Grant Fell


Successful music scenes need people who draw in others around them, attract skills and form communities. For successive generations of Auckland music, Grant Fell has been that guy.

For most of his teenage years in Mt Albert, music wasn’t Grant’s main interest. He was part of the generation that embraced the 1970s skate boom. Like his peers, his sacred text was Skateboarder magazine and his heroes were the Dogtown Boys and Tony Alva.

Aroha Harawira interviews Grant Fell about the Headless Chickens reunion, Juice TV 9 November 2008.
Early Headless Chickens: Michael Lawry, Rupert E. Taylor, Grant Fell and Chris Matthews
Grant Fell.
Photo credit: Brian Murphy
Children's Hour at Wellington's Clyde Quay Tavern: Johnny Pierce, Chris Matthews, Bevan Sweeney, Grant Fell
Photo credit: Photo by Peter Aagaard
Grant Fell at the New Zealand Music Awards, 1995. Headless Chickens won an award for international achievement, and were also finalists in the awards for best single and best group
Grant Fell during the filming of the video for Choppers
Grant Fell - photograph by Brian Murphy
Photo credit: Brian Murphy
Headless Chickens - Juice (1994, directed by Bruce Sheridan and Grant Fell)
Lisa van der Aarde's short documentary Poultry In Motion - Chris Matthews, Grant Fell and Michael Lawry interviewed by Rod Bent aka Rupert E Taylor, the band's second singer.
Headless Chicken's Grant Fell and Stu Kawowski pasting up AXEMEN posters for Siren and Rising Sun gigs, Auckland's K'Rd 1989
Children's Hour at Christchurch's Gladstone (a 'F.Nun recording party') and Dunedin's Oriental, November-December 1984
Grant Fell.
Grant Fell and his skateboarding crew, 1970s
Photo credit: Andrew Moore collection
Grant Fell playing with Children’s Hour at Laneway, 2011. Photograph by Jackson Perry.
Grant Fell - photograph by Simon Grigg
Photo credit: Photo by Simon Grigg
Teremoana Rapley on the cover of Planet magazine.
Photo credit: Photo by Kerry Brown, on a Hensel front projection system and Mamiya Rx courtesy of Film Facilities, Auckland. Make up: Debbie Watson.
Grant Fell in a photograph by Brian Murphy
Photo credit: Brian Murphy
Housequake! II poster for a house/hip hop extravaganza at Auckland's Power Station, 23 March 1989. The event featured DJs and a performance by Upper Hutt Posse
Photo credit: Russell Brown collection
Grant Fell.
Photo credit: Brian Murphy
Moana Maniapoto on the cover of Planet magazine, 1993
Grant Fell.
Photo credit: Brian Murphy
Grant Fell - photograph by Brian Murphy
Photo credit: Brian Murphy
Headless Chickens - Gaskrankinstation (1990, directed by Grant Fell)
Headless Chickens recording Stunt Clown at Mandrill Studios, Parnell, Auckland, early 1988: Chris Matthews, Michael Lawry, producer Rex Visible, Rupert E. Taylor, Bevan Sweeney and Grant Fell
Photo credit: Simon Grigg collection
Grant Fell on skateboarding in the 1970s
Headless Chickens - Cruise Control (1993, directed by Jonathan Ogilvie)
Headless Chickens - Super Trouper (1995, directed by Jonathan Ogilvie)
Grant Fell.
Photo credit: Brian Murphy
Headless Chickens: Chris Matthews, Michael Lawry, Fiona McDonald, Bevan Sweeney, Grant Fell, Anthony Nevison
Children's Hour 2005 reunion. Rob Mayes, Chris Matthews, Grant Fell, Bevan Sweeney
Healess Chickens - photograph by Stuart Page
Photo credit: Stuart Page
Headless Chickens: Bevan Sweeney, Grant Fell, Rupert E. Taylor, Chris Matthews, Michael Lawry, in a shot taken in 1988, before Fiona and Anthony joined. It was used on the cover of Rip It Up when the Stunt Clown album was released.
Headless Chickens - George (1996, directed by Marcus Ringrose, Stephen McGlashan)
Children's Hour - Caroline's Dream (1983, directed by Chris Knox)
Grant Fell - photograph by Brian Murphy
Photo credit: Brian Murphy
Greg Johnson, Grant Fell, Barbie and Bevan Sweeney
Photo credit: Photo by Brigid Grigg-Eyley
Grant Fell, early 1990s - photograph by Bruce Sheridan
Photo credit: Bruce Sheridan
Headless Chickens - Donde Esta La Pollo (1992, directed by Bruce Sheridan)
Grant Fell, teenage skateboarder, Auckland, 1970s
Photo credit: Andrew Moore collection
Grant Fell - photograph by Brian Murphy
Photo credit: Brian Murphy
Headless Chickens - Donka (1988, directed by Stuart Page and Grant Fell). Stuart Page comments: "'Donka' was directed by the late, great Grant Fell, and was shot on my Bolex RX5 camera loaded with 16mm Kodak reversal film. This was the first of several projects that I collaborated on with Grant, under the banner of Brilliant Films. Much use was made of a Bolex matte box that allowed split screen and multi-exposure shooting, the titles for instance were shot single-frame with two passes using fire and water as the two primary colour sources. This version was made from a copy downloaded from YouTube, up-res'd and audio replaced. I would love to get the original master and re-do the grading and audio of this wonderful music video, to honour Grant's legacy." - Stuart Page, 28 January 2018
Grant Fell at the 1996 Apra Silver Scroll
Grant Fell
Photo credit: Brian Murphy
Headless Chickens performing at the 1987 Rheineck Rock Award at Auckland's Le Bom, 1987: Michael Lawry, Chris Matthews, Rupert E. Taylor and Grant Fell
Photo credit: Simon Grigg collection
Headless Chickens, 1990 - Michael Lawry, Grant Fell, Chris Matthews, Rupert E Taylor, Anthony Nevison, Bevan Sweeney
Fiona McDonald and Grant Fell at the Big Day Out, Auckland, 1995.
Photo credit: Photo by Becky Nunes
Simon Grigg collection
The poster for Looking For The Sun, 2005, a live CD compilation of Children's Hour songs recorded between March 1983 and March 1984 at New Plymouth’s Bellblock, University of Otago and the Windsor Castle, issued by Failsafe Records.
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