ‘Drive’?

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 18, 2023

The Clean: Hamish Kilgour, David Kilgour and Robert Scott, 1982 - Photo by Craig McNab

1. Which song by The Clean was Flying Nun Records’ first chart hit?

2. What was the name of the Flying Nun records showcase tour that featured The Chills, Children’s Hour, The Expendables, and Doublehappys?

3. Who sang on the Tanza recording of ‘Blue Smoke’?

4. Elton John interviewed two New Zealand musicians on his Rocket Hour show in 2020. Name one of them.

The Phoenix Foundation on their first visit to London, 2007.

5. Three members of The Phoenix Foundation write film and television soundtracks under the name Moniker. Name one of them.

6. Brad Fafejta and Vincent Lum were two members of the band Teenwolf. Who was the third member?

7. The Veils performed a song on the soundtrack of which cult American television show?

Lisa Crawley

8. Lisa Crawley performed in a one-woman cabaret show at the Melbourne and Wellington Fringe festivals in 2017. What was the show called?

9. Luke Rowell has two performance/stage names. Name one. 

10. Name the musician who collaborated with Hamish Kilgour on the Hurtling Through EP. 

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 11, 2023

Herbs - Songs of Freedom documentary poster, 2019.

1. Who played drums with the Hi-Marks showband, joined Herbs and wrote songs for their album Long Ago, and then formed the groups Mana and House of Shem?

2. What is the Māori name of ‘Now is the Hour’?

3. In 2004, a singer was chosen as a contestant on NZ Idol and went through the first few days of competition. However, the judges were not supportive of her representing her cultural identity on the show and she was eliminated for singing waiata in te reo Māori. Name the singer.

4. Which now-deceased singer-songwriter was, with her mother, a finalist for the APRA Maioha award (excellence in contemporary Māori music) for best waiata for their song, ‘Taku Kōtiro’?

5. “Jingajik” and the “party strum” are two of many synonyms for a rhythm guitar style that emerged from Aotearoa-New Zealand. What is it best known as?

6. Which group performed in te reo Māori at the 1992 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival?

7. Which female singer and writer has played taonga pūoro with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra?

8. The documentary Solidarity (1992) begins with a single voice chanting “Detroit, Detroit, Detroit, Farrakhan, Farrakhan, Farrakhan.” Which group does it follow to the United States?

9. Whose song ‘He Whakapapa’ is described as using “the old pūrereheua, and poi slaps to set the scene, then flows in traditional Māori oriori lullaby form to deliver a Mahābhārata-like epic of the gods, events in Hawaiki and the early ancestors, down to the pain of colonisation and recent history”? (Clue: he is now Māori Language Commissioner.)

10. Which singing Dame recorded the song ‘Kia Ū’, written by Jay Dee (Ardijah) and Dr Hone Kaa? Its video was directed by Niki Caro (Whale Rider).

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 4, 2023

Ana Hato in the 1930s

1. What was special about the recording that Ana Hato and Deane Waretini did in 1927?  

2. Which New Zealand saxophonist player had a successful career in the 90s UK dance scene, which included releasing music through Goldie’s Metalheadz label (as Sci-Clone with drum’n’bass producer Jason Cambridge)?

3. New Zealand’s official music chart goes back to Friday 2 May, 1975. The first hit by a local act to top the chart was ‘Yesterday Was Just The Beginning of My Life.’ Who was the artist?

4. What were Holden, Gunn, Fountain, and Sonic known for making?

Johnny Devlin and The Devils at Western Springs, Auckland, January 1959.

5. Which blind saxophone player started his career by backing Johnny Devlin, before becoming a regular on the Auckland live scene and recording two albums of standards on the Hammond organ in the early seventies?

6. Which New Zealand country singer has appeared twice onstage with Keith Urban?

7. How did the following musical acts put themselves in danger in the late 60s and early 70s? Dinah Lee, the Quin Tikis, Tikiwis, the Māori Travellieres, the Māori Volcanics, the Māori HyMarques, the Māori Minors, the Māori Ambassadors, and the Māori Te Pois.

8. Which rapper and poet wrote the Ockham-Awards-nominated novel Iceland?

9. In 1965, a band turned up to play the New Faces television show, but spent their allotted time dancing, shaking their long hair, rolling around on the floor, and smashing the percussion instruments they had brought with them. The producer told them they would never play on TV again. Which band was it?

Peter Wadams AKA P-Money

10. One of the most popular tracks off P-Money’s album Big Things (2002) was ‘Synchronize Thoughts’. It featured Scribe alongside which legendary Hamilton rap group?

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 28, 2023

Split Enz - Time and Tide (1982)

1. What was the ominous instrumental track that segued into ‘Six Months in a Leaky Boat’ on the Split Enz album Time & Tide?

2. David Pine is the New Zealand High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh. Which 1980s Dunedin band was he a singer and guitarist in?

3. Which singer of Cook Islands ancestry has a father who was a recording artist in the 1960s?

4. Which member of Jean-Paul Sartre Experience climbed aboard The Stereo Bus in 1997?

5. After Hello Sailor broke up in 1980, Graham Brazier formed The Legionnaires, and Dave McArtney formed The Pink Flamingos. Which very popular band did bassist Lisle Kinney join?

Peking Man: clockwise from lower left - Tim Calder, Pat Urlich, Neville Hall, Perry Marshall, Margaret Urlich, Jay Foulkes and John Fearon - Photo by Regan Cameron

6. Which early 80s label included releases by, among others, Peking Man, Pop Mechanix, From Scratch and Nocturnal Projections? 

7. Songs by which gravel-voiced female singer have appeared in US TV shows such as The Good Wife, Grey's Anatomy and Revenge?

8. Which flamboyant hard-rock Wellington group’s debut album was described by the NZ Herald as “a mongrel mix of Kyuss, Neurosis, and the mighty Godflesh ...”

9. The 2017 documentary, A Memory Of Others, was about which musician and key figure in the underground music scene since the 1970s?

10. After establishing herself as a vocalist on recordings by the likes of Cassette, Pitch Black, SJD and Magik Johnson, whose own releases include the singles ‘Giftbox’ and ‘Let It Go’, and the EPs A Piece Of Me and Lyrical Flight?

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 21, 2023

3 The Hard Way, 2003

1. What’s the title of 3 The Hard Way’s No.1 hit single from 2003?

2. Lonnie Donegan’s song ‘My Old Man’s a Dustman’ was rewritten to become which 1960s Aotearoa hit?

3. SJD and Neil Diamond have what sort of “people” in common?

Dave McArtney (on surfboard) and The Pink Flamingos at the beach, summer 1981-82. - Photo by Murray Cammick

4. Which Dave McArtney and the Pink Flamingos song is the following lyric from? “Getcha getcha getcha getcha feathers away from my nose ... ”

5. Which well-known group was originally known as the Lowdown Dirty Blues Band?

6: In The Mutton Birds’ hit song, whereabouts along Auckland’s Dominion Road is the “halfway house”?

7. Which Wellington group released a cover version of The Equals’ ‘Michael and the Slipper Tree’ on HMV NZ in 1969?

8. What sort of recording setup did Chris Knox famously use to record the Tall Dwarfs and his early solo albums?

a. Pro Tools
b. Phonograph cylinder
c. TVNZ outside broadcast van
d. TEAC 4-track reel to reel

The Founder's Theatre in 1962, the year it opened. 

9. In which North Island city is the Founders Theatre, which opened in 1962 and is scheduled for demolition?

10. What is Tim Finn’s first name?

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 14, 2023

House of Shem.

1. Carl Perkins from House of Shem was formerly a member of which chart-topping 1980s group?

2. In the 1960s, Bill Ivory and Graham Rosling were two amateur musicians who visited the studios of Viking Records to record an instrumental they’d written. It was an international hit for which hit-making NZ guitarist?

3. Tumanako Teka had a multi-decade career as a singer and band leader under what artist name? 

4. What (chilled) fruit was a DD Smash album named after?

5. Which Māori country singer became one of New Zealand’s first rock ’n’ rollers with his version of ‘Rock Around The Clock’?

Upper Hutt Posse in Mount Street, Auckland, 1990

6. In 1987, Upper Hutt Posse released Aotearoa’s first rap single. In 2003, Scribe kicked off the golden years of hip hop with his first solo single. Lyrically, what do the titles of these tracks have in common?

7. Murray Fisher is a member of Voom and helped mix Fazerdaze’s breakthrough album, Morningside (2017). Name the band he started out in.

8. Name the long-running dance/electronic label that released gold-selling albums by Concord Dawn and Pitch Black.

9. Which famous New Zealand promoter started his career as a dancer and compere before getting into running security at concerts? (Clue: he also owned Warrior Records.)

Chris Knox at the Rumba Bar, 1982 - Murray Cammick Collection

10. Which early 1970s band is Chris Knox talking about in this quote? “They did two gigs in two nights, and I went to both of them. I’d never heard of them. They were just a New Zealand band with really long hair, really long jams, and this one song – ‘Going Down the Road’ or something like that [‘The Ride’] – the first night it went for half-an-hour and was really loud and the second night, it went for a bit longer but was really quiet. So that was interesting – oh, you can do two different things with the same song, woohoo.” 

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 7, 2023

The Hi-Five in Wellington in the early 1960s

1. What was the original name for the Māori Hi-Five?

2. Sammy’s was a long-lasting music club in which city?

3. Who collaborated with DJ Dan Aux on the single ‘Slippin’ Yak’, using the name A^K?

Judy Bailey performing at the El Rocco in Sydney during the early 1960s.

4. In the late 1950s pianist Judy Bailey performed in which Auckland nightclub/ restaurant?

5. Steel City was a work of music theatre music by whom?

6. Who replaced Cherie Mathieson as vocalist in the jazz band Shaken Not Stirred?

7. Which female country artist won the Gore Gold Guitar award in 2017, and the Tui for best New Zealand country music album (Wildfires) in 2019?

8. Which band exploded a papier-mâché effigy of Robert Muldoon on stage during a performance in 1984?

The 3Ds in 1996 - Dominic Stones, Denise Roughan, David Saunders, David Mitchell

9. The 3Ds closed the inaugural New Zealand Big Day Out in 1994. Which American band preceded them and played into The 3Ds’ allotted time?

10. Julia Deans performed three songs on which 2017 Paul McLaney album of Shakespeare soliloqies?

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 31, 2023

Peter Posa in a Viking publicity shot, 1964.

1. Peter Posa wrote and produced ‘Rose, Can I Share a Bed With You’, and it became a huge hit in 1976 for which Aotearoa singer?

2. Which member of the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience founded The Stereo Bus?

3. Songwriter/musician Simon Lynch co-founded Southside Records, and was the keyboardist in which New Zealand soul-funk band?

Kaylee Bell in 2018 - Publicity photo

4. Kaylee Bell’s 2019 breakthrough hit was about which Australasian country star?

5. On August 4 this year, Paul Casserly and Fiona McDonald will release their first new album in 19 years – by what band/project name are they known?

6. Complete this 1982 hit song’s title: ‘Shoop Shoop Diddy Wop …’

7. In 1976, Dalvanius took an Aotearoa funk band to Australia, where they became one of the hottest acts in Kings Cross, Sydney. What was the band’s name?

Deva Mahal. - Photo by Reef Reid

8. Aotearoa-based singer Deva Mahal’s father is a renowned US blues musician – who is he?

9.  When Danny Mañetto joined Voom as their bassist, he’d already played a very different instrument on Straitjacket Fits’ ‘She Speeds’ and ‘Dialling A Prayer’ – what was the instrument?

10. In which Christchurch street did the Dance Exponents wait?

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 24, 2023

Deva Mahal. - Photo by Lucy Hammond

1. Deva Mahal and Sheba Williams are members of which duo?

2. Name the New Zealand songwriter whose song features on a 2023 Heinz Ketchup TV advertisement in the UK.

Robert Scott

3. What was the name of Robert Scott’s comic fanzine and cassette-only record label?

4. The Mysterious Secrets of Uncle Bertie’s Botanarium is a collaboration between filmmaker Duncan Sarkies, illustrator Stephen Templer, and which musician?

5. What award did the Headless Chickens win in 1987?

6. Which female Aotearoa musician formed a duo in the early 90s called Spinning Wheel, with Leraine Horstmanshoff, a multi-instrumentalist from Utah?

7. Who created the label Urban Pasifika Records?

8. A number of musicians associated with Lil’ Chief Records play in a Paul McCartney tribute band. What is the band’s name?

9. What does the name of the record label TANZA stand for?

Name this band! 

10. Name the band in the above photograph.

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 17, 2023

Zed Brookes at Tandys Recording Studio in the late 1980s

1. In which city did Zed Brookes open Tandys Recording Studio?

2. Barry Leef was the singer and guitarist in which successful 1960s Wellington pop band?

3. Shihad’s 1996 single, a cover of Flesh D-Vice’s ‘Flaming Soul’, was a tribute to who?

4. What was the Auckland punk band fronted by Sonya Waters?

5. At age 11, I won the Lyttelton Primary School talent quest. I was a member of both the Christchurch Boys High School Choir and the Christchurch Cathedral Choir and formed my first band at age 15 with my best friend Ben Woolley. Who am I?

6. Which country-folk band was founded in 1979 by Cath Newhook, Martha Louise and Peter Madill?

Ruru Karaitiana examines an unknown 78rpm disc for a photographer, c1950.

7. When Ruru Karaitiana was looking for musicians to play on ‘Blue Smoke’, his first recording in 1949, he approached a local lap-steel guitarist to perform the intro. What was his name?

8. The 2006 documentary Departure And Return, about last days of the Rainbow Warrior, features which Don McGlashan / Mutton Birds song as its final theme?

9. Geordie McCallum, Eden Mulholland, Scott Sutherland, Will Mulholland were better known as?

Shaft at Golden Dawn, 2013 - Photo by Matthew Crawley

10. In which city was the music club Golden Dawn?

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 10, 2023

The Mutton Birds.

1. Which of the following is the name of the second album from The Mutton Birds?

a. Sweetie
b. Tangy
c. Salty
d. Spicy

2. A popular Flying Nun band from the late 1990s named themselves after a song by The Clash. Who are they?

3. Which remote North Island town did Herbs visit when they launched their 1987 album Sensitive to a Smile?

4. Who recorded a cover of Gene Pitney’s ‘Mecca’ in 1981?

5. Which singer-songwriter established Wellington’s Slow Boat Records?

6. ‘Lipstick Power’ is the title of whose 1981 solo career debut single?

Jonathan Bree in 2023 - Publicity photo

7. Which famous US guitarist and producer is credited as co-writer on Jonathan Bree’s ‘Pre-Code Hollywood’?

8. Whispering Afraid is the title of which singer-songwriter’s 1973 debut album?

9. Which Flying Nun band in 1991 released an anagrammatically titled EP called Florid Dabblers Voting?

10. Complete the lyric from a popular 1979 punk song: “Met her outside the ..., true love works in funny ways.”

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 3, 2023

Buzz Moller, Voom.

1. Buzz Moller of Voom hosted an early morning radio show on student radio station 95bFM from 1989 to 1997. What was the show called?

2. Tim Finn has had a solo career for 40 years, since the release of his debut solo album in 1983. What was the album called?

3. In 2001, Lisa Tomlins’ band Ebb was putting on shows with two other Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington bands under the name Three-Piece-Suit. One of the bands was Fat Freddy’s Drop – what was the other?

Fane Flaws, 1979

4. As well as his musical contributions to BLERTA and The Crocodiles, Fane Flaws also created the opening graphics for which Aotearoa New Zealand television music show?

5. Which album was voted No.1 in the AudioCulture Classic NZ Album Readers’ Poll 2023?

6. And what was No.2 in the poll?

7. In Kirikiriroa Hamilton there is a statue of a character played by someone who created one of the most popular musicals of all time. Half a point each for naming the musical, and its creator.

8. In November 2013, Lorde had a “bed-in” in New York with which award-winning New Zealand author?

Doug Hood. - Terry Moore

9. Doug Hood was recently named an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit, and Chris Knox was one of his closest collaborators. Doug remembers almost to the hour, the time and place that he first met Chris Knox. It was two or three in the afternoon on Good Friday, 31 March 1972 – but in which city did they meet?

10. In December 1965 the former Shiralee nightclub in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland was refurbished and re-opened by new owner Eldred Stebbing, with The Pleazers as a resident band. What was the name of the new club?

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 26, 2023

The 1984 Looney Tour poster - Chris Knox design; Jonathan Ganley Collection

1. Who ran the touring and promotion company Looney Tours?

2. Who was the lead singer and guitarist of Chicago Smokeshop (later, just Smokeshop)?

3. “Queen of the banjo” Jenny Blackadder’s stepson is …?

4. Who wrote the soundtrack to the 1986 Footrot Flats movie?

5. “Chur doy” is a saying first popularised by which group?

6. Who is the Whāngarei-born, Sydney-based jazz pianist that shares a name with a former television newsreader?

7. “Mercurial, jovial, Promethean, Dionysian, possibly definitely slightly Greek if you get my drift, he was considered extremely handsome by many, including himself.” Who was Rick Bryant describing?

Blam Blam Blam: Don McGlashan, Mark Bell, Tim Mahon. - Publicity photo

8. Blam Blam Blam recorded a cover version of the theme from a cult TV show – what was the show?

9. Which singer, later an actor, hosted the 1987 TV series Dixie Chicken?

Tim Finn. - Publicity photo

10. What was the name of the Tahitian navigator featured in Tim Finn’s opera Ihitai’Avei’a – Star Navigator?

[This week’s quizmaster: Chris Bourke]

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 19, 2023

Amelia Murray aka Fazerdaze. - Frances Carter

1. Before focusing on music, in which sport did indie singer-guitarist Amelia Murray from Fazerdaze represent Wellington?

2. Which drummer and actor played off a zero handicap in golf?

Howard Morrison Quartet, from left: Noel Kingi, Wi Wharekura, Howard Morrison, Gerry Merito - Murray Menzies

3. Which song by the Howard Morrison Quartet subtly mocked the decision not to include any Māori players in the All Blacks 1960 tour to South Africa?

4. The song ‘Basketball Court’ features on which 2012 hip-hop album?

5. Which acclaimed 2001 album has a photo of Auckland’s Alexandra Park Raceway on the cover?

6. The 1982 New Zealand soccer team recorded a single of their official squad anthem ‘Marching Off To Spain’, that featured which singer, prominent in 1970s light-entertainment TV?

7. What was the name of the one-off group featuring, among others, Rick Bryant, Chris Knox, Don McGlashan and Annie Crummer, that recorded the song ‘Don’t Go’ in 1986, as a protest against a proposed All Blacks tour of South Africa?

8. In 2009, which Auckland garage-rock band held its album launch in a boxing ring?

9. Which Wellington band wrote and recorded the song ‘Big Mac (Run Rate)’ as a tribute to the New Zealand cricket team?

10. Which singer-songwriter released the 2019 album Sportsman Of The Year?

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 12, 2023

Lorde - Solar Power (2021)

1. Name one of the two New Zealand male singer-songwriters featured as backing vocalists on Lorde’s 2021 Solar Power album.

2. Which music critic/writer also runs the record emporium Family Jewels in Nelson?

3. What was the name of the Flying Nun-associated “supergroup” featuring members of The Bats, Tall Dwarfs and The Clean?

Now I Am Me (Antenna/Virgin, 1998)

4. Now I Am Me was the debut album of which Auckland band in 1998?

5. What is the name of the band, featuring the Kaukau brothers, who recorded the classic 1977 disco-pop stomper ‘I Need Your Love’?

Herbs' 1983 album Light of the Pacific.

6. What was the name of Herbs’ hit single from their 1982 album Light of the Pacific?

7. Credited as New Zealand’s first rock’n’roll recording artist, which self-styled ‘Māori Cowboy’ recorded a version of Bill Haley’s ‘Rock Around The Clock’?

8. What is the name of Kimbra’s new album?

9. Mark Petersen replaced which original member of Straitjacket Fits for their final album Blow (1993)?

Split Enz - Mental Notes (1975)

10. Wally Wilkinson played which instrument in the Mental Notes-era Split Enz?

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 5, 2023

Prince Charles meets Max Cryer, Miss New Zealand (Carol Robinson), Corben Simpson and Bunny Walters. - Corben Simpson Collection

1. In 1970 Prince Charles and Princess Anne attended a special concert event at Western Springs Stadium, Auckland. The show was produced by Max Cryer and featured local performers including Corben Simpson, The Chicks, and Bunny Walters. What was the event called?

2. Which famous Aotearoa New Zealand entertainer sang a bilingual version of ‘How Great Thou Art’ (‘Whakaaria Mai’) at the St James, Auckland, at the 1981 Royal Variety Performance attended by Queen Elizabeth II?

3. Name the band, formed in Auckland in the mid-1960s, which released a concept album in 1969 called The Happy Prince, based on a short story by Oscar Wilde.

4. In the 1960s who was named New Zealand’s “Queen of the Mods”?

Peter "Rooda" Warren at the Thank God It's Over Concert, Auckland, 1984. - Bryan Staff

5. Where was the 1984 Thank God It’s Over concert held in Auckland, which eventually turned into the Queen Street Riot?

6. Name the Christchurch promoter who in the 1950s co-founded the Christchurch Teenagers Club and managed Max Merritt in his early years.

Kingdon Te Itinga Chapple-Wilson

7. Kingdon Te Itinga Chapple-Wilson has released four albums and his hits have been streamed in the tens of millions. What artist name is he better known by?

8. When the Beatles visited New Zealand in 1964, which hotel did they stay at while in Auckland?

9. For which early New Zealand record label did pianist Nancy Harrie record ‘Coronation Medley’ b/w ‘Queen Elizabeth Waltz’?

10. Name the Aotearoa New Zealand-based, Canadian-born country-soul singer who released an album called Kingmaker in 2022.

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 29, 2023

1. “Void” was the nom-de-plume for the singer of which early 80s Wellington punk band?

2. At the 2016 Vodafone Music Awards, which singer declined her award for best urban / hip-hop album, citing issues relating to stereotypes?

3. Which Christchurch band’s debut album was a double called Three Virgins, Three Versions, Three Visions?

Carl Perkins and his sons Isaiah and Te Omeka.

4. Which reggae band was formed by Carl Perkins and is now led by his sons, Te Omeka and Isaiah?

5. Which Wellington recording studio, established in the early 2000s, has been used by, among others, Trinity Roots, Shihad, Dave Dobbyn and The Phoenix Foundation?

6. Which 80s Auckland experimental trio released the EPs Yellow Read Aloud and Spit It Out?

Graeme Downes, The Verlaines.

7. About which composer did Graeme Downes of The Verlaines write a PhD thesis?

8. Which singer starred in the 2019 movie, Daffodils?

9. Which 70s progressive rock band’s plans to tour Australia were derailed by tax issues relating to their New Zealand-made PA system?

10. “Good evening, citizens” was the trademark opening greeting on each episode of Radio With Pictures – by which presenter?

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 22, 2023

1. The Human Instinct’s 1970 album Stoned Guitar has a worldwide cult reputation, thanks to the Hendrix-inspired guitar workout of which guitarist?

Drinking With Judas (1993)

2. The artwork for the Hallelujah Picassos’ 1993 album Drinking With Judas was done by bassist John Pain. Which legendary New Zealand comic artist drew caricatures of the band members for the album?

3. Complete the title of Flip Grater’s 2010 album When I’m Awake __ __ ___ (three words)

Kings. - Damian Alexander

4. Near the end of 2017, Kings released his debut album, which produced a run of million-streamers – ‘Beat Us’, ‘HYLMN’, and ‘We’ll Never Know’. What was the album’s title?

5. Which band, featuring Ngahiwi Apanui, released an album called He Waiata Mo Te Iwi/ Singing For Our People in 1987?

6. Split Enz released their follow-up album to True Colours in 1981. In New Zealand it was called Waiata – what was its title in Australia?

7. On which Headless Chickens album did Fiona McDonald first appear as a permanent band member?

8. Which record label released Shihad’s first four albums: Churn (1993), Killjoy (1995), Shihad (1996), The General Electric (1999)?

- Andrew Schmidt collection

9. The picture on the bottom of the shop counter in this cartoon is the logo of a 1990s Auckland-based record label. What was the label’s name?

10. Caroline Easther was the drummer for The Chills between 1986 and 1988. Which of their albums did she play on?

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 15, 2023

To go with this month’s theme of classic New Zealand albums, this quiz links with AudioCulture’s Album Cover Location Map.

Al Hunter's 1987 album Neon Cowboy

1. “A country boy finding out the pitfalls of the city are extremely real.” On which street is Al Hunter buying his jeans?

Th' Dudes - Where Are The Boys (Key, 1980)

2. Across which bridge are Th’ Dudes walking in light?

Whats' Be Happen? – the landmark 1981 mini-LP from Herbs.

3. On which Tāmaki Makaurau landmark is this historic incident taking place?

The New Loungehead - Came A Weird Way (Deep Grooves, 1997) 

4. Coromandel gold: where did The New Loungehead get ecclesiastical?

King Kapisi - Savage Thoughts (2000). Cover photo by Stephen Langdon

5. On which lake is King Kapisi walking on water?

Upper Hutt Posse's groundbreaking E Tū, 1988

6. Upper Hutt Posse take it to the river. But which river?

The Keil Isles in Wellington, circa 1964.

7. Herma and the Keil Isles twisting by the sea: in which bay is this band rotunda?

The Narcs’ debut album Great Divide, released on CBS in 1984

8. On which ski field near Wanaka were The Narcs left stranded?

9. Who photographed Dave Dobbyn in Central Otago?

The second Lutha album, Earth, 1972

10. Lutha on Leith Creek – in which city?

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 8, 2023

Fat Freddy's Drop, 2019. - Photo by Kerry Brown

1. On which album did Fat Freddy’s Drop provide the horns to ‘Getting What You Give’? 

2. Which rapper from Canterbury called his 2003 album The Crusader?

3. Whose first solo album Inside Out (1982) was made while facing a date in court?

4. Whose 2007 album In Swings the Tide was mostly recorded at home in Western Springs?

5. Whose 1987 album featured songs about the arms race, apartheid, Cambodian refugees, and a US president?

6. Which self-titled album from 1997 is written mostly in the Tokelauan language?

Tim and Neil Finn

7. Which Finn brothers’ album was recorded twice?

8. Whose 2008 album The Awakening opens with a line set in the Port Hills, “On a fine day / if Mum says ‘okay’ / I go out walking in the hills where I can play”?

9. Which album by The Chills features occasional REM sideman and dBs founder Peter Holsapple on guitar and keyboards?

10. Whose 1992 album Language contained two songs by Dave Dobbyn, neither of them called ‘Language’? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 1, 2023

Mark Williams' third album Taking It All In Stride, EMI, 1977.

1. The cover photo for Mark Williams’ 1977 album Taking It All In Stride shows a party on a tennis court. Among the extras is an actor who soon became a major star. What is his name?

2. The four members of early 80s Auckland post-punk band Children’s Hour were all subsequently members – but never all at the same time – of which band?

Aldous Harding. - Photo by Ebony Lamb

3. Aldous Harding had a big break when she was seen busking outside a Geraldine bakery and offered a support slot by which other singer?

4. Which Auckland duo had a hit in 1989 with ‘She’s A Mod’ / ‘Mod Rap’, which featured a guest appearance by Ray Columbus?

Shayne Carter at Laneway 2012. - Photo by Jonathan Ganley

5. In his 2019 autobiography Dead People I Have Known, Shayne Carter describes the 1985 single ‘Randolph’s Going Home’ as “one of my greatest songs”. Who was his collaborator on it?

6. Emily Edrosa, aka Emily Littler, was the singer-guitarist for which sassy Auckland pop-punk trio, active from 2008 to 2017?

Tami Neilson - Dynamite! (2014)

7. Tami Neilson’s breakthrough 2014 album Dynamite! was produced by which fellow country musician?

8. Young Sid, Tyree and Deach were the members of which 2000s Auckland hip-hop band?

9. The Cabana is a long-running major venue in which North Island city?

10. Venus Is Home is the 2022 debut album by which singer-songwriter? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, April 24, 2023

Finn Andrews, The Veils, Laneway 2017. - Stella Gardiner

1. Finn Andrews (of The Veils), Gin Wigmore, and members of The Checks all went to which high school in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland?

2. In 1967 an Auckland band supported The Yardbirds, The Walker Brothers, and Roy Orbison on a whirlwind tour of New Zealand. Name the support act.

3. Who scored the music to the film Heavenly Creatures?

4. Rosalie Edmondson was a 1960s New Zealand pop star. What was her stage name?

5. INF and SPYCC are MCs in which hip hop collective from Onehunga?

6. Entrain was the precursor to which successful dance event that began in 1996/97?

Jamie McDell, 2022.

7. Jamie McDell dressed as which marine animal to raise awareness for it at the 2013 Vodafone Music Awards?

Troy Kingi.

8. With whom did Troy Kingi and Choicevaughan collaborate on The Panthers soundtrack?

9. The 2012 album Sad but True: The Secret History of Country Music Songwriting was a collaboration between which two singer-songwriters?

10. Name the supergroup Barnaby Weir and Mikee Tucker formed in 2004.

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AudioCulture Quiz, April 17, 2023

Nadia Reid. - Alex Lovell-Smith

1. Which Wellington suburb gives its name to a song on Nadia Reid’s 2017 album Preservation?

2. How To Loiter In A Turf War is the acclaimed novel published last year by which Auckland rapper?

3. Two major New Zealand musicians had significant roles in the 2010 New Zealand feature film Predicament. Name one of them.

4. Plastic Bouquets is the 2020 collaboration album between Canadian duo Kacy & Clayton and which singer?

5. I was raised in Northland and came to prominence as a guitarist in the 1960s. Some of my songs were recorded by Human Instinct. An album I recorded in London in 1969 was widely bootlegged and finally officially released in 2012. Who am I?

Needles & Plastic: Flying Nun Records, 1981–1988, by Matthew Goody, Auckland University Press

6. According to Matthew Goody’s recently published book Needles And Plastic, what was the first 12" single (as opposed to an EP) released by Flying Nun?

7. Between 2005 and 2011 Annabel Alpers released one EP and three albums of electro-pop under what pseudonym?

8. Green B Holiday was a concept album released in 1969 by which Upper Hutt band?

9. In 2003, which Auckland duo released two albums, Caterpillar and Butterfly, on the same day?

10. An anthology of landmark 1980s Dunedin fanzine Garage has just been published. Which song, originally by seminal Dunedin punk band The Enemy and recorded by Toy Love, is it named after?

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AudioCulture Quiz, April 10, 2023

1. Which member of Shihad is the great nephew of a highly regarded New Zealand major-general in World War II?

2. Which singer ruefully recalled about his homecoming tour, “Everywhere I went I was puffing on a big cigar, and I wore much more gold than the average man”?

3. New Zealand’s first prominent all-female quartet temporarily added “Plus One” to its name when they recruited a male drummer. What was the band’s original name?

4. Whose debut album The Private Life of Clowns was released on her own Raw Fish Salad label?

5. Joe Wylie designed which iconic New Zealand album cover with a theme of Māori futurism?

6. When winning the best female artist award in 2015, who quipped “Up yours, Anika?”

7. Whose first professional gig in Christchurch – performing her own songs – was with the band Chapta? 

Amelia Murray. - Frances Carter

8. What is the name of the act fronted by Amelia Murray, which recently returned with the single ‘Come Apart’ and the support slot on Lorde’s 2023 New Zealand tour?

9. Which band emerged from Wellington High School acts such as Sprink and Komos, and eventually named itself after a fictional organisation in the TV show MacGyver?

The Crocodiles.

10. The Crocodiles’ keyboardist went on to write music for films such as Heavenly Creatures and Meet the Feebles. Who is he?

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AudioCulture Quiz, April 3, 2023 

Chris Knox, Paul Kean and Jane Walker at Auckland's Gluepot, likely September 1980 - Anthony Phelps

1. Which long-standing group did Paul Kean join after Toy Love?

2. Which drummer/ percussionist/ DJ was in The Newmatics, The Miltown Stowaways, Avant Garage, and UK band The Woodentops?

3. Which New Zealand album was released for the first time on vinyl last year by UK label Needle Mythology (run by former Melody Maker scribe Peter Paphides)?

4. The song ‘35’ is about the state highway around the East Coast of the North Island. Who did the group Ka Hao co-wrote it with?

Neil Finn

5. On which Neil Finn album was there a choir featuring, among others, EJ Barnes, Sean Donnelly, Harper Finn, Reb Fountain, Hollie Fullbrook, Victoria Kelly, Don McGlashan, Jimmy Metherell, Sandy Mill, James Milne, Amelia Murray and Samuel Flynn Scott?

6. Who are the spa pool-ensconced duet partners on ‘The Cigarette Song’ (which has now clocked 89 million YouTube plays)?

7. Which female Wellington folk/ blues singer’s 1965 debut album was entitled My Way Of Singing?

8. Whose 2008 album Anotherland was produced by On-U Sound’s Adrian Sherwood and Skip McDonald?

The 1975 debut album from Ragnarok, reissued in March 2022.

9. Which New Zealand reissue label last year re-released Ragnarok’s self-titled 1975 debut?

10. Who was the featured vocalist on Savage’s 2005 single ‘They Don’t Know’?

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 27, 2023

Jane Walker, c. 1979 - Jane Walker collection

1. Jane Walker played drums for Christchurch punk bands The Basketcases and Detroit Hemroids. However, she was more famous for playing what for who?

2. What was the name of Darren Watson’s 80s blues band?

Kurt Shanks - Photo by Mark Roach

3. Auckland promoter Kurt Shanks plays bass for which well-known band?

4. My bands include They Were Expendable, The Expendables, Breathing Cage, and The Matches. Who am I?

5. Which duo released the 1989 No.2 ‘Mod Rap’ with Ray Columbus?

6. What is the connection between 90s Auckland club Squid and Push Push?

7. Who directed both the Skeptics ‘AFFCO’ and Snapper’s ‘Buddy’ acclaimed videos?

8. Which Pacifican hip-hop act was fronted by Te Awanui Reeder, Donald McNulty, and Junior Rikiau?

Denys Mason visits Wellington, 2000s.  - Costa Christie

9. What instrument is Denys Mason mainly known for?

10. Who wrote the book Stranded in Paradise?

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 20, 2023

The Bluestone Store at 9-11 Durham Lane in Auckland's CBD.  - Wikimedia, CC BY 3.0.

1. In 1978 the Bluestone Store in Auckland’s Durham Lane became which legendary punk venue?

2. Jenny Blackadder was crowned Queen of which instrument in 2008? 

3. My Chemical Romance played in Auckland on March 11. Their local supports included producer/songwriter Joel Little’s first band – can you name them?

 

4. The musician pictured above sadly passed away in 2018. AudioCulture has published her 2003 interview for the TV series Give It A Whirl. Who is she?

5. LEAO calls Auckland group Half Hexagon a “heavy trifecta of cool” – can you name one of the trio’s three members?

6. The finalists for the Taite Music Prize 2023 were recently announced. Who won the prestigious prize in 2022?

7. In 2003 this group had a No.5 hit with ‘For The People’, which won the 2003 APRA Silver Scroll Award. What is their name? 

8. The pattern on the cover of Look Blue Go Purple’s 1985 EP Bewitched was taken from the fabric of a dress owned by which band member?

9. Which Christchurch venue, which was sadly closed following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, was originally a historic home built in 1883?

10. At 17 Eddie Rayner, soon to be in Space Waltz and Split Enz, was expelled from school – what was the reason?

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 13, 2023

Diatribe, 1983. - Simon Grigg Collection

1. What is the connection between Auckland bands Herbs and Diatribe?

2. Which band was briefly known as Amplifier?

Troy Kingi.

3. In 2016 Troy Kingi announced he was going to release how many albums in different genres over a decade?

4. We were formed by Mark Tierney and Paul Casserly in 1990 at 95bFM. We are?

5. Which family band – called Brother when they first moved to Auckland – played support at the 1979 Bob Marley concert at Western Springs?

6. Our first two EPs were Bird and Bone and Hearts, and our debut album was Coral. Who were we?

7. Name the New Zealand drummer who has played with ... take a breath … Nat Adderley, Frank Foster, Johnny Griffin, Joe Henderson, Lee Konitz, Leo Sayer, John Scofield, Dusty Springfield, Sonny Stitt, the Temptations, Rick Wakeman, the Walker Brothers, Dionne Warwick, Ernie Watts, Jimmy Witherspoon, Lonnie Donegan, and Elton John?

8. He was raised in Hamilton where he was a big part of the 1960s scene, but is globally known as the singer of the 70s worldwide smash ‘Blinded By the Light’ and the co-writer of ‘You’re The Voice’ (He also has a Hamilton-born namesake who is more of a folk troubadour.) Who is he?

Tami Neilson, May 2013. - Wendy Collings / Tymar Lighting

9. Where was Tami Neilson born and raised?

10. Whose second band was The Unfaithful Ways? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 6, 2023

1. Which band titled its debut album Revival? 

2. In the title of the Dance Exponents’ song ‘Christchurch’ which street name was added in brackets? 

Ten years after Tells You to Fight. 

3. In the photo above, who is this Auckland-born artist, now based in Las Vegas, whose 2008 album Tells You to Fight was named as one of Nick Bollinger’s 100 Essential New Zealand Albums? 

4. ‘Farewell to the Gold’, about gold-mining pioneers, was written by Paul Metsers while he was teaching at Hutt Intermediate. Which Nobel Prize-winner performed it live? 

5. Who is the editor and publisher of New Zealand Musician magazine, founded in 1988? 

6. Which member of When the Cat’s Away first emerged in the bands Everything That Flies and Perfect Strangers, and more recently was in The Bads? 

7. Which Christchurch record store was located in the former art-deco premises of Begg’s? 

8. Which Tauranga band shares its name with a 1988 Beach Boys’ US No.1 hit, and recorded an entire album of Dylan interpretations?

On the Showtime Spectacular tour, 1961. 

9. Which early ’60s singing star, above, later became the Mayoress of Whangarei? 

10. Name the Auckland location which hosted the Jumping Sundays protests/celebrations in the late ’60s, Radio Hauraki concerts in the 1970s, and the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival in the late 2010s. 

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 27, 2023

1. Sharon O’Neill wrote the score and soundtrack for which classic 1981 New Zealand film?

The risks of ongoing touring. 

2. Which band was involved in this off-road moment while touring the South Island?

3. What is Otis Mace’s nickname/slogan?

4. Dunedin music landmarks Sammy’s, Disk Den and the Crown Hotel have been/are owned by members of which Dunedin family?

A trio with “Music and 90s Style”.

5. What group is pictured here, from our “Music and 90s Style” feature? 

6. Which African country did Raiza Biza’s family flee in the early 1990s? 

7. Bachelorette sang with which robot band at Camp A Low Hum in 2011? 

8. Name one of the three Peter Jackson films Peter Dasent composed the scores for.

9. Which New Zealand country music singer was given the opportunity to perform on the Grand Ole Opry by superstar Charley Pride?

10. What does Rob Ruha’s song ‘35’ refer to?

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 20, 2023

1. In The Warratahs’ early hit ‘Maureen’, she moves home. Where to? 

Diggy Dupé at the laundromat, Grey Lynn, 2020. - Tom Grut

2. For which TV series did Diggy Dupé co-write the music? 

3. Which member of Hello Sailor wrote several songs for the 1986 film Queen City Rocker? 

4. Tim Mahon was bassist for which band when the van in which they were touring crashed? 

5. Which reggae group got its name from the year missionary Samuel Marsden arrived in the Bay of Islands? 

6. Which New Zealand-invented instrument, sold in 80 countries, is a mix of a saxophone and a tin whistle?

Anika Moa and Mareea Paterson. - Mareea Paterson Collection

7. Kim Paterson is a renowned New Zealand jazz trumpeter. What instrument does his internationally known daughter Mareea play? 

8. In the 1960s which New Zealand singer was known as a “folk queen and foot-stomping blues singer”?

9. What 2003 TV series, viewable online at AudioCulture and NZ On Screen, covered New Zealand’s rock’n’roll history? 

10. What are the first names of Bic Runga’s musician sisters? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 13, 2023

1. Who composed the music for the Geoff Murphy films Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu, and The Quiet Earth? 

2. What is the performing pseudonym of Steph Brown, who won the 2012 APRA Silver Scroll for ‘Everything to Me’?

3. Which future member of When the Cat’s Away starred in the 1986 film Queen City Rocker? 

Karl Steven in the studio. - Paul Taylor

4. What band was film composer Karl Steven in during his teenage years? 

5. Who was the jazz drummer often seen in the 1980s New Zealand films? 

6. What band released the seminal New Zealand electro hit ‘Pulsing’? 

7. Which 1960s Wellington band was named – by Dalvanius in a competition – after a hip TV show? 

8. Which band’s song provided the title to the recent Flying Nun history Needles & Plastic? 

9. Before 10 o’clock closing became legal in 1967, what time did pubs have to shut? 

10. Which New Zealand firm invented the music equipment Pitch’n’Time and Scratch Live? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 6, 2023

1. The Last Resort Café was an important venue from 1978 to 1981 in which New Zealand city?

2. Can you name one of the musicians who shared their memories in the Lewis Eady story?

3. What was the name of the album that the Finn brothers released in 2004?

4. Which of the armed forces did Larry Morris join at the age of 15?

Spelling Mistakes poster, design by Warwick Fowler

5. Which Auckland reviewer responded to a gig by The Spelling Mistakes by writing, “I’m taken aback – I’ve just seen a band with a sense of history, a sense of the absurd and what sounds like a healthy dollars and cents future.”

6. Which New Zealand artist impressed UK drum and bass legend Roni Size with her vocal skills at the 2001 Big Day Out in Melbourne?

7. Alisa Xayalith has just released a solo EP, Superpowers. Which band, formed in 2007, is she from?

Margaret Urlich - Second Nature (1999)

8. Which Shona Laing song did Margaret Urlich record on Second Nature, her album interpreting New Zealand pop classics?

9. Goldenhorse was initially formed by Kirsten Morrell and Geoff Maddock. Which indie pop band was Maddock in at the time?

10. What is the artist’s name of Sāmoan indie-rock musician David Feauai-Afaese?

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AudioCulture Quiz, January 30, 2023

1. Name the family whose various members have been selling musical instruments in Auckland for nearly 140 years. 

2. What was the name of Larry Morris’s most famous group? 

3. Apart from the guitar, what instrument was Red McKelvie often called upon to play in recording sessions? 

4. Name one of the two Auckland groups that received wages from a government PEP scheme in the early 1980s. 

Hollie Smith. - Photo by Steve Dykes

5. Who wrote ‘Bathe in the River’, which Hollie Smith – and the Mt Raskil Preservation Society – took to No.2 in the New Zealand charts? 

6. Two musicians surnamed Tumahai have profiles on AudioCulture: Charlie and …? 

7. Which judge on the New Faces TV talent show declared his aversion to lurex costumes? 

20 Studio One Hits LP (1972)

8. Who sang ‘Love Bug’, a No.3 hit in 1973 after featuring in TV talent show Studio One. 

9. Who almost stole the show singing backing vocals on the Netherworld Dancing Toys’ ‘For Today’? 

10. What is the connection between 80s band The Steroids and the OMC hit ‘How Bizarre’?  

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AudioCulture Quiz, January 23, 2023

Ticket

1. Which two members of 70s blues-rock band Ticket went on to join Hello Sailor?

2. The preeminent event in the New Zealand pop calendar in the late 1960s and early 1970s, celebrating a public vote for best single, was sponsored by a shampoo company. What was the award called?

3. Name the musician whose first introduction to the  music industry was in female vocal group Sheelahroc with her cousin Tyra Hammond and Sarah Tamaira (aka “Voodoo Child”).

4. Name the tongue-in-cheek band from the early 2000s that released a single called ‘Today, Tomorrow, Timaru’.

5. Which hip hop artist had a 2004 hit with ‘We Gon Ride’?

6. In the late 1950s I was band leader and saxophonist in Johnny Devlin’s band “The Devils” and in the 1970s I released a couple of Hammond organ albums, 1973’s Hammond Spectacular and 1974’s Hammond Electrique. Who am I?

7. Which popular New Zealand band of the early 80s made an extraordinary comeback in the early 90s with a string of hits? Clue: some of their song titles are posed as questions, and start with the words “Who”, “Why”, and “Whatever”.

8. Which Flying Nun artist released his first solo album, Here Come The Cars, in 1991?

Dave Dunningham.

9. What was the name of the central Auckland venue run by promoter Dave Dunningham in the late 1950s/ early 1960s, where early rock ’n’ roll acts such as Johnny Devlin and the Bob Paris Combo performed?

10. Name either of the local acts that broke through with the singles ‘Maureen’, in 1988, or ‘Mo-reen’, in 1969. 

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AudioCulture Quiz, January 16, 2023

1. What do the video clips for Bailterspace’s ‘Splat’ (1995) and Goodshirt’s ‘Blowing Dirt’ (2001) have in common?

2. Which former Auckland pub and live venue is rumoured to have gained its nickname from disgruntled housewives whose husbands were said to be “stuck” there?

Steve Gilpin, 1974

3. Former cabaret singer Steve Gilpin was the lead singer of which internationally successful band of the late 70s and 80s?

4. The Others Way festival is named after a song by which early Flying Nun band?

Bill and Boyd's self-titled 1975 album (Stetson).

5. Name the biggest hit of Bill & Boyd’s lengthy career, described by one reviewer as “cheerfully offensive”.

6. Who famously yelled “Up the ’Pool!” – referring to Liverpool – to the Beatles when she was in the audience at their Auckland Town Hall show in 1964, prompting Paul McCartney to tell his bandmates, “We’ve got a Scouse in the audience, lads.”?

The D4 . - Jimmy Christmas Collection. Photo by Paul Raggity.

7. The D4 named their 2001 debut album after a classic 1960s New Zealand-designed Jansen guitar amplifier. What’s the title of the album?

Emma Paki at the 1995 NZ Music Awards

8. Emma Paki’s first big hit, 1993’s ‘System Virtue’, was produced by Jaz Coleman. Who produced her 1994 hit, ‘Greenstone’?

9. Name the musician who was in The Dizzy Limits, Timberjack, The Human Instinct, and the first Warratahs line-up?

10. Who was the singer-guitarist and band leader of Chicago Smoke Shop?

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AudioCulture Quiz, January 9, 2023

Split Ends performing onstage in January 1973: Mike Howard, Phil Judd, Brian Tim Finn, Jonathan Michael Chunn. - Photo by Larry Jordan

1. The La De Da’s, Split Ends, and Black Sabbath shared the bill at a festival held 50 years ago this week. Where did it occur?

2. Which New Zealand artist recorded a live session at London’s Abbey Road Studios in 2022?

3. Which Upper Hutt singer began in The In-Sect (precursor of The Fourmyula), joined The Castaways, performed in cabaret overseas, and hosted a New Zealand TV talent show?

4. In August 1977 Wellington’s first punk rock concerts were held at Victoria University’s Union Hall (now called the Hunter Lounge). Who were the two acts?

5. Which Auckland hip-hop act turned the Kanye West song title ‘No More Parties in LA’ into ‘No More Parties in Stoneyhunga’?

Herbs and Dave Dobbyn during the Slice Of Heaven video shoot

6. At which studio did Dave Dobbyn and Herbs record ‘Slice of Heaven’?

7. Brooke Singer’s early bands included folk act Ragamuffin Children and “pop-shoegazey” The O’Lovelys. Which band is she in now?

8. Whose album Leave Love Out of This was awarded the 2022 Taite Music Prize?

9. Woof! is a bar in Dunedin/Ōtepoti run by which “lapsed choir boy”?

10.  Which 1970s prog-rock band had singer-songwriter Lea Maalfrid as a member?

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AudioCulture Quiz, December 19, 2022

The Beths. - Mason Fairey

1. What is the name of The Beths’ 2018 Christmas EP?

2. Which New Zealand-born producer has worked with Lorde and Taylor Swift?

3. Which leading jazz-rock band of the mid-late 70s was named after a pub in Wellington (upstairs from Lambton Quay, downstairs from The Terrace)?

Upper Hutt Posse in Mount Street, Auckland, 1990.

4. New Zealand’s first rap record to be released was made by Upper Hutt Posse – what was its name?

5. Which New Zealand music writer and mentor ran a store called Records Records for many years?

6. The bitter title of The Avengers’ biggest hit could come from the pen of Elvis Costello. What is it?

7. My name is Julie Nelson; in 1962, as a 14-year-old from Gisborne, I recorded a Christmas song that became a perennial Yuletide favourite. What was its name?

8. Which New Zealand singer often performed as Santa in Auckland’s Christmas in the Park concerts?

9. Which groundbreaking 1977 New Zealand film featured a soundtrack written by Murray Grindlay?

Jay Monds.

10. What was one of the stage names of DJ Jay Monds, who died in 2022?

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AudioCulture Quiz, December 12, 2022

Hollie Fullbrook, 2018. - Ebony Lamb

1. Hollie Fullbrook used what alias when she started performing? 

2. Who has released three albums of Songs for Bubbas?

3. Which country singer released his debut album Neon Cowboy in 1987?

4. Caleb and Georgia Nott, siblings from Nelson, had a viral hit in 2018 with ‘Peach’. What is the name of their duo?

5. Kas Futialo is better known by what name?

6. Hood Country Club was the 2017 album by who?

7. Brothers Logan and Jordan Bell are in which reggae band which had a massive hit with ‘Giddy Up’ in 2002?

8. ‘I Just Don’t Understand’, on the Chess label in North America, was a radio hit in Canada for which New Zealand singer in the 1960s?

9. Paul Casserly and Mark Tierney were the production duo behind which 90s act?

10. Who supported Gil Scott-Heron on a tour of Europe and UK?

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AudioCulture Quiz, December 5, 2022

Split Enz, 1980 (L-R): Neil Finn, Tim Finn, Nigel Griggs, Eddie Rayner, Malcolm Green, Noel Crombie

1. On the 1982 album Time & Tide, which Split Enz song had an instrumental introduction by Eddie Rayner called ‘Pioneer’?

2. What was the name of the 1979 New Zealand music festival at which Split Enz lost all its musical equipment in a fire just before their appearance?

3. What’s the connection between Blondie’s ‘Heart of Glass’ and Split Enz’s ‘I Got You’?

4. Which Split Enz song opens “I don’t want to say I love you / that would give away too much”?

5. Name the two English members of the Split Enz rhythm section recruited in 1977, after the departures of Paul Crowther and Mike Chunn.

6. The cover of the Frenzy album was painted by Raewyn Turner – what was her role in the Split Enz technical crew?

7. Dave Russell produced Split Enz’s debut album Mental Notes. In which prominent New Zealand band did he play guitar in the 1960s?

8. What was the name of the short-lived band formed in the late 1980s by former Enz members Phil Judd, Noel Crombie, and Nigel Griggs?

9. The follow-up album to True Colours was called Corroboree in Australia. What was its New Zealand name?

10. What major event happened elsewhere in Auckland on the night of Split Enz’s “final” concert at the Logan Campbell Centre on 7 December 1984?

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 28, 2022

1. Two Flying Nun bands have been inducted into Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa NZ Music Hall of Fame. Name one. 

Jimmy Christmas, Big Day Out 2009

2. Name the band Jimmy Christmas formed after leaving The D4.

3. What is the name of the Sami Sisters’ debut album?

4. Which major record company signed a distribution deal with Flying Nun in 1988?

5. Split Ends (before they were Enz) appeared on a television talent quest in 1973. What was the name of the show?

Pauly Fuemana at the 1996 NZ Music Awards. 

6. Pauly Fuemana was the lead singer of which international chart-topping band?

7. Which well-known musician produced Anika Moa’s album Queen at the Table?

Die! Die! Die! - Photo by Georgia Schofield

8. Name the city Die! Die! Die! are originally from.

Tiny Ruins, 2018. - Ebony Lamb Photography

9. The Tiny Ruins song ‘Dream Wave’ was produced by a well-known Hollywood director. Who was it?

10. Name the local indie label that released the first two EPs by The Naked and Famous, No Light, and This Machine.

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 21, 2022

1. Which platinum-selling album by Salmonella Dub featured the cranking drum & bass track ‘Tha Bromley East Roller’?

2. A number of international stars were interviewed on Radio With Pictures, and some even made videos here. One particularly cool video was for Iggy Pop’s ‘I’m Bored’. Which Wellington landmark building features in the video?

Split Enz - Mental Notes

3. Nick Bollinger says of Split Enz’s debut album Mental Notes, “While Tim Finn and Phil Judd deliver the songs like a pair of bewildered vaudevillians, it is the rhythm section … that provides the platform on which their performance takes place.” Which bassist and drummer made up this rhythm section?

4. Part of Jamie McDell’s childhood was spent somewhere quite unusual – where was it?

5. Jim Carter passed away on 2 October 2022 aged 103. In 1948, on his lap-steel guitar, he played the first notes on New Zealand’s first home-grown hit record. What was that song?

Ngoi Pewhairangi with copies of 'Poi E'. - Gisborne Herald

6. Ngoi Pēwhairangi was inducted into the 2022 NZ Music Hall of Fame this year. She wrote the lyrics for two te reo songs that were No.1 hits in the 1980s. One was ‘Poi E’. What was the other?

7. Which member of Big Sideways and Miltown Stowaways went on to play with popular UK band The Woodentops?

Steph Brown, Auckland, 2012.

8. Steph Brown won the APRA Silver Scroll in 2012 with her song ‘Everything To Me’. Under which name does she record, perform, and produce?

9. I have been a bassist for Fish for Life; designer for Rip It Up; directed more than 100 music videos; directed the feature film Black Sheep; and created the graphic novel The Inkberg Enigma. Who am I?

10. Which Tāmaki Makaurau-based radio host co-founded and played keyboards for the Able Tasmans?

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 14, 2022

SWIDT at Roundhead Studios, Auckland.

1. The SWIDT collective are from which Auckland suburb?

2. Which South Auckland hip-hop label was founded by Danny Leaosavai’i and Andy Murnane?

3. Tim Finn and Eddie Rayner, formerly of Split Enz, released the Shades and Echoes album in 2022 under what name?

Aaradhna. - Rip It Up Archives

4. Why did Aaradhna refuse to accept a music award in 2016 for her No.1 album Brown Girl?

5. These are the first lines of a rap by which artist? “I’m from Christchurch, the place of my birth. My home on this earth, represent my peps and their worth”.

6. ‘Billy Bold’ became the signature song for which New Zealand singer, who died in 2015?

7. Milan Borich was the lead singer of which band in the 1990s/2000s?

8. White Sunday was the 2003 debut album by which rap artist?

Mother Goose in a 1977 Mushroom publicity shot

9. Mother Goose celebrated which canned food with a song in 1977?

10. Lil’ Golden Book was the debut album for which local artist?

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 7, 2022

The Exploding Budgies - The Grotesque Singers EP (Flying Nun, 1985)

1. Released by Flying Nun in 1985, The Exploding Budgies’ one and only EP The Grotesque Singers features a track named after which renowned American avant-garde film director?

2. Which Dunedin band released three EPs on Flying Nun before they went on to have a top 10 hit on another label?

3. In 1988, Australian cow-punk band The Johnnys included a cover of which song by The Clean on their album Grown Up Wrong?

4. Which Auckland venue was the location of a live album recorded in 1983 and released on Flying Nun in 1984, featuring performances by Tall Dwarfs, The Stones, Children’s Hour, and many more?

Andrew Brough - Photo by Becky Nunes

5. Prior to joining Shayne Carter in Straitjacket Fits, Andrew Brough was in which short-lived trio that released the Fruit Salad Lives EP on Flying Nun?

6. Which Auckland-based band did bassist Jane Dodd join after leaving The Verlaines, following the release of their 1988 Bird-Dog LP?

Doublehappys, 1984: Shayne Carter, John Collie, Wayne Elsey. - Photo by Jeremy Freeman

7. What was the name of the very mechanical drummer John Collie replaced when he joined Doublehappys?

8. What was the title of the Flying Nun compilation released in 1991, featuring a painting by The Clean’s Hamish Kilgour with flying saucers on the cover?

9. Which band had their debut single produced by Hamish Kilgour and their debut album produced by David Kilgour?

10. Which Dunedin band is named after an Elvis Costello song?

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 31, 2022

Greg Johnson

1. In 1992 Greg Johnson released an award-winning song about a woman living in Zagreb, Croatia. What was its name?

2. Which New Zealand jazz drummer recorded duets with famed US guitarist Emily Remler, who died shortly afterwards in Australia?

3. See Ya ’Round was the final album by which New Zealand band in 1984?

4. What were the titles of the paired albums in 2003 by Lil’ Chief band The Tokey Tones?

5. Which popular 70s band – which had a No.1 hit with ‘L’amour est L’enfant de la Liberte’ – included the brothers Shade and Gerard Smith?

Dave Dobbyn

6. What was the title of the 1994 album by Dave Dobbyn, produced by Neil Finn?

7. Who played the nightclub singer in the 2005 Australian film Little Fish (starring Cate Blanchett and Sam Neill) singing Gene Pitney’s 1968 hit ‘Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart’?

8. The 1960s pop star, born Bogdan Kominowski, covered the famous Jewish folk song ‘Hava Nagilah’ on his self-titled debut album. What was his stage name?

9: ‘Hashish’ was the title of an instrumental by which New Zealand group in 1962?

10. Who recorded the 1998 spoken and sung ‘Moko’ which opened with words by Māori artist and activist Tāme Iti?

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 24, 2022

Lucid 3: Victoria Girling-Butcher, Marcus Lawson, Derek Metivier

1. Victoria Girling-Butcher of Lucid 3 is from which North Island city?

2. Who Killed Colonel Mustard was an EP by which Dunedin band?

3. Auckland jazz band Bluespeak, fronted by Greg Johnson, included bassist Peter Scott. Who is his famous son?

4. I was born in Canada, grew up in Geraldine, formed my first band in Timaru before putting together my most famous one in Christchurch. I am in the NZ Music Hall of Fame twice, once with that band, and once as a songwriter. Who am I?

5. Whose first album was called Live At The Matterhorn?

6. What was the name of the music TV show that first broadcast in October 1976?

7. Who was the show’s first host?

8. Peter van der Fluit was the bassist in which 80s band?

Tali 

9. MC Tali had a UK Top 40 hit in 2004 with a song produced by Roni Size, what was it called?

10. Who wrote Sonny Day’s hit ‘Saving Up’?

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 17, 2022

1. Name the pop singer who was the executive director of the Auckland Rugby Union in the 1980s, bringing live entertainment and crowds back to Eden Park, and the owner of several gay nightclubs in the city.

Southside of Bombay.

2. ‘What’s the Time Mr Wolf’ by Southside of Bombay was from the soundtrack of which New Zealand movie?

3. His record shop in Dunedin was called Records Records and enjoyed an international reputation. He was a pivotal figure that city’s music scene for decades and passed away in 2017. He is?

4. Who had a massive hit with ‘The White Rabbit’?

Kim Willoughby.

5. What was the name of Kim Willoughby’s first band?

6. In 2000 NZ On Air launched, as an adjunct to the Kiwi Hit Disc, a series of promo radio CDs mostly in te reo Māori. What did they call them?

7. Which act recorded the 2004 album Break It To Pieces, regarded as a New Zealand hip hop classic?

8. Sister Sina featured in the lyrics to which international New Zealand hit?

Street Talk's self-titled 1978 debut album.

9. Who produced Street Talk’s debut album?

10. Which US singer made a video for his 1979 single ‘I’m Bored’ in Wellington?

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 10, 2022

Andrew Fagan, Rip It Up cover photo, August 1984 - Photo by Kerry Brown

1. What was the name of Andrew Fagan’s pre-Mockers high-school punk band?

2. What UK indie band did Benny Staples of Miltown Stowaways play with?

3. What was the name of Ria Hall’s 2017 debut album?

How Was the Air Up There (1980)

4. On what budget label was the seminal New Zealand compilation How Was The Air Up There? released in 1980? 

5. Who was the head of NZ On Air Music until his retirement in 2016?

6. Ardijah was fronted by which husband and wife duo?

7. Which Wellington indie/post-punk band famously jammed with The Cure at an after-show party on their 1981 tour?

8. What song featured on the second Dance Exponents album Expectations, but provided the name to their debut album?

9. Which group had a hit on both sides of the Tasman with ‘Hip Hop Holiday’?

10. Mark Tierney and Paul Casserly co-founded which electronica combo?

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 3, 2022

1. Jim Wilson is the founder of postering company Phantom Billstickers. Which annual literary event do they sponsor?

2. For which Crowded House album did Tim Finn join the band to record and tour?

Princess Chelsea, 2022. - Frances Carter

3. Which independent New Zealand record label is Princess Chelsea signed to?

4. In 1983 Margaret Urlich joined her brother Pat’s band, which morphed into Peking Man. What was its name?

5. Sonya Waters guested on an MTV Europe show with a UK trio featuring a New Zealander. What was the trio’s name?

6. Who engineered The Blue Stars’ ‘Social End Product’, The La De Da’s ‘Do What You Gotta Do’, and The Human Instinct’s classic album Burning Up Years?  

7. Who is this?

8. And who is playing electric guitar here (at the back)?

9. Which massive 1980s TV show did Jodi Vaughan, Brendan Dugan and Gray Bartlett have residencies on?

10. Which band did Doug Hood sing with at Christchurch’s Mollett Street one Sunday night in 1978?

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 26, 2022

1. Val Murphy was part of the Web Women’s Collective, which released the Out of the Corners album in 1982. Name another act on the album. 

Val Murphy. 

2. In which city did Leisure play its first ever live show? 

3. Renee-Louise Carafice recorded her debut album Tells You to Fight at Electric Audio Studios in Chicago. Who founded and owns the studio? 

4. Name the UK television series that used the PLAN remix of French for Rabbits’ song ‘Claimed by the Sea’. 

5. What was New Zealand’s first feature-length musical? 

Andrew Spraggon.

6. Andrew Spraggon from Sola Rosa played bass in which band in the early 2000s? 

7. Who wrote the memoir Postitively George Street? 

8. ‘All Your Ships Have Sailed’ won the 2021 APRA Silver Scroll Award for which artist? 

9. Alongside Elvis Costello, which New Zealand act topped the bill at the first Sweetwaters Festival in 1980? 

10. Which solo artist has also been in side projects such as Opossum and King Sweeties? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 19, 2022

1. The original theme tune for Ready to Roll was The Commodores’ 1974 track ‘Machine Gun’. In the early 1980s, the new futuristic computerised graphics called for a new theme tune. Who composed it?

2. Darren Matthiassen and Nick Robinson are the rhythm section in which group?

3. A much-loved New Zealand hit was first performed in at the 1983 Aotearoa Performing Arts Festival in Hastings. What was the song?

Corben Simpson with BLERTA - Photo by Helen Whiteford

4. BLERTA frontman Corben Simpson played the opening slot at the Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival, 1973. What was particularly memorable about his performance?

5. Which 2011 Princess Chelsea song became a YouTube hit (80 million views and counting) – and a decade later went viral again on TikTok?

Nick Harte, Shocking Pinks.  - Phil Platt

6. Which prominent New Zealand label released the Shocking Pinks albums Mathematical Warfare and Infinity Land? 

7. The Body Electric used new technology to create one of the biggest indie singles of the 1980s, which sat in the New Zealand charts for over six months without any mainstream airplay. What was the name of the song?

The Warratahs. - Trevor Reekie Collection

8. In 1988 The Warratahs had a hit with a song named after a woman. What was its title?

9. Which classic album, first released in 2001, is Dimmer currently touring and performing?

10. Whose bird songs played a role in the renaissance of te reo Māori?

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 12, 2022

1. What is the name of the group formed by Joe Lindsay of Fat Freddy’s Drop to perform well-known waiata and action songs in a vintage ska style?

2. ‘Po Atarau’ is a perennial Māori ballad, written to an Australian melody, recorded by Deane Waretini and Dennis Marsh and many others. What was it called when it was covered by Gracie Fields and Bing Crosby?

3. Who recorded the album Soul Sessions, featuring jazz and R&B standards in te reo, including ‘Raumati’ (‘Summertime’)?

4. Whose father, Uekaha, co-wrote the hit song ‘Tangaroa’ on the 2007 album Past Present Future?

5. Whose 2017 album Rules of Engagement included archival recordings of her great uncle speaking about the battles of Pukehinahina and Te Ranga?

6. Whose single ‘AEIOU’ had the sub-title ‘Akona Te Reo’ (“learn the language”)?

7. Which All Black fullback recorded the song ‘Beneath the Māori Moon’ in Britain before the Second World War?

8. Which former Ngā Tamatoa member (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu) became well-known for his songs inspired by bird songs and the bush?

9. Whose song ‘Kariri’ retold a history of East Coast resistance to colonial forces, and won the 2016 Maioha award?

10. Whose fourth album Te Ripo (1997) was produced by Shona Laing?

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 5, 2022

Dave McArtney with Hello Sailor at The Windsor, 1977/78 - Photo by Murray Cammick

1. What was the name of Dave McArtney’s widely praised 2014 autobiography?

2. Who wrote the book Dead People I Have Known?

3. Which late country-rock singer called his band The Inlaws?

4. Which New Zealand band had a smash Australian hit in 1969 with ‘Mr Guy Fawkes’?

5. Who coined the term “haka-soul”?

Patsy Riggir with engineer Tony Moan (left) and producer Rob Aickin at Stebbing Recording Studios in the early 1980s - Grant Gillanders Collection

6. Stebbing Recording Studios is in which Auckland suburb?

7. I was a teenage sensation in the early 1970s, I sang with Manfred Mann’s Earth Band and my album South was the 2020 Independent Music NZ Classic Record. Who am I?

Unitone HiFi - Rewound and Rerubbed (1996)

8. Name one of the members of Unitone HiFi.

9. Which singer was known as “New Zealand’s country gentleman”?

10. The 2015 debut single ‘Got It Bad’ launched which band to an international audience?

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 29, 2022

Ardijah filming for Ready To Roll at Avalon studios, Lower Hutt, 1985. - Simon Lynch

1. Who was the drummer in the classic late 1980s line-up of Ardijah?

2. In their early 1970s, a very popular Wellington band featuring Rick Bryant, Bill Lake and Tony Backhouse gave themselves a zoological name. What did they call themselves?

Charlie Tumahai at bottom left, 1976

3. Which UK 70s glam and prog rock band was Charlie Tumahai a member of?

4. Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera produced the second album by which New Zealand band?

5. Which New Zealand country musician and AudioCulture writer released the classic Somewhere In New Zealand Tonight album in 1995?

6. In 2011, Flight of The Conchords’ Bret McKenzie contributed a song to a movie by which US children’s show?

AK79 cover, designed by Terence Hogan.

7. Which Scavengers song – later used for the name of a magazine – opened AK79, the legendary compilation of early Auckland punk bands?

8. My debut album was called Safety in Numbers and sold quarter of a million copies in Australia – which New Zealand rock band was I in?

9. Peter Wadams, one of our most successful record producers ever, is better known to New Zealanders as?

10. In 1992, a group from Aotearoa was invited by the Neville Brothers to perform at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival. Who were they?

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 22, 2022

1. The song ‘Thank U Very Much’, used for several decades as the theme for New Zealand’s Telethons, was written by Mike McGear of British group Scaffold. What was his brother’s group called?

Headband at Ali Baba's, Cuba Street, 1971.

2. In the 1960s, a nightclub in Wellington’s Cuba St was known as Ali Baba’s. What is its name today?

Troy Kingi, Holy Colony Burning Acres (AAA Records, 2019)

3. Troy Kingi has set himself a challenge to record 10 albums in 10 years, each in a different genre. What is the genre of his 2019 album Holy Colony Burning Acres?

4. Name the former Split Enz member who designed and makes the Hot Cake guitar distortion pedal.

5. Which New Zealand record label released Vera Ellen’s 2021 debut album?

6. Who wrote a comedy skit in which a rugby union official announced a team of New Zealand artists, not rugby players: “Locks: B. T. Finn, N. M. Finn, King Country; wing three-quarters: D. Dobbyn, Auckland; centre: K. Te Kanawa, Auckland …”

7. In 1940 ‘God Defend New Zealand’ was declared New Zealand’s ‘national hymn’ in time for the centennial celebrations. What was the song declared in 1977?

Economic Wizards, Tepid Baths, Auckland, 1984. - Matthew McKee

8. The Economic Wizards’ song ‘Pakuranga Girl’ is an ode to the New Zealander who won which contest?

9. Dudley Benson and Marlon Williams are both former members of which cathedral choir?

10. In the 1960s, Christchurch band Chants R&B and Auckland’s The Underdogs both released covers of songs by which British blues bandleader?

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 15, 2022

The Underdogs ham it up for the camera, circa 1967. - Simon Grigg collection

1. Last week AudioCulture celebrated Blues in New Zealand, and Nick Bollinger put together a playlist of great moments in Aotearoa Blues. Which song by The Underdogs did he include?

2. SJD wrote a great “Songwriter’s Choice” for us, selecting 10 of his favourite New Zealand songs. The question is about one of his own songs: can you complete the title of this track? “....... You’re Crying”

3. Fat Freddy’s Drop recently returned from a triumphant European tour. Who is their producer/DJ/beatmaker?

4. Which music-related business does Jim Wilson own?

Still Bewitched - Look Blue Go Purple's 2017 compilation.

5. Who was the drummer for Look Blue Go Purple?

6. Following the initial years of Hello Sailor, which band did Dave McArtney form?

7. Who were the two lead singers in The Brunettes?

8. Which now-famous New Zealand actor stars in the 1994 video for Emma Paki’s ‘Greenstone’?

9. Who sang the Shortland Street theme song in 1992?

10. Who burst into the limelight in 2000 with a US album deal and the song ‘Youthful’?

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 8, 2022

1. Who compiled the influential 1980 How Was The Air Up There? collection of classic New Zealand tracks from the 1960s?

Ngaire - To Sir With Love (Southside, 1990)

2. Ngaire had a No.1 hit in 1990 with ‘To Sir With Love’. Who sang the original?

3. What are MC OJ and Rhythm Slave’s real names?

4. An AudioCulture story quotes Maureen Little, saying: “Who can forget that night? No mobiles in those days; just frantic parents driving to town in the hope of finding their kids.” What was night was Maureen talking about?

Zed's Andy Lynch and Nathan King, 2001 NZ Music Awards. - Recorded Music NZ

5. Zed guitarist Andy Lynch’s mother was half of a very famous 1960s duo. What was it?

6. Which globally regarded bassist’s early bands in West Auckland included The Avondale Spiders, The Metal Masochists, MM, The Vandals and The Masochists?

7. My single reached No.1 on the local charts and won the Loxene Golden Disc in 1968, and may be the biggest selling local single of all time. I was the New Zealand Entertainer of the Year in 1969 and went on to receive Australia’s “Queen Of Pop” award for Best Female Artist for 1969, 1970 and 1971. Who am I?

The Reduction Agents at Eden's Bar, Auckland, 2004

8. Eden’s Bar was a venue in which Auckland street in the 2000s?

Jeremy Taylor

9. Jeremy Taylor gave us a Songwriter’s Choice column 2021, opening with ‘Don’t Talk About Leaving’ by Dating Godot. Which record shop in Wellington does he co-own?

10. ‘Only I Could Die (And Love You Still)’ is a song by which South Island band? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 1, 2022

Bailterspace in 1994. - Photo by Jeremy Pollard

1. He’s been in The Gordons, Skeptics and Bailterspace, and now he’s going on tour with his own band, Vörsen. Who is he?

2. Graeme Hill (aka Graeme Humphreys) is probably best known these days as a broadcaster. He has hosted shows on 95bFM,  RadioLIVE and now Today FM. Which Flying Nun band was he in?

3. In 1983 Sharon O’Neill released a song that was inspired after noticing a working girl on the streets of Kings Cross, Sydney. What was the name of the song?

4. In Trevor Reekie’s story on Jim Wilson, he says Jim “started bringing Dunedin bands to Christchurch before there was a Flying Nun recording label” – he booked The Clean at the Gladstone in 1981 and he always believed in the power of posters. Which company did Jim form in 1982?

5. A New Zealand EDM artist has just released her eighth album, Future Dwellers. In 2004 her song ‘Lyric On My Lip’ was released on Roni Size’s Full Cycle label and entered the UK Top 40 singles chart. Who is the NZ artist? 

6. Leisure is a supergroup of sorts, with each of the members having other previous – and current – successes alongside the band. One member is Jordan Arts, whose previous act had a big hit in 2009 with ‘My House’. What was the name of the group?

7. John Grenell passed away last week. One of his biggest hits was a Jim Reeves song, used for a Toyota ad campaign to support the company's sponsorship of the 1990 Commonwealth Games. What was the song?

8. In 1981 a proudly Christchurch band wrote one of the greatest songs about Auckland ever. Can you name the band or the song?

How Was the Air Up There? (K-Tel, 1980)

9. In 1980, a seminal compilation of 1960s garage rock acts, How Was the Air Up There? was released. Who owned the boots that were used as a guide for the cover art illustration?

10. Nick Bollinger included Tom Leggett and Amanda Cheng in his story on 10 More Great New Zealand Rhythm Sections. Which band are they from?

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 25, 2022

1. Who performs a duet with Willie Nelson on the 2022 song ‘Beyond the Stars’?

2. Which New Zealand band supported the Beatles in Hong Kong in June 1964?

Julia Deans performing with Anika Moa at the 2010 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.

3. What gave a performance opportunity to Julia Deans, Anika Moa, Jason Kerrison, and Bic Runga early in their careers?

4. Who was New Faces judge Paddy O’Donnell talking about when he said, “This effeminate thing is very commercial in the heavy area.”

5. Who released a full album of soul interpretations called Sweet Soul Music on Dawn Raid in 2008?

6. Whose 1987 album includes a song about a US President and a South African Bishop?

7. Which 2011 hit featured the characters Johnny and Jesse in its lyrics?

8. Which student radio station organised a hugely successful series of Waitangi Day concerts in the early 2000s?

9. What do the 2011 songs ‘Rise Up 2.0’, ‘Love Love Love’, and ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ have in common?

John Rowles, c 1968-69.

10. What was the name of John Rowles’ breakthrough hit, which reached No.3 in the UK charts in 1968?

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 18, 2022

1. Rumble & Bang is a documentary about which 1960s Christchurch R&B band, (regarded as influential locally as the Pretty Things)?

Moteo Jazz band, c. 1930. 

2. In which province was the Moteo Jazz Band formed?

3. Bar Bodega was a popular venue in which city?

4. What is the name of the bassist of Elemeno P, who originally played in Foamy Ed?

5. At a Wellington press conference, Lou Reed threw a tape recorder at which young New Zealand journalist, who later became an international pop star?

6. After asking how was the air up there, which band made a concept album called The Happy Prince?

7. Whose decision to sing the national anthem in te reo Māori before the 1999 Rugby World Cup caused controversy?

Whats' Be Happen? the landmark 1981 mini-LP from Herbs.

8. What is the location shown on the cover of Herbs’ 12" EP Whats’ Be Happen?

9. Who went on a national tour called Rail Land, playing venues that were accessible by rail, and included a train journey as part of the ticket?

10. Early in her career, Sonya Waters sang for an Auckland band which released an acclaimed punk single called ‘Hope She’s Alright’ and a cover of Desmond Dekker’s ‘Israelites’. What was the band called?

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 11, 2022

Sharon O'Neill - Foreign Affairs (CBS, 1983)

1. In Sharon O’Neill’s 1983 top 20 hit ‘Maxine’ she mentions a “case” number – what is the number? Clue: it rhymes with “red and green tattoo”.

2. Charley Gray started out as a drummer and later became a venue owner and band manager, among other things. Which prominent rock band from the late 1970s is he best known for managing?

Craig Scott.

3. What was Craig Scott’s first No.1 hit?

4. Originally from Huntly, this group had a hit in 1971 with a song that is originally titled in French and translates to “Love is the Child of Freedom”. Name the band. (Optional: what’s the original title in French?)

5. This mid-80s band, released on the Flying Nun label, had two members named Ross and their songs include ‘Alien’ and Jaffa Boy’. Name the band.

6. Headband’s popular 1971 single ‘The Ballad of Jacques Le Mere’ was written by which former member of The Underdogs?

7. Hip hop artist Bill Urale, who once went by the name “Bran Muffin” and was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours list, is more commonly known by what professional name?

8. Name the band, from Auckland and with two brothers in the line-up, who released an album in 2006 called Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!

9. Name the Whakatāne born singer-songwriter whose biggest hit was recorded at York Street Recording Studios with Jaz Coleman, and who won Best Songwriter and Most Promising Female Vocalist at the 1993 NZ Music Awards.

10. Which 1977 hit song, which charted in the Top 10 in both Australia and New Zealand, contains the lyric “snake eyes on the paradise” (sometimes heard/interpreted as “snake eyes on the pair of dice”)?

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 4, 2022

Sean Donnelly (SJD), 2015.

1. What was the name of SJD’s post-punk influenced band?

2. Who was the first female songwriter to win the APRA Silver Scroll?

3. Dallas Tamaira was on the inaugural cover of which Wellington-based music and popular culture magazine in December 1998?

Lorde at Coachella, April 2017. - Lorde Facebook collection

4. Jack Antonoff co-wrote and co-produced which albums by Lorde?

5. Who released the album (and book) Sportsman of the Year?

6. The Grapefruit Skies is the title of the first EP by which soul singer?

7. In 2019, Tali won which Vodafone New Zealand Music Award?

8. Name one of the three Flying Nun bands who were part of the Noisyland tour of the US in 1993.

9. Who duetted with Princess Chelsea on ‘The Cigarette Duet’?

The Datsuns, 2002: Dolf de Borst, Matt Osment, Christian Livingstone and Phil Somervell

10. The Datsuns performed ‘In Love’ on which UK TV show in 2002? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 27, 2022

1. Name the chart-topping trio who in 1979 wore matching shirts with the New Zealand flag emblazoned across the chest and sleeves, said to be inspired by the riding gear worn by speedway motorcycling star Ivan Mauger.

Weta's 2000 album Geographica

2. Wellington band Weta released their sole album Geographica in 2000. The video for the lead single from their album was set in a sea of shipping containers. Name the song.

3. Name the band that first gained popularity on the South Auckland nightclub scene in the early 1980s and had its first No.1 hit with a song written by Paul McCartney.

4. Name the long-running Wellington band of the 1970s who had a leaning towards horn section-based soul music, and whose name contains a synonym for jam or preserves.

5. Name the Northland-based musician who, after finding inspiration by staring into the night sky, in 2017 released a soulful, space fantasy-oriented concept album.

6. Name the music festival that for its first three years (1992-1994) was held near the North Island town of Woodville.

7. Name the country artist who in the early 1990s held a Saturday afternoon residency at the Kings Arms in Auckland.

Dalvanius. - Photo by Guy Robinson

8. Dalvanius Prime described the label he released ‘Poi E’ on as “A Māori Motown”. What was the label called?

9. They released their first album Roofers in 1997 but didn’t have a real breakthrough until a song from their second album The Sound Inside caught on in 2005. Name the act and their song, which hit the Top 10 and was named Single of the Year at the 2005 Tui Awards.

The Suburban Reptiles in Queen Street, Auckland, 1977. - Simon Grigg collection

10. Which member of Suburban Reptiles, who went on to have a long and successful international career in other bands, took his stage name from the car he drove?

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 20, 2022

Bic Runga, 2010 Winery Tour. - Nick Chappell

1. What was Bic Runga’s first single called?

2. What do the “D” and the “T” in DLT’s name stand for?

Crowded House, 2021. - Kerry Brown

3. What is the name of Crowded House’s bass player?

4. In 1957, this group played one of their early gigs as part of a variety show at the Auckland Town Hall. Eight years later, they packed out the same venue for their own farewell show and recorded it to be released as an album. Name the group.

5. Which local songwriter has co-written four songs that have surpassed one billion streams?

6. Which five-piece (that’s a clue) recorded ‘Poi Poi Twist’ and appeared in the 1966 movie Don’t Let It Get You?

7. Held on Bob Marley’s birthday, One Love and other one day music festivals in Aotearoa coincide with which public holiday?

8. Jason Fa'afoi was a What Now! presenter and guitarist-member of which band, led by a former member of the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience?

Evermore.

9. Name the Manawatū town where the Hume brothers (Jon, Peter and Dann) from Evermore were raised.

10. Before they moved to RCA, early ABBA hit singles including ‘Ring Ring’ and Waterloo’ were licensed and released locally by which New Zealand record label?

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 13, 2022

Rob Aickin. - Rob Aickin collection

1. Rob Aickin produced albums by Golden Harvest, Hello Sailor, and Th’ Dudes at Stebbing’s in 1977-78. Who engineered them?

2. Which female singer-songwriter, who broke through in the 90s, played drums with bassist Cass Basil in a rhythm section called King Sweeties?

3. Which New Zealand feature film from 1964, starring future Radio Hauraki pioneer Colin Broadley and writer Barry Crump, had its title song performed by Rim D Paul?

4. Beaver, Annie Crummer, and Josie Rika sang backing vocals on the 1985 hit ‘Savin’ Up’ – who sang lead?

5. Who co-wrote ‘Exactly What to Say’ with her mother, performing it together on the latter’s album Clean Break, which won the Tui for best folk album in 2004?

6. Which Auckland band – with a No.1 album in 2004 – was “fronted by an opera-trained singer with a penchant for Kate Bush-like flights of fancy”?

7. In 1982 Francisca Griffin and Lesley Paris were the rhythm section of a short-lived Dunedin group (with Shayne Carter and Peter Gutteridge) called the Cartilage Family. What was their next group?

8. Which guitar band’s debut album Future Me Hates Me had a past that included being part of the jazz band Sal Valentine & The Babyshakes?

9. What was New Zealand’s first pop music TV series to be filmed in colour?

10. Whose song ‘The Cigarette Duet’ has now had over 77,000,000 views on YouTube?

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 6, 2022

Phil Judd, circa 1982

1. Name three acts Phil Judd has recorded with.

2. Which popular New Zealand band has an asterisk (*) in its name?

3. Name two multi-platinum rock acts from the 00s that had a turntablist/DJ in their line-ups.

4. Which 90s pop act fronted by two female singers had their first three singles all reach No.1?

5. What is the name of the Christian organisation that gave its name to a long-running music festival (from 1992 to 2014), a band (from 1993 to 2015), and a recording studio (still operating)?

6. Which local band went from busking on the streets of Wellington through to putting their track ‘Woke Up Late’ into the Top 30 of the US charts?

 - Don McGlashan collection

7. Name three groups Don McGlashan has played in.

8. The band Aunty Beatrice appeared on the Once Were Warriors soundtrack and consisted of a few brothers from the same family. What band would they go on to form?

9. One of the two rappers in chart-topping act Misfits of Science went on to be the drummer of which internationally successful local pop singer?

10. Which platinum-selling local rapper started his career under the MC name “Con Psy” in the group Frontline?

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 30, 2022

Carol Davies EP, Prestige, 1959. - Chauncy Ardell collection

1. Carol Davies is one of New Zealand’s first female rock’n’roll stars. Which big New Zealand rock’n’roll artist did she tour New Zealand and Australia with?

2. What was the name of The Bats’ debut EP?

Billy Kristian in 1964. - John Yuile collection

3. Billy Kristian (Billy Karaitiana) was a pivotal member of two pioneering rock’n’roll bands that emerged from Christchurch. Can you name one of them?

4. Peter van der Fluit & Michael O’Neill were in which popular 1980s Auckland band?

5. Which prestigious music award did Allison Durbin win with her song, ‘I Have Loved Me A Man’?

6. Justin Harwood played bass in two US bands – Luna and Tuatara. Which enduring New Zealand band was he also a member of?

7. This band remained at the top of their game for a decade, with all four of their albums reaching the Top 20, and they had a record-breaking 11 Top 10 singles. They began as the “Tropical Penguins” for a talent quest at their school, Western Springs College – who are they?

Proud: An Urban-Pacific Streetsoul Compilation

8. Alan Jansson produced this year’s Taite Music Prize Classic Record recipient, Proud: An Urban Pacific Streetsoul Compilation and OMC’s ‘How Bizarre’, amongst many other big Aotearoa records. Before this, which ground-breaking Wellington electronica band was he in?

9. Mike Chunn was in two of New Zealand’s biggest bands of the 1970s: Split Enz and Citizen Band. In 2003 he founded which charitable music organisation?

10. What sort of building was used as a recording studio for Goodshirt’s 2001 debut album Green?

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 23, 2022

1. Which drummer and bass player make up the long-standing rhythm section of Shihad?

Headless Chickens, 1989: Anthony Nevison, Chris Matthews, Michael Lawry, Grant Fell, Bevan Sweeney

2. Before Headless Chickens, three crucial band members – Grant Fell, Bevan Sweeney, and Chris Matthews (along with the late Johnny Pierce) – were in which band?

Jane Walker by Jane Walker, 2010 - Jane Walker collection

3. What instrument did Jane Walker play in Toy Love?

4. Tex Pistol and Rikki Morris had a huge hit in 1988 with ‘Nobody Else’. What was Tex Pistol’s real name?

5. Noel Crombie of Split Enz was known for designing many of their eye-catching costumes. Beside drums he also played a rather unusual instrument – what was it?

6. Todd and Marc Hunter of Dragon were brothers – which one was older?

Upper Hutt Posse's groundbreaking E Tū, 1988

7. Upper Hutt Posse recorded ‘E Tū’ with the help of an unlikely alternative band – who was it?

8. Sandy Edmonds had a hit in 1967 about which time of the year?

9. What is the stage name of this big star of the 1960s? “I was born Bogdan Charis Kominowski in 1945 in Dusseldorf, Germany, just as the war ended, and my mother was a refugee.”

10. Who was the lead singer of 1970s blues rock band Street Talk?

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 16, 2022

1. Before he became a professional entertainer, what was Johnny Cooper’s day job? 

2. Ray Columbus formed a close friendship with which member of The Rolling Stones when they toured together in 1965?

Allison Durbin with her 1968 silver disc for I Have Loved Me A Man

3. In 1969 Allison Durbin returned from Australia (where she was crowned their “Queen Of Pop”) to tour which with other Aotearoa superstar?

4. Chris Parry of The Fourmyula remained in Britain after the band broke up and founded the Fiction record label. For over 20 years it was home to which hugely influential UK band?

5. Shona Laing’s 1985 single ‘America’ was the first record released on which legendary New Zealand record label?

6. Richard (Dick) Driver was Give It A Whirl’s producer. Before his TV career, he was in a number of bands in the 1980s – can you name one of them?

7. Which band is referred to here? “In a state of semi-disbandment, [This band] rallied when offered Christchurch support slots before Mark E. Smith’s The Fall in mid-August 1982.” 

8. Oscar Kightley asked members of which group to contribute music to the hit animated TV show bro’Town?

9. A member of Shayne Carter’s family features in the video for Dimmer’s ‘Evolution’. We don’t need the person’s name – but what is their relationship to Shayne?

The Datsuns, 2003: Matt Osment, Dolf de Borst, Christian Livingstone and Phil Somervell

10. Before they were known as The Datsuns, what was their previous band name?

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 9, 2022

Max Merritt and The Meteors perform at a club for teenagers, 1958

1. Max Merritt and The Meteors were a pioneering rock’n’roll band in which of New Zealand’s main centres?

2. Following the breakup of The La De Da’s, in 1976 Kevin Borich formed a new band, called the Kevin Borich _?
a. Machine
b. Express
c. Rollercoaster
d. Shredder

3. Split Enz’s first festival appearance was at The Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival in 1973, but under a slightly different name – what was it?

4. A groundbreaking Dunedin punk band had a similar name to an English music paper. Name both.

5. After the late Andrew Brough left Straitjacket Fits in 1991, who replaced him?

Sisters Underground.

6. Sisters Underground had two tracks, ‘In The Neighbourhood’ and ‘Ain’t It True’, included on which groundbreaking compilation?

7. Who did the artwork for Dragon’s first album, Universal Radio, released in 1974?

8. What was the first New Zealand rap record to be released?

9. Allison Durbin’s ‘I Have Loved Me A Man’ was the biggest-selling release by a New Zealand recording artist in 1968, and won which prestigious music prize?

10. Who wrote the lyrics to Blam Blam Blam’s 1981 hit ‘There is No Depression in New Zealand’?

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 2, 2022

Johnny Cooper - National Library of New Zealand Ref: PAColl-10069-11-06

1. Which sort of food outlet inspired a song by Johnny Cooper, thought to be the first original New Zealand rock and roll song to be recorded?

2. For which TV show was Hello Sailor’s ‘Gutter Black’ the theme song?

3. In the Swinging Sixties in New Zealand, Dinah Lee was known as “Queen of the ?”

4. Nesian Mystik won the “Stage Image Award” at which national music competition?

5. One of Citizen Band’s biggest live songs was ‘I Feel Good’. Which New Zealand band recorded and performed it earlier?

6. Who was the singer for the pioneering punk band Suburban Reptiles?

Dalvanius - Photo by Guy Robinson

7. Dalvanius co-wrote ‘Poi E’ with which Māori language expert?

8. Which band, led by Tommy Adderley, had a hit with ‘Good Morning Mr Rock and Roll’?

9. The title of Herbs’ song ‘French Letter’ was seen as a bit rude by local radio stations. What name did they ask the song be changed to?

10. Which is the only Flying Nun song (so far) to have reached No.1 on the Official Singles Chart?

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AudioCulture Quiz, April 25, 2022

1. Which female New Zealand singer toured Vietnam twice in the mid-60s to entertain New Zealand and Australian troops?

2. In this singalong with New Zealand troops in Korea, who is on guitar, beside Pat McMinn?

 - Pat McMinn collection

3. Where was this bullet-damaged bugle, belonging to the New Zealand soldier George Bissett, found on 27 April 1915?

 - National Army Museum Te Mata Toa, Waiouru

4. Who was doing his three-month’s national service in 1971 while his anti-war hit single ‘Today I Killed a Man I Didn’t Know’ came out?

5. Who – on the left in this photo – is about to put his music career on hold for three months while conscripted in the NZ Army?

- Redmer Yska collection

6. Don Richardson, saxophonist with the post-war Kiwi Concert Party, arranged the lush orchestration on which 1969 New Zealand hit eulogizing Paul McCartney?

7. Where is drummer Peter Warren test driving this tank?

Peter 'Rooda' Warren, 1986. - Chris Bourke 

8. Where did Tadpole play to New Zealand peacekeeping troops in 2002, recording the video for ‘Just Not Rock’n’Roll’ while there?

9. The trainee on the right, seen while doing a stint with the Territorials in 1977, would become well-known as a member of which duo?

- MS-Papers-11685-09, Alexander Turnbull Library

10. Who had a No.1 New Zealand hit in 1971 with a song that lamented “Smiley, you’re off to the Asian War/ and we won’t see you smile you no more”?

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AudioCulture Quiz, April 19, 2022

DJ Tee Pee, 1982.

1. Tee Pee was a pioneering club DJ in which city?

2. Who said: “Bass players and drummers are so hard to get along with. The bass player’s always the real muso of the group and thinks he knows everything, and the drummer is just a fuckwit, so it’s much easier to be without them.”

3. She was one of the great studio and club singers of the 70 and 80s and was the backing voice on DD Smash’s ‘Outlook For Thursday’. Can you name her? 

4. Billie Farnell passed away earlier this year. He was a nightlife institution in Auckland for 70 years. What instrument did Billie play? 

5. ‘Doctor, I Like Your Medicine’ was a hit for Coup D’etat. Which Hello Sailor member co-founded that band?

6. Saint John Divine is an album by which accomplished multi-instrumental composer?

7. St Jerome’s Laneway Festival started in which Australian city?

8. Andrew Spraggon records and releases music under what name?

9. In 1969, in Kawerau from the UK, I said to a TV reporter, ““I’ve never been homesick for home, though I often think about it. There’s too much to do.” Who am I?

10. Which city is home to the Caledonian Hall, used as a live venue for many years?

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AudioCulture Quiz, April 11, 2022

1. Name three members of the Pajama Club.

2. What was the name of Alien Weaponry’s 2018 debut album?

Dudley Benson, 2022. - Alex Lovell-Smith & Ayesha Green

3. What kind of business is Woof!, co-founded by Dudley Benson in Ōtepoti, Dunedin? 

4. Name the Canadian singer-songwriter Mel Parsons duetted with on her 2015 album Drylands.

5. In what year was the Laneway Festival first held in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland?

Ebony Lamb.

6. What was the name of the band which included Ebony Lamb, before she went solo?

7. Bic Runga wrote the song ‘Black Silk Ribbon’ with which Scottish musician?

8. The Mutton Birds covered a Blue Öyster Cult song for The Frighteners soundtrack. Name the song.

9. Celia Mancini was part of which Flying Nun band in the 1990s?

10. Brendan Perry of UK/Australian duo Dead Can Dance was a key member of which New Zealand punk bands?

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AudioCulture Quiz, April 4, 2022

Dave McArtney in a 1984 - CBS publicity photo

1. Name the band that came together as a collaboration between Dragon’s Paul Hewson and Hello Sailor’s Dave McArtney.

2. The lyric “rhythmic feedback noise from electrodes” comes from which 1983 electronic pop hit?

3. Which Aotearoa funk band of the 1970s opened for the Commodores, Tina Turner, and Osibisa after playing a nightclub residency in Kings Cross, Sydney?

These Wilding Ways - Simon Grigg Collection

4. Which studio engineer – later a video director and television presenter – is also credited as producer on releases from the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience, These Wilding Ways, The Greg Johnson Set, and Matty J Ruys?

5. Name the student radio stations in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

6. Which former member of Red Mole, Midge Marsden’s Country Flyers and Coup D’Etat, is now known as one of Australasia’s finest boogie-woogie piano players? 

7. Many New Zealanders have performed at the famed Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Bar in London, including Brian Smith, Dave MacRae, Joy Yates, Nathan Haines, and Tali – but who released an album called Live At Ronnie Scott’s in 1988?

8. Which singer, appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to music and television in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours, is a former member of both Upper Hutt Posse and Moana and the Moahunters?

9. Which 1980s band, initially on the Flying Nun label, took its name from a lyric in a Roxy Music song?

10. Which promoter was involved in early 1970s international concerts at Western Springs such as Elton John and Led Zeppelin, signed Black Sabbath to play the 1973 Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival, and issued early Split Enz releases via his White Cloud record label?

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 28, 2022

Phillip Fuemana at the 1995 NZ Music Awards.

1. In which Auckland suburb was legendary Polynesian music trailblazer Phil Fuemana born?

2. Tom Scott of the Young, Gifted and Broke collective has been in several influential groups. With which of these groups did he win the Taite Music Prize in 2019?

3. From 1998 to 2010, Radio Active ran an annual Waitangi Day event which attracted up to 15,000 people – what was it called?

4. Who was the first woman in Aotearoa New Zealand to release a full-length hip hop album?

5. Name the five members of When The Cat’s Away who sang on ‘Melting Pot’?

6. Which song about a household appliance reached No.1 in the New Zealand singles chart in February 1994?

Kevin Borich in the 1970s.

7. Kevin Borich was the guitarist and vocalist for which popular New Zealand band of the 1960s and 1970s?

8. What was the name of the song Bic Runga and Dan Wilson (from US band Semisonic) collaborated on for the American Pie soundtrack in 1999?

9. Can you name the four bands that featured on 1982’s legendary Dunedin Double EP?

10. Who sang lead vocals on the 2006 Don McGlashan-penned song, ‘Bathe in the River’, which featured on the No.2 soundtrack?

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 21, 2022

Steriogram. - Mark Seliger

1. Name the 2004 international hit by Steriogram that was used as background music on an advert for the Apple iPod. 

2. Who wrote ‘Bathe in the River’?

 - Phil Warren Collection

3. Mark Williams’ first band, from Dargaville (pictured above), also featured Mack Tane and Willie Hona. What was the band’s name?

4. Which band appeared on the late 1960s C’mon television series wearing German military and fireman uniforms, raising the ire of the RSA and fire service?

5. Complete the song title: ‘Don’t Fight It Marsha, ___ ______ ____ ___ __ __’

6. Name the Upper Hutt band formed in 1966 that took its name from an early 20th century invention often used for food packaging.

7. Which hip hop song won the APRA Silver Scroll in 1999?

8. Name the London born, Christchurch-raised musician who replaced Bruno Lawrence on drums in Quincy Conserve, helped Kate Bush to programme her brand new Fairlight CMI sampler, and produced Spandau Ballet’s debut album Journeys To Glory?

9. Which artist released an album of soul covers on the Dawn Raid label in 2008?

10. Who sang ‘Daylight Saving Time’?

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 14, 2022

Bic Runga - Belle (Sony, 2011)

1. With which other New Zealand singer-songwriter did Bic Runga co-write ‘This Girl’s Prepared For War’ on her 2011 album, Belle?

2. Name the David Kilgour & The Heavy 8’s/ Shifting Sands bassist who now runs Chick’s Hotel Recording Studios in Port Chalmers?

3. South Auckland funk-soulsters Ardijah are led by which husband and wife duo?

Ria Hall. - Jess Dewsnap

4. What was the name of Ria Hall’s most recent, Taite Prize-nominated album?

5. Which renowned UK record producer has overseen the last two Aldous Harding albums?

6. Which ‘Out On The Street’ hitmakers reformed in 2021, and were scheduled to play at the (cancelled) Others Way festival?

7. Which notable band was Mara TK in? And his father Billy TK’s most notable band was?

8. Brother D and Andy Murnane founded which record label?

9. Pagan Records was started by which broadcaster, also a member of Car Crash Set and the Greg Johnson Set?

10. In what city was the cover of Scribe’s debut The Crusader photographed?

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AudioCulture Quiz, March 7, 2022

Split Enz, 1980.

1. Which member of Split Enz was previously in Space Waltz?

2. Which New Zealand songwriter/producer has worked with Sam Smith, Tinie Tempah, and Future, as a sideline to his main career in broadcasting?

3. Which highly successful local label emerged out of the ashes of a Wellington magazine?

4. Two members of which Auckland group created the music for Bro’ Town?

5. Which UK band did the feelers cover for the 2010 Rugby World Cup held in Aotearoa?

6. What do Alec Bathgate (The Enemy, Toy Love, Tall Dwarfs), Edmund Cake (Bressa Creeting Cake), Shaft, and Voom all have in common?

7. Name a local act who commissioned orchestral arrangements for their own music from Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks.

8. Name a New Zealand musical act whose artist name includes the word “lemon”.

9. Jonathan Pearce from The Beths, Alex Freer (aka AC Freezy) from Tiny Ruins, and multi-million streaming pop singer Matthew Young were formerly together in which band?

10. Which musician was the first to work full time at Flying Nun Records?

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 28, 2022

When The Cat's Away, 2001: Debbie Harwood, Kim Willoughby, Annie Crummer and Margaret Urlich - Photo by Anthony O'Dwyer

1. When a member of When the Cat’s Away couldn’t take part in an early 2000s reunion, which solo singer filled in?

2. Whose career was revived by a hit cover version of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Saving Up’ in 1985?

3. Brenda Makammeoafi and Hassanah Iroegbu are better known as which duo?

4. The name of which top 1960s Auckland pop venue was re-used – spelled slightly differently – for which Auckland nightclub in 1986?

5. ‘She’s a Mod/Mod Rap’ was a collaboration between Ray Columbus and which group?

6. Which musician was, for a short time, a RNZ deejay in Blenheim called Bill Diamond?

7. In 1999 which expatriate solo singer released an album interpreting classic New Zealand pop songs, called Second Nature?

8. Which drummer connects The Chills with Barry Saunders (via The Verlaines, Circus Block 4, and Let’s Planet)?

9. Who won an international songwriting prize after her older sister entered her song called ‘Hallelujah’ in the competition?

10. Sweet Tooth was an appropriate album title for which band?

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 21, 2022

Chris Parry in 1969 - Photo by Revelle Jackson. Upper Hutt City Library [P1-3444-5834]

1. Chris Parry first moved to the UK in 1969 as drummer for the Fourmyula. By the end of the seventies, he was managing, producing, and releasing albums on his own label for which hugely successful UK band?

2. Which local reggae band put four albums and two singles into the Top 10 and named themselves after a Bob Marley album?

3. Which drummer, formerly from Citizen Band and Space Waltz, went on to join legendary Australian band The Angels, and these days runs one of Aotearoa’s biggest touring agencies?

4. Which New Zealand rock’n’roller wrote Australia’s first-ever surf hit ‘Surfside’ for Sydney group the Denvermen in 1962?

5. Which New Zealand electronic act has often included an ex-member of UK chart-toppers The Streets as both a live performer and a featured vocalist on half-a-dozen tracks?

6. Metro editor Henry Oliver played bass and toured in which internationally successful New Zealand post-punk group?

7. Which Aotearoa hip hop group had all the copies of their debut album destroyed after they were sued, by lawyers representing the Eagles, for an uncleared sample?

8. Music journalist Grant Smithies was the one of the founders of which music festival?

9. Which band was originally called Lazy Boy and was fronted by the son of a very famous New Zealand musician?

10. Which reggae group started in 1988 and continues to perform and record, with its biggest hit being the gold-selling single ‘What’s The Time Mister Wolf?’ from the Once Were Warriors soundtrack?

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 14, 2022

1. What caused Dave Dobbyn to jokingly nickname a much-loved song ‘Soiled’?

2. Who played a lounge singer in the Cate Blanchett film Little Fish, covering Gene Pitney’s ‘Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart’?

3. I began by singing into a Dictaphone at the age of nine; my first public performance was singing at a horse racing event; and at 12 I sang the national anthem at a NPC rugby final, to 27,000 people. Who am I?

4. The song ‘Nature’ was voted No. 1 in APRA’s Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time in 2001. Which song was No.2?

5. Who co-wrote the song ‘Tears’ and created a multi-media work called The Underwatermelon Man?

6. What do these singers have in common: Fiona McDonald, Stephanie Tauevihi, Leeza Corban, and Bic Runga?

7. Which Flying Nun musician received a MNZM honour last year?

8. Who directed the music-related films Mt Zion; Poi E: the Story of Our Song; and Herbs: Songs of Freedom?

9. During his late-80s stint as an afternoon TV host, which singer-songwriter interviewed BB King, Poison, Roxette, and “Weird Al” Yankovic?

10. Who was busking in Geraldine to buy a ticket to see Anika Moa in concert, when Moa walked by and offered the singer the support slot at the gig?

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AudioCulture Quiz, February 8, 2022

 1. Who painted this album cover?

Split Enz - Mental Notes (1975)

2. Who painted the album cover for The Clean's 1990 release Vehicle?

The Clean - Vehicle (1990)

3. The Book of Bifim was a magazine created by bFM, which included some great pieces of art, including this cover design. Name the musician who illustrated it.

Book of Bifim, #1 1986.

4. One of the most striking things about the music TV show Radio With Pictures was the surrealistic credit sequence that kicked off each episode. Which musician created the art for it?

A still from the opening credits of Radio With Pictures.

5. People sometimes refer to the “four realms” of hip hop – DJing, MCing, turntablism, and graffiti art. The artist shown posing with his work in downtown Auckland became a key figure in Aotearoa hip hop. Who is he?

6. The guitarist from which band appears on the cover of this legendary album?

The front cover of AK79.

7. This artwork, by Philip Kelly, is the logo for which record label?

8. Which legendary New Zealand photographer took this promotional shot of Fat Freddy’s Drop when she was nearing 80 years old?

Fat Freddy's Drop, 2005.

9. The following panels are taken from a longer piece about the rise of New Zealand rock in the early 2000s, which local artist wrote and drew it?

10. The cover of New Zealand music history book Stranded In Paradise by John Dix was painted by David Ortega. Name the singer featured on the cover.

Stranded in Paradise,  1988.

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AudioCulture Quiz, January 31, 2022

1. Before Flight of the Conchords, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie formed a band two years after meeting. What was it called?

Flight of the Conchords

2. The Swingers’ song ‘Counting the Beat’ featured in ads for which supermarket chain from 2014 to 2018?

3. Which New Zealand artist had a track feature on the soundtrack to the Julia Roberts’ film America’s Sweethearts?

4. In 2020 what New Zealand act gave permission to a US act to use their name?

5. What project linked Annie Crummer, Warren Maxwell, Don McGlashan and Scribe?

The Beths (L-R): Ben Sinclair, Jonathan Pearce, Elizabeth Stokes. - Mason Fairey

6. During the Covid lockdown, The Beths put together a live-streaming event called?

7. What instrumental was used for the opening titles of TV pop show Ready to Roll in the late 70s/early 80s?

8. “Put your clock back for the winter” is the opening line of which New Zealand rock song?

9. When he was considering a career in classical music, what opera singer did Marlon Williams study with?

Marlon Williams, San Fran, Wellington, 2017. - Rebekah Parsons-King/Radio NZ

10. What New Zealand band broke a three-year drought of a local song reaching No.1 in the New Zealand singles charts in February 2020?

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AudioCulture Quiz, January 24, 2022

Alannah Currie, mid-1980s.  - Ian Chapman Collection

1. Before Alannah Currie was in the Thompson Twins, she was a journalist. Which famous rock star allegedly threw Currie’s tape recorder across the room during a press conference?

2. Which music festival was first held above Karioitahi Beach, near Waiuku, over New Year 1998/1999?

Aldous Harding.

3. Which Lyttelton band did Aldous Harding sing with before she branched out on her own?

4. Who sang the New Zealand National Anthem entirely in te reo Māori before an All Blacks test in 1999?

5. Which New Zealand band played Big Day Out in Auckland 14 out of the 19 times?

6. Which much-loved Wellington record retailer was born in Manchester and emigrated from the UK to New Zealand in 1963?

7. The title of which No.1 hit song, sung in te reo Māori, translates to ‘My Darling’ in English?

Broods, 2016: Caleb and Georgia Nott.  - Publicity photo

8. Which Aotearoa city is Broods originally from?

9. Which renowned producer/songwriter was previously in the band Goodnight Nurse?

10. What location is described in these lyrics, and by which band? “__________ is bending, under its own weight. Shining like a strip cut from a sheet metal plate.”

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AudioCulture Quiz, January 17, 2022

Tiki Taane at Womad. - Michael Flynn

1. Tiki Taane’s No.1 single from 2008 is one of the biggest selling Aotearoa singles of all time ­– can you name the song?

2. A Memory of Others is a 2017 film by Simon Ogston documenting a 2016 New Zealand tour by which musician?

3. They formed in Christchurch in 1983, the line-up has included members Stevie McCabe, Bob Brannigan, Stu Kawowski, Dragan Stojanovic, and William Daymond – and they still perform. Name the band.

4. Simon Bendall (aka Nothingelseon aka DJ Bill E) hosts a long-lasting Wellington club night that mixes genres, styles, and decades, featuring a wealth of New Zealand music. What are the events called?

Jane Dodd.

5. Acclaimed contemporary jeweller Jane Dodd played bass in several prominent Flying Nun bands in the 1980s and 90s. Name one.

The Underdogs' classic debut album (Zodiac 1968).

6. The Underdogs shot the cover photo of their 1968 debut album in which South Island city?

7. Danny Tanielu Leaosavai’I and Andy Murnane met while doing a business course at Manukau Polytech. What was the record label they formed together?

8. Name the Invercargill singer who was a household name in New Zealand in her teens, sang at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and for the Queen, and is possibly the biggest-selling New Zealand country artist of all time.

9. New Zealand record mogul Hoghton Hughes famously told his salesmen that they were not in the music business, they were in the plastics business. What was the name of his record label?

Monte Video, 1982.

10. Which legendary New Zealand musician had a massive 1980s hit as Monte Vidéo?

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AudioCulture Quiz, January 10, 2022

1. For Flying Nun’s 1995 Abba tribute compilation Chris Knox originally suggested the title Abbarant. What was it actually called?

Nadia Reid in 2020. - Alex Lovell-Smith

2. The title of Nadia Reid’s third album Out of my Province is a quote from which famous New Zealand author?

3. Neil Finn wrote the soundtrack to which 2001 New Zealand film?

4. Name the two bands Christine Voice was part of before she joined Snapper.

A Sal Criscillo shot of The Avengers, c. 1967

5. The Avengers released their second album after they split up in 1969. What was its name?

6. Ladi6, Tyra Hammond, and Sarah Tamaira won most promising new act at the 2001 bNet music awards with their song ‘If I Gave U th’ Mic’. What was their group called?

7. What was the name of the “supergroup” project featuring Connan Mockasin, Liam Finn, James Milne, Eliza-Jane Barnes, Will Ricketts, Seamus Ebbs, and Jol Mulholland?

8. As Fazerdaze, Amelia Murray has had local and international success as a musician. What was one of her earlier roles in the music industry?

9. Who were the members of Christchurch folk duo the Ragamuffin Children?

Bruce Russell, 2005 - Photo by Michael Morley

10. What was the name of the record label founded by Bruce Russell, with partners Alastair Galbraith, Peter Jefferies, and Peter Gutteridge?

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AudioCulture Quiz, December 20, 2021

1. Name the original bass player for Split Enz and later Citizen Band, who these days is the CEO of the Play It Strange Trust encouraging the work of young songwriters?

2. Name the musician and songwriter who was a one-time member of Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn and The Mutton Birds before going solo?

3. Which female singer and songwriter won the Taite Award for her solo album called Iris in 2021?

4. What is the name of the group produced by Dalvanius Prime who had a massive hit in 1984 with the song ‘Poi E’, sung in te reo? 

5. Who invented the New Zealand-made guitar distortion foot pedal called the Hot Cake, which has featured in the recordings of Crowded House, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, and Ed O’Brien from Radiohead?

6. Name the artist inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame for international achievements and a recorded catalogue that includes the early hit single ‘Black Pearl’?

Rip It Up No.1, June 1977.

7. Which music industry icon co-founded Rip It Up magazine and later established the record labels, Southside (which released Ngaire’s version of ‘To Sir With Love’) and Wildside (with artists such as Dead Flowers and Shihad)?

8. Name the band best known for their 12” EP E Tū, released in 1988 and hailed as Aotearoa’s first rap record?

9. Name the band which became the first New Zealand group to play sold-out concerts at Western Springs Stadium in 2019, and Eden Park in 2021?

Hot Licks magazine, 1975.

10. In 1975 Auckland magazine Hot Licks described which local band as “vamp rock not to be confused with camp rock”? 

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AudioCulture Quiz, December 13, 2021

1. ‘Brother’ sat at No.1 in the New Zealand Top 40 for almost three months, a record stay. Who was it by?

2. In November 2021 a tribute single by The Hillmans was released in Australia by members of Midnight Oil. Who were they paying tribute to?

 Anthony, Paul and Jason Ioasa.

3. Brothers Paul, Anthony and Jason Ioasa released an album in 1996 for the Deepgrooves label. What did they call themselves?

4. Andrew Spraggon is better known professionally as who?

5. My bands include Electric Haka Boogie, the Galactic Chiropractors, the Clutch and the Upperclass. Who am I?

6. David James from Relics Records in Dunedin used to play bass in an Auckland band in the 1990s. Who were they?

7. Who was the vocalist on Strawpeople’s 1994 hit ‘Trick With A Knife’?

Herbs reunite on the eve of their induction into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame, 2012. Left to right, Spencer Fusimalohi, Dilworth Karaka, Toni Fonoti, Willie Hona.

8. Toni Fonoti wrote the hits ‘Dragons & Demons’ and ‘French Letter’ for Herbs, but only officially appeared on a mini-album as a member. Which one?

9. She was a member of The Upper Hutt Posse and Moana and The Moahunters, and in 2021 was appointed a MNZM for services to music and television. Who is she?

Max Merritt, 1970s.

10. Max Merritt released at least eight albums in his six decades as a professional musician, but is probably best known for one song, from 1975. What is it?

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AudioCulture Quiz, December 6, 2021

1. This guitarist later became one NZ’s most well-known songwriters, who is it?

2. The keyboardist in the next photo has a music video on YouTube with 70 million views – under what artist name?

3. Which of these musicians below later became a TV star?

4. What band is this young man from?

5. The chap on the far left later released a solo album under what MC name?

6. The young punk kneeling at the left of this picture later played in which Auckland funk/jazz/hip hop band?

7. Hiding behind the microphone on the left singing with The Eastern is one of New Zealand’s most internationally successful solo artists – who is she?

8. This photo is at the launch of the Lord of the Rings movie, Return of the King – what band is shown?

9. Who is DJing (with the Chemical Brothers in the background) in this photo?

10. What band is shown here while on a break from a set at the Peppermill nightclub in Auckland?

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 29, 2021

1. Name the hit band of the early 2000s who evolved out of a covers band called the “Trouser Weasels”.

2. Who sang the winning song ‘Nothing But Dreams’ at the Pacific Song Contest in 1979? Who wrote the song?

Andrew Snoid, The Plague. - Richard von Sturmer Collection

3. Andrew Snoid was a member of several bands including the Plague, Whizz Kids and Pop Mechanix. What is his real surname?

4. During the late 1970s what genre of music was played at Auckland’s Windsor Castle on Saturday afternoons?

5. Which Flying Nun band from the late 90s/early 2000s had the Velvet Underground’s John Cale play piano and mix one of their songs?

6: Name the comedy-music singing trio that Charlotte Yates was a member of.

The Furtive label.

7. Which musician and artist drew the design for the Furtive record label and logo in 1981?

8. Complete the following names: Bill & …. , Eb & …. , Lou & ….?

9. Author Rachael King was in which band with Graeme Jefferies and drummer Robert Key?

Avantdale Bowling Club album, 2018.

10. The cover image for the 2018 Avantdale Bowling Club album was photographed where?

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 22, 2021

1. The first two records released by LOOP Recordings Aot(ear)oa were Rhian Sheehan’s Paradigm Shift and the Black Seeds’ debut album. What was the Black Seeds’ 2001 debut album called?

Shapeshifter, 2021. - Tom Grut

2. Shapeshifter began inviting guest vocalists and MCs to perform on stage with them at shows. One of their guest MCs became a permanent member of Shapeshifter in 2003 – who was that MC?

3. Prior to Cassette forming, Tom Watson was in a few other Wellington bands. Can you name one of them?

4. Rob Ruha’s new track ‘35’ has recently blown up on Tik Tok. On which 2016 film soundtrack was he a consultant and performer? (To clarify, he performed on the soundtrack, not in the film.)

5. Which band was Lani Purkis in when she first played the Big Day Out in 1999?

6. The drumming in ‘Cactus Cat’ by Look Blue Go Purple was recently highlighted by Wayne Bell in ‘Ten More Moments in New Zealand Drumming’. Who was the drummer?

7. The Crocodiles are best known for their classic song ‘Tears’. Who was the band’s lead singer?

Bic Runga. - Nick Chappell

8. In 2009, Bic Runga brought in a new producer to work on her new solo material. They subsequently formed a duo. Who was it, and which band was he in previously?

9. Which New Zealand artist was named by public vote as 2001 Queer Musician of the Year, and performed to sell-out shows at the 2002 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras?

John Hanlon - Garden Fresh (1974)

10. John Hanlon was one of the first New Zealand artists to write songs about environmental issues. What was the big eco-conscious hit from his 1974 album, Garden Fresh?

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 15, 2021

1. Name the Samoan-born singer who, after shifting to Auckland and working at Farmers Trading Company, moved to the US and was signed to Capitol Records and then Frank Sinatra’s Reprise label.

Blam Blam Blam - 'Don't Fight It Marsha, It's Bigger than Both Of Us' (Propeller, 1981).

2. Which well-known New Zealand artist designed the cover for Blam Blam Blam’s ‘Don’t Fight it Marsha’ 7" sleeve?

3. Which female singer-songwriter had her fourth No.1 album in 2021?

Sharon O’Neill.

4. Sharon O’Neill’s 1980 touring band included which famous New Zealand songwriter/musician on guitar?

5. ‘Donde Esta La Pollo’ is the title of a well-known 1992 song by which Auckland band?

Bressa Creeting Cake.

6. What was the original band name of Bressa Creeting Cake?

7. Name the early 1980s Taranaki post-punk quartet fronted by brothers Peter and Graeme Jefferies.

8. Name the MC, singer and promoter from the Christchurch scene who impressed UK drum ’n’ bass legend Roni Size in 2001 with her a cappella performance.

9. Billy T James and Prince Tui Teka were both members of which famous Māori showband?

10. Which future member of Herbs was part of the Dargaville band Face, along with Mark Williams?

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 8, 2021

Ringo Starr and George Harrison on the NAC flight from Wellington to Auckland - Photo by Morrie Hill. National Library of New Zealand

1. When The Beatles arrived at Wellington airport in June 1964, what were they presented with when emerging from the plane?

2. The New Zealand independent record label Flying Nun is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary. In which city was the label founded?

Dave Bulog.

3. Recently Auckland electronic musician Dave Bulog sadly passed away – which New Zealand band did he record with when he was starting out in the 1980s?

4. “Watch Out Young Love” was the opening line of an iconic pop song released in 1974 by which New Zealand band?

5. Which popular Australian music festival, launched in 1994 in New Zealand, went on to become one of the most successful annual events on the New Zealand music calendar?

Chris Knox.

6. Chris Knox formed his first band in Dunedin in 1977. It never recorded but had a seismic effect with its live shows. What was the band’s name?

7. Lorde’s third album features the hit single ‘Solar Power’ – where was its video filmed?

8. Joe Walsh from the Eagles came to New Zealand in the late 1980s and produced an album for which Auckland band?

9. New Zealand guitarist Kevin Borich has carved out a very successful solo career in Australia, playing live with the Kevin Borich Express. Which 1960s and 70s New Zealand band did Kevin Borich play for?

Shona Laing, 1972 - Shona Laing collection

10. Shona Laing’s first single was released in 1972. What was it called?

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AudioCulture Quiz, November 1, 2021

An album cover/location special – clues available here.

Herbs - Whats' Be Happen?

1. Which historic event in 1978 is on the cover of Herbs’ 12" EP Whats’ Be Happen?

2. In The Mutton Birds’ song, what was halfway down Dominion Road?

Foothills (2020).

3. This recent album, called Foothills, has no information on the cover. Who is it by?

4. Who photographed Dave Dobbyn outside a South Island community hall for the Loyal album cover?

Home Brew's debut album (2012) - Guy Brock

5. On the cover of Home Brew’s debut album a shopfront is being graffitied. Which Auckland suburb is it in?

6. What is Shayne Carter doing on the cover of Dimmer’s 2001 album, I Believe You Are a Star? 

Garner Wayne’s Country Style LP (Viking, 1962). Photo by George Kohlap.

7. Which harbour is pictured on the cover of Garner Wayne’s Country Style album?

8. What are Upper Hutt Posse standing on for the cover of their E Tū 12" EP?

Split Enz, Frenzy (Mushroom, 1979).

9. Raewyn Turner, who painted the image on Split Enz’s Frenzy album, had another role in the band’s live shows. What was it? 

Max Cryer and the Children - Town Cryer (Zodiac, 1966). - RNZ collection

10. Which mountain did Max Cryer and the children climb for the cover of their 1966 Town Cryer album cover?

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 26, 2021

Kimbra. - Publicity image

1. On which New Zealand children’s TV show did Kimbra perform at the age of 11 years old?

2. ‘Look What You’ve Done/Lonely Blues’ was sung by Jake and Beth Heke in Once Were Warriors. Which Māori singer wrote and originally recorded it in the 1950s?

June 1964, Hong Kong.

3. Which New Zealand band supported the Beatles at their Hong Kong concert in 1964?

The Pelicans, 1984. - Nick Bollinger collection

4. Who is the connecting factor between these Wellington bands: the Windy City Strugglers, Mammal, the Red Hot Peppers, the Pelicans, and the Living Daylights?

Jessica Hansell. - Photo by Milana Radojcic

5. Jessica Hansell is an Auckland-born rapper, singer and songwriter. Under what name does she record and perform?

6. Which two Tongan-born musicians were legendary lap-steel guitarists in Auckland from the 1950s?

7. Which member of the Māori Volcanics later became better known as a comedian?

8. The “infuriatingly catchy” ‘Love Bug’ reached No.3 in the New Zealand singles chart in 1973. Who sang it?

9. Which singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer has worked with Tami Neilson, Marlon Williams, and Barry Saunders?

10. Which duo met in a Victoria University theatrical production and formed a band called Moustache before going on to international success?

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 18, 2021

1. The name of this Dunedin group reads like a simplified version of their wonderful song title, ‘The Strange and Conflicting Feelings of Separation and Betrayal’ – who are they?

2. Hidee Beast was the stage name of a former drummer in which Wildside Records band?

3. Name the New Zealand-born performer who shifted to London in 1977 and found fame with an emerging pop band that was named after characters from Hergé’s Tintin comic books.

Bill Wolfgramm and Bill Sevesi. - Chris Bourke Collection

4. What record label do the recording artists Maria Dallas, Herma Keil, Bill Wolfgramm, and Bill Sevesi have in common?

Crowded House, March, 2021. - Photo by Kerry Brown

5. Name the successful US producer whose long association with Crowded House came full circle when he performed as a member of the band on their recent New Zealand tour and album release?

Jules Issa. - Photo by Sonoma Message

6. Jules Issa’s ‘Dangerous Game’ and Herbs’ ‘Azania’ were separately written by two friends who formed their own band in 1983 after playing in the horn section for Herbs at Sweetwaters. Name their band.

7. His father played in UK bands XTC and Shriekback and one of his first performances was at the Devonport Folk Club. Name the internationally known band he formed with friends from Takapuna Grammar.

8. Who had a No.1 hit with a cover of ‘The Game of Love’, a 1965 hit by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders?

9. In 1994 Flying Nun alumni David Kilgour, Martin Phillipps, Mike Dooley, Noel Ward and Alan Starrett joined together to release a CD EP featuring cover versions of 1960s favourites, including the Avengers hit ‘Everyone’s Gonna Wonder’. What did they name the group?

10. Name the well-loved performer who in 1952, aged 15 and without advising his whānau, shipped out to Sydney to join a travelling circus, where he started out as cleaner of the elephants’ quarters.

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 11, 2021

Aldous Harding. - Photo by Ebony Lamb

1. Aldous Harding appeared on her mother’s 2004 album, Clean Break. What is her mother’s name?

2. Fatal Jelly Space supported which international acts?

Hinewehi Mohi.

3. Dame Hinewehi Mohi works in music and television. What was the name of the television show she began working on as a reporter in 1986?

4. Electric Wire Hustle formed in 2007. Apart from Mara TK, name another founding member.

5. Dunedin venue Arc Café established a record label in early 1998. What was it called?

6. Name a musician or band who appeared on the label established by Arc Café. 

7. Connan Mockasin wrote the song ‘Out of Touch’ for which French actress and musician?

8. Name the Minuit vocalist and songwriter, who has also written a book of poetry and lyrics, I Felt Like a Fight, Alright?.

9. In the 1990s Shayne P. Carter occasionally recorded as a duo called Rim Shot Frenzy with a well-known record retailer and writer. Who was the other member?

Jay Clarkson.

10. Name Jay Clarkson’s first band.

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AudioCulture Quiz, October 4, 2021

1. Starting his career as a journalist, he co-founded Radio Hauraki, managed Hello Sailor during the 1970s, and in 2019 he was named Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to broadcasting. Can you name him?

Mark Williams, circa 1975 - Phil Warren Collection

2. From 1974 to 1977 he was the in-house producer at Wellington’s EMI studio. He produced albums by Mark Williams and many others at EMI. When he relocated to Australia he produced Mark Williams again, this time for CBS. Who is he?

3. Name the sound engineer who has been recording live sessions at Radio NZ for over 25 years, and who has recorded albums with Anika Moa and Bic Runga.

4. Her blues singing style has been described as formidable. At the 1973 Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival she played directly after headliners Black Sabbath and in 1995 she played the lead role in an Auckland production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. She died earlier this year. Can you name her?

5. Name the Flying Nun band that opened for Nirvana and U2 in the early 1990s.

6. Which Nielson brother, formerly in the Mint Chicks, went on to start a new project called Unknown Mortal Orchestra?

Karyn Hay interviews Tim Finn at Sweetwaters 1983 - Photo by Murray Cammick

7. How many times was the Sweetwaters festival held?

8. What do Peter Posa’s ‘White Rabbit’, The Four Fours’ ‘Theme From an Empty Coffee Lounge’ and The Warratahs’ ‘Bruno’s ‘Last Ride’ have in common?

Herbs in 1990 - clockwise from bottom left: Gordon Joll. Thom Nepia, Dilworth Karaka, Charlie Tumahai, Tama Lundun, Morrie Watene.

9. Which member of the Eagles worked in the studio with Herbs?

10: Name the independent music television channel that launched in Auckland in 1993.

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 27, 2021

1. ‘Cruising on the Interislander’ became a well-known song for which band after its use in a 1990s TV commercial?

Ruban Nielson, Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

2. Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s 2018 Silver Scroll-nominated song ‘Hunnybee’ is about whom?

3. Complete the phrase: Ray Columbus devised a dance called the “_____ Nod”.

A: Rocker’s Nod.
B: Widgie’s Nod.
C: Mod’s Nod.
D: Hippy’s Nod.

4. What was the name of Mara TK’s previous band?

The Beths.  - Mason Fairey

5. The members of The Beths all trained in the same musical genre at University of Auckland – what was it?

6. Which song did Sir Dave Dobbyn recently release in te reo Māori to mark its 30th anniversary?

7. Who is the drummer for Avantdale Bowling Club?

8. In which country was the late, legendary Soane born?

Rob Ruha.

9. Rob Ruha was musical director and translator for the te reo Māori version of which movie?

10. Which New Zealand band supported Bob Marley at his legendary 1979 Western Springs concert?

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 20, 2021

1. Which platinum-selling solo artist, who is also known for many collaborations with other musicians, won best jazz vocalist at the National Jazz Festival of New Zealand at age 16, and has recorded an album of Celtic music? 

Anna Coddington.

2. Name Anna Coddington’s two prior bands before going solo and releasing her debut album in 2008.

3. Polyfonk maestros Ardijah made a cameo performance appearance in which New Zealand feature film? Can you name the song?

4. She moved from Mount Roskill to London when she was 19, worked as a waitress, and tried to join the anarchist party. Later, her band became one of the biggest pop acts of the 80s. Name the artist.

5. What was the last music video played on 1990s Auckland regional music channel Max TV before the station went permanently off air?

Concord Dawn.

6. What was the name of the heavy metal band Evan Short played in before co-founding drum and bass duo Concord Dawn?

7. The bands Paselode, Grand Prix and Fly My Pretties all have someone in common. Who is it?

8. What year did the first Big Day Out festival take place in New Zealand?

9. In 2009, a chart-topping, all-vegan metal band created a music video to rival that of the Skeptics’ ‘AFFCO’, as it followed a steer’s journey from farm to supermarket. Name the band.

King Kapisi.  - Simon Grigg collection

10. King Kapisi began rapping under which name as part of the group Gifted and Brown?

A: Hot Cakes
B: Bran Muffin
C: Date Scone
D: Buttery Biscuit

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 13, 2021

1. The te reo Māori lyrics of ‘E Ipo’ and ‘Poi E’ are by the same songwriter. Who? 

2. Stuart and Brad Kora were two of four brothers who founded Kora. They left in 2013 to start what other very successful band? 

Mara TK.

3. Which iwi is shared by Ruru Karaitiana, Johnny Cooper, Kahu Pineaha, and Mara TK?

4. ‘Beneath the Māori Moon’ by Walter Smith, was recorded by his cousin, George Nepia, and released on Decca in the UK in 1936. In what role was Nepia most famous?

Maisey Rika.

5. In 2012 Ruia Aperahama, Maisey Rika, Anika Moa, and Warren Maxwell fronted a music series on Māori TV. What was it called?

6. Which Māori singer’s mother recorded an EP of songs in te reo called Kahu?

7. Which singer, after winning the emerging artist award at the Waiata Māori Music Awards in 2015, supported himself by teaching te reo Māori night classes at Unitec?

8. Who began their career singing in Upper Hutt Posse and Moana and the Moahunters, and was appointed a MNZM in 2021 for services to music and television?

9. Who played piano for The Shevelles, gave The Avengers their name in a competition, and produced the hit medley ‘Māoris on 45’?

Whirimako Black.

10. What do Rob Ruha, Alien Weaponry, Whirimako Black, Ruia Aperahama, and Te Awanui Reeder have in common?

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AudioCulture Quiz, September 6, 2021

1. Two now well-known singers first met each other at Lyttelton’s Wunderbar when they were double-booked to play on the same evening. Who were they?

2. Name the Dawn Raid act who released their No.1 album Always & For Real in 2004.

3. “Dr Rock” was the alias of which well-known broadcaster of the 1970s?

4. Name the Aotearoa New Zealand singer who in the 1970s had a local hit with a song that was also recorded under a different title by American singer Barry Manilow.

5. Name the first album (and the associated act) that was recorded at Auckland’s York Street Recording Studios.

6. Who wrote and released a series of award-winning albums of music for “bubbas”?

7. Which of the following titles is the name of Brooke Fraser’s hit 2003 album?

A: What To Do With Sunshine
B: What To Do With Moonlight
C: What To Do With Good Times
D: What To Do With Daylight

8. Name the experimental electronic artist who founded Victoria University’s Electronic Music Studio in 1970.

9. Name the rope-jumping Auckland band that takes its name from their lead singer/guitarist and was formed by players who met through jazz school and in jazz band Sal Valentine and the Babyshakes.

10. Which “theatrical experience” and musical group had a promotional touring car named the “Lawnmobile”?

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 30, 2021

1. Name at least two Aotearoa New Zealand acts who have appeared on the prestigious Later With Jools Holland show?

2. Which singer from New Zealand had a hit with her cover of Lulu’s ‘To Sir With Love’?

3. Name a Bob Dylan song featuring The Byrds’ 12-string legend Roger McGuinn that Crowded House released a live cover of?

Human Instinct: Maurice Greer, John Donoghue, Martin Hope

4. What is the name of The Human Instinct’s fourth, most sought after and valuable, LP?

5. What is the name of the New Zealand jazz pianist who released a (now very collectable) album called My Favourite Things, and shares her name with a so-called “mother of the nation” newsreader?

Ticket's Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, 1972

6. Which celebrated New Zealand artist created the cover artwork for Ticket’s second album Let Sleeping Dogs Lie?

7. Which Flying Nun frontman received a MNZM in the Queen’s Birthday honours list this year?

8. Name the successful New Zealand solo artist whose early band was called Two Lane Blacktop.

Roy Colbert.

9. Roy Colbert’s Dunedin record store had several names over the years. Name one. 

10. What is the name of the Fijian funk group whose 1973 album, Turn On To Music, is now a much sought after psych-funk collectable?

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 23, 2021

1. Who has a long-running radio show called Land Of The Good Groove and was co-founder of music magazine Rip It Up?

Peter Coleman and friend, 1977 - Ian Morris Collection

2. Which 70s band did Peter Coleman play bass for?

3. Who said that he wanted his record label to be the “Māori Motown”?

Maureen Gordon.

4. Which famous Auckland venue did the late Maureen Gordon own and run?

5. Who was the first act to play at The Kings Arms – and played the final weekend there?

6. Which Auckland trio from the 2000s started life as Mean Street?

Wide Mouthed Frogs. - Matthew McKee

7. What do How’s Your Father, Wide Mouthed Frogs, The Crocodiles and INXS all have in common?

8. Simon Ogston’s 2013 documentary Sheen Of Gold is about which Palmerston North band?

9. Mareko, Savage, Devolo, and Alphrisk were all members of which Auckland crew?

10. I was born and raised in Katikati, my given name was Miha, I was discovered at a talent audition by Benny Levin and my biggest hit was ‘Brandy’. Who am I?

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 16, 2021

1. As a publicity stunt in the late 1960s, which local pop star jumped from a yacht into the sea in order to “rescue” a young “Miss South Pacific” who had been deliberately pushed overboard?

2. In 1971 one of the weirdest locally recorded singles, ‘Come To The Sabbat’, which included the line “Come to the Sabbat, Satans’s there”, was recorded by which band?

3. Music Nation was a mid-90s television show devoted to Kiwi music. Which high profile singer-songwriter hosted it? 

4. Singer, songwriter and guitarist Shayne Carter formed his first band when he was a student at Kaikorai Valley College in Dunedin. They released an EP called Who Killed Colonel Mustard? and then broke up. Name the band.

5. In the mid-60s a pop star named Bogdan Kominowski achieved massive success with No.1 hits ‘Opportunity’ and ‘Thanks To You’ before relocating to London. What was his stage name?

Glyn Tucker in his Mandrill office, 1986.

6. The Mockers, Dance Exponents, and Pink Flamingos made some of their best records at Mandrill Studios, a recording studio in Parnell formed by three musicians, one of whom was Glyn Tucker. Before he embarked on this period of his career, in which successful band did Glyn Tucker perform during the 1960s? (They had a big hit with a song called ‘The Coming Generation’.)

7. A first-generation New Zealander from Niuean parents, Tigilau Ness was a member of the Polynesian Panthers protesting the Dawn Raids in the 1970s. He was later an activist and protester during the 1981 Springbok rugby tour. His son is a well-known musician and has had a number of hits over the years – can you name him?

8. Name the wonderful London-born singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist (above) who migrated to New Zealand in 1987 and released a number of albums here, as well as touring schools and supporting artists such as BB King, Joan Armatrading, Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, and Crowded House?

9. What was the original name of the band that eventually had a No.2 single in America with the song ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’, written by Neil Finn after he left Split Enz?

10. Murray Cammick recently received the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to NZ music. As well as publishing New Zealand’s most revered music publication, Rip It Up, he was owner of two significant record labels. Name the two record labels.

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 9, 2021

1. Complete the following lyric: “I found myself a blue lady ...”

Kimbra.

2. Which New Zealand city is Kimbra’s hometown?

3. Shayne Carter’s memoir won the 2020 Ockham NZ Book Award for best non-fiction book. What is the book’s title?

4. What do the following band names have in common? The Avengers, The Phoenix Foundation, Hasselhoff Experiment.

Grace.

5. What do Grace, Evermore, and Broods have in common?

6. Former members of the bands Blindspott and Tadpole teamed up in 2008 and formed a successful band that toured internationally and lasted for 10 years. Name the band.

7. Name the title of the 1987 Skeptics video that was banned from broadcast by TVNZ.

8. Name the 1990s independent Auckland record store and label specialising in punk and underground genres whose international customers included Jello Biafra and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore.

3 The Hard Way.

9. What is the title of 3 the Hard Way’s 2003 No.1 hit?

10. Name the Gisborne-born vocalist and solo artist who has sung with SJD, the Bellbirds and Pitch Black.

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AudioCulture Quiz, August 2, 2021

1. Aside from Flight of the Conchords, name two other Wellington bands that Bret McKenzie has played in.

2. Which studio engineer/producer has worked with TrinityRoots, The Black Seeds, Phoenix Foundation, and L.A.B.?

3. Which young musician is shown in here DJing at bFM? The photo is taken from the station’s magazine, the Book of BiFiM.

4. Which local musician-turned-actor is shown at far right playing Eddie in this New Zealand production of the Rocky Horror Show?

5. Which editor of Rip It Up magazine later became programme director at Mai FM?

6. Who is shown in the above photo?

7. Which New Zealand rapper went on to start his own line of jewellery and watches?

8. Which singer started her career at 14 years old by being the soloist on a double-platinum selling album of Māori love songs released by her school?

9. Which chart-topping metal band features a bassist who was a former member of classic New Zealand hard rock groups Knightshade, Tyrant, and Blackjack?

10. Elizabeth Stokes from The Beths was in a high-school band with which indie pop musician?

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 26, 2021

Ray Columbus.

1. Which English musician did Ray Columbus befriend during an Australian/New Zealand tour in 1965?

2. Which Wellington band, whose debut album appeared 20 years ago, has had songs featured in TV series such as Weeds and Breaking Bad?

3. “Karanga, rangatahi, whakarongo! whakarongo!” are the opening lyrics to which song?

4. Which band released New Zealand’s first ever punk single?

John Rowles.

5. Who was John Rowles’s hit ‘Tania’ about?

6. Which Dunedin band sang about ‘Baked Beans’?

Teeks.

7. Teeks is known for his masterful soul vocals – but what musical genre did his first band play?

8. The lyrics to BLERTA’s hit ‘Dance All Around the World’ are inspired by a book by which famous children’s author?

9. In 2001 an upbeat 11 year-old girl appeared on What Now?. She was filmed while recording a single, and said, “Hi, I’m ****, and one day I’d love to be a pop star.” Who is she?

10. What was the first New Zealand record that was wholly produced in Aotearoa, from composition to pressing?

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 19, 2021

1. Which NZ artist co-wrote and sang on a song by Grammy-nominated, US-based Samoan reggae singer J Boog?

Blam Blam Blam. - Murray Cammick Collection

2. In which now reformed art-punk band did Tim Mahon cut his teeth prior to forming Blam Blam Blam with Don McGlashan?

3. Which former Chills drummer released a solo album in 2019 entitled Lucky? 

Deceptikonz, 2002. - Rip It Up Archives

4. Name the four members of Deceptikonz.

5. What connects the late Richard Nunns and Scott Walker?

6. What was the name of the Hamilton hard rock/ metal band who had an 80s hit with ‘The Physical You’?

The Knobz’ 45 cover for 'Culture'

7. Which former New Zealand Prime Minister is impersonated on The Knobz’ 1980 hit ‘Culture’?

8. Who authored hefty New Zealand music tome Stranded in Paradise?

9. What were the two tracks on The Mockers’ 1980 debut single?

10. What is the name of the (yet to materialise) supergroup mooted between Julia Deans, Anna Coddington and Anika Moa?

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 12, 2021

1. Sam Hunt has performed or recorded with at least four New Zealand acts. Can you name two?

2. Auckland band Paul Agar from Marginal Era wrote a song called ‘This Heaven’ which became the opening theme for which New Zealand TV music show?

Dragon, 1977 (L-R): Kerry Jacobson, Robert Taylor, Marc Hunter, Todd Hunter, Paul Hewson.

3. Which high-profile member of trans-Tasman Rock band Dragon ended up in Auckland band The Pink Flamingos with ex-Hello Sailor member Dave McArtney?

4. Si Si Es are an Auckland based electronic band who were big in the 1980s under which name?

5. Greg Johnson used to play trumpet and sing in an Auckland jazz band before he went solo. Name that band?

The Datsuns, 2003: Matt Osment, Dolf de Borst, Christian Livingstone and Phil Somervell.

6. In over 20 years the Datsuns have only had one line-up change. What instrument did the new band member play?

7. The legendary drum sound on Hello Sailor’s 1977 single ‘Blue Lady’ was engineered at Stebbing Studios by which Auckland pop star?

8. Before they changed their name to the Mockers they were known as:

A. Squashy Peas 
B. The Ambitious Vegetables 
C. Steak Knives 
D. The Serviettes?

Peter "Rooda" Warren from DD Smash, Aotea Square, 1984 - Photo by Bryan Staff

9. The infamous Queen Street riot erupted at the “Thank God It’s Over” free concert on 7 December 1984 in Auckland’s Aotea Square. Who said, “I wish those riot squad guys would stop wanking and put their little batons away,” only to be charged with inciting the riot?

10. Which New Zealand musician had an international hit with the song ‘(Glad I’m) Not a Kennedy’ in 1988?

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AudioCulture Quiz, July 5, 2021

1. Who were the founding members of The Julie Dolphin?

A 1980s Jenny Morris publicity shot. - Simon Grigg collection.

2. Who wrote Jenny Morris’ 1988 single ‘You I Know’?

Kids of 88. - Publicity photo

3. The band Kids of 88 was formed by which member of Goodnight Nurse (and his friend Jordan Arts)?

4. Which New Zealand songwriter, instrumentalist and vocalist also worked as a summer camp lake lifeguard and speedboat driver in the US?

5. Julia Deans has performed the songs of which Canadian singer-songwriter in her show ‘Both Sides Now’?

6. Who were the members of Gasoline Cowboy?

7. Name the New Zealand musician that joined UK group Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in 1981.

8. Polyfonk is a fusion of reggae, R’n’B, and Pasifika music. Who created the genre?

Anika Moa.

9. In 2011 Anika Moa and two other New Zealand musicians formed a trio. Who were the other two members of the trio, and what was their album called?

10. Robert Scott formed a band with Jane Sinnott, David Mitchell, and David Saunders. What was the name of the band?

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 28, 2021

1. Who wrote Zed’s 2003 Top 20 hit ‘Starlight’?

2. In 2020 who posted a photo on social media, announcing a new album was underway, with contributions from the NZSO and Sol3Mio?

3. Name the Flying Nun band associated with this famous person.

4. Name the Flying Nun band associated with this famous person.

5. Former Chills bass player Justin Harwood formed an instrumental group with which member of R.E.M?

6. Name the Flying Nun band associated with this famous person.

7. Dianne Swann guested on vocals and keyboards for which English band in the mid-90s?

8. What was title of the feature film starring Kimbra?

9. Name the Flying Nun band associated with this famous person.

10. Which member of a prominent post-punk NZ band “returned to good old rock’n’roll organ” in the London psych/garage band The Purple Gang?

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 21, 2021

1. In 1965 Wayne Fontana had a big hit with ‘The Game Of Love’. Which New Zealand producer had a number one single in the 1980s with a cover of it? Either his real name or the name the record went out under is correct.

2. Which of the following was not a member of the showband The Māori Volcanics?

A: Dalvanius Prime
B: Billy T. James
C: Prince Tui Teka

3. What is the connection between the Suburban Reptiles and Joel Little?

When The Cat's Away in New Plymouth, 1988: Annie Crummer, Debbie Harwood, Kim Willoughby, Dianne Swann and Margaret Urlich.

4. James Brown, Bob Geldof, The Chills, The Pogues, When The Cat’s Away, Roy Orbison and the Patea Māori Club were all advertised to play just south of Auckland in early 1988. What happened?

5. What do Supergroove, Drab Doo Riffs, Cambridge University, the Low Down Dirty Blues Band, the Apra Silver Scroll, and the movie Come To Daddy all have in common?

6. “Karanga, rangatahi, whakarongo! Whakarongo!” are the opening words to which New Zealand hip-hop classic?

7. Who said: “I’ll probably end up doing cabaret, ‘Found … my-self … a blue la-dy …” and on the trombone we have …’.  I fancy the Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin approach: stool, tall martini, cigarette burning in the ashtray.”?

8. My debut album was called Safety in Numbers and sold 240,000 copies. What is my name?

9. They came from Rutherford College in Te Atatu, they had the first local single ever to go to No.1, their second single is a much covered New Zealand classic, they went on to be one of the biggest bands in Australia in the early 1970s and their guitarist is one of the most celebrated guitar players in the history of Australasian rock, winning Best Guitarist twice in Australia. They were … ?

10. Which Auckland singer/producer/studio owner based on Auckland’s North Shore mentored and recorded Lorde, The Checks, Finn Andrews (The Veils), The Mint Chicks, The Electric Confectionaires and Gin Wigmore in the first years of this century?

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 14, 2021

1. Name the New Zealand saxophonist who was a regular at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London and in 1990 became the only local jazz performer to top the New Zealand charts?

2. Which New Zealand song from the 1970s is about the writer’s infatuation for Hollywood great Henry Fonda?

A: ‘Yesterday Was Just the Beginning of My Life’ by Mark Williams
B: ‘L’amour est L’enfant de la liberté’ by the Rumour
C: ‘1905’ by Shona Laing

Buster Stiggs, Bones Hillman, Phil Judd - Photo by Murray Cammick

3. Which members of the Swingers played with early New Zealand punk band Suburban Reptiles?

A. Buster Stiggs
B. Bones Hillman
C. Phil Judd
D. The first two (Stiggs, Hillman)
E. All of the above

4. Name the New Zealand artist who studied music in Dunedin and after shifting north maintained his musical career while working as a tour guide, radio journalist and public transport advocate.

5. Name the stage production written in London by a rock’n’roll loving bodgie from Hamilton that finally made its New Zealand debut in 1978, with the cast including Zero (Clare Elliot) from Suburban Reptiles and future Warratahs vocalist Barry Saunders. 

6. Name the Auckland-born musician who became famous as a child drummer in the 1950s and went on to play with Leo Sayer, Nat Adderley, and Dusty Springfield.

The Fourmyula.

7. Name the much-loved New Zealand song that was a hit twice – for The Fourmyula in 1970 and The Mutton Birds in 1992.

8. Which New Zealand song from the 1970s is about the writer dreaming of being in a band after seeing The Beatles as a child?

A: ‘When Jo Jo Runs’ by Craig Scott
B: ‘Saturday Night Stay at Home’ by Suburban Reptiles
C: ‘Good Morning Mr Rock N’ Roll’ by Headband

9. Name the Dunedin-born drummer and promoter who in the early 1990s toured the UK and Europe as drummer for the Jesus and Mary Chain.

10. In 1969 a Christchurch-born bassist became the sole New Zealander to perform at Woodstock, and in 1972 he joined English rock group Uriah Heep, playing on four albums and touring with them during their most successful period. Name the bassist.

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AudioCulture Quiz, June 8, 2021

1. Which New Zealand act sang with Ronan Keating on his album Duet?

2. Which local group lost all their publishing royalties from their No.1 single to English band 10cc?

Phoenix Foundation, 2020. - Ebony Lamb

3. What UK TV show has featured appearances by both Nadia Reid and The Phoenix Foundation?

4. Which chart-topping New Zealand band found their singer after seeing him perform on TV show Good Morning?

5. Which New Zealand pop star co-wrote one of the songs on John Legend’s US Top Five album, Love In The Future?

6. What movie did pop singer Stan Walker star in?

7. The son of Suzanne Lynch from The Chicks was in what chart-topping local band?

8. Which New Zealand indie act appeared on Fat Boy Slim’s The Brighton Port Authority album?

9. Which local hip hop act is shown in the above photo with Rihanna?

10. Name the young singer shown in the above photo.

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 31, 2021

1. Name the above solo artist’s first band

2. What was the name of Broods’ frontwoman Georgia Knott’s all-female side project?

3. Lani Purkis played in which punk band before joing Elemeno P?

4. Name the above solo artist’s first band

5. ‘You’re Welcome’ is a song written for the film Moana by Te Vaka’s Opetaia Foa’i. Who sang it?

6. Name the above solo artist’s first band

7. What was the title of TrueBliss’s debut album?

8. Supergroove’s Karl Steven is a doctor of what subject?

9. Name the above artist’s first band

10. The Chicks’ first album was called The Sound Of The Chicks. What was their second album called?

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 24, 2021

Marlon Williams. - Rebekah Parsons-King/Radio NZ

1. In what 2018 Hollywood film did Marlon Williams play an up-and-coming country singer?

2. Lorde’s song ‘Green Light’ won which local music award in 2017?

3. In 1997, the first Dimmer EP features a cover of a Canned Heat song. What is the song’s title?

4. Which member of Look Blue Go Purple was also in The 3Ds?

5. At age 11, Kimbra appeared on a children’s television show with a segment on becoming a pop star. What was the television show?

6. Jonathan Bree and Scott Mannion formed which New Zealand record label in 2002?

7. Name three of the well-known musicians in Bic Runga’s backing band for her 2005 album, Birds.

8. Dons Savage of Dead Famous People was briefly part of which English dance-pop band in the early 1990s?

9. In 1990 there were two female winners of the Gold Guitar Awards. Who were they?

10. How many Māori Hi-Five bands were there in the 1960s? How was each band configuration identified?

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 17, 2021

1. Before choosing music as his lifelong passion, Graham Brazier (Hello Sailor) had a serious chance for success in which sport?
a. Cricket
b. Rugby League
c. Football

2. Before they formed The Beths, all four original members were in which Auckland band?

3. Which New Zealand songwriter and producer has co-written songs with Taylor Swift, Khalid and Imagine Dragons?

4. Who had a global hit after their song was featured in Judd Apatow’s movie Knocked Up?

5. Who has set themself the goal of recording 10 albums in 10 different genres in 10 years?

L.A.B. in a 2019 promotional photo. From left to right: Stu Kora, Miharo Gregory, Joel Shadbolt, Ara Adams-Tamatea, Brad Kora. - Gladys Smith

6. L.A.B. was formed by two brothers. Which band were they in before?

7. Which singer/songwriter has also written cookbooks and owns a vegan store named Grater Goods?

8. In the 1970s, Suzanne Lynch from The Chicks became the backing singer for which hugely popular UK artist?

9. Che Fu’s father is also a prominent musician – who is he?

10. Patea Māori Club’s ‘Poi E’ received this year’s Classic Record Award at the Taite Music Prize ceremony on April 20. Who co-wrote the song with Dalvanius?

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AudioCulture Quiz, May 10, 2021

1. Name two of DJ Mu’s most notable musical pre-Fat Freddy’s Drop projects.

2. Which British musician produced Shihad’s debut album Churn?

3. With which Irish band did Julia Deans enter the public eye prior to success with Fur Patrol?

4. Which actor/comedian starred in the music video to The Phoenix Foundation’s 2015 track ‘Give Up Your Dreams’?

Al Hunter's 1987 album Neon Cowboy

5. Which New Zealand music legend performed guest backing vocals on country singer Al Hunter’s 1987 album Neon Cowboy?

6. Who were the four bands showcased on Flying Nun’s Dunedin Double EP?

Zed's Andy Lynch and Nathan King, 2001 NZ Music Awards. - Recorded Music NZ

7. What connects Zed/ Feelers guitarist Andy Lynch with the late, great Scott Walker?

8. What was the name of Pluto’s 2001 debut album?

9. Which Christchurch group gave an early platform for Aldous Harding, Motte and Reb Fountain?

10. Which member of Straitjacket Fits previously logged time in Dunedin bands The Blue Meanies and The Orange?

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