The group’s striking looks and incomparable sound made them one of Wellington’s standout acts in 1983.
The group’s striking looks and incomparable sound made them one of Wellington’s standout acts in 1983, the same year their two EPs were issued through Jayrem.
Saddled with an awkward name that inevitably conjured up toilet nightmares (were they the last flush of Wellington punk?), Unrestful Movements released the five track First Movement In Eb in November, 1982 and followed up with a six track second EP, Q: Are You A Fireman? in September, 1983.
In total, the group only played a handful of gigs in their two active years. Back in 1983, Glen Wilson told me why. “We decided that we wanted to record because no one would let us play anywhere, so we thought we might as well do something rather than just vegetate and sulk.” Venue owners were, possibly rightly, concerned that the group would attract the “wrong audience”.
Their songs bear names like ‘No Job’, ‘Depressed’ and ‘Anti Trend’. “Human relationships, love songs – there are enough people doing that sort of thing," said Wilson. "I like vocals that carry a message … I write bluntly so there won’t be as many misinterpretations of what I’m trying to say.”
The group dissolved soon after release of the second EP, (reforming briefly in 1986 to record a cassette only EP) but all these years later, their recorded output still sounds fresh, and unreleased live recordings confirm them as an outstanding and powerful act.
In 2011, celebrating 25 years of operation, Jayrem released a CD of the two EPs, and included some unreleased tracks the band recorded later as they fumbled with a more Goth-style sound.
Its members soon faded into obscurity, leader Glen Wilson playing the traps in a variety of bands, and currently in Tauranga with Dead Simple, which performs new songs as well as Unrestful Movements songs and covers. Grenville Main became a graphic designer and more recently, a creative director. Tim Hunt owns a tattoo studio in Paekakariki specialising in Māori and Polynesian art, and the whereabouts of Pam Curreen are unknown.
