Suburban Reptiles
Encyclopedia
The Suburban Reptiles and The Scavengers
were the first punk
bands to form in New Zealand
.
students Simon Grigg
and Brett Salter in late 1976, with some encouragement from filmmaker David Blyth. Grigg and Salter had originally planned to form a jazz
band but Grigg was redirected by Blyth after he saw a live review of The Sex Pistols in the New Musical Express.
Grigg, seeing himself as the manager, explained the concept to Salter, who played the saxophone
, and other students, William Pendergrast, bass guitar
; Clare Elliot, (Salter's partner), vocals; Trish Scott, guitar
; Brian Nicholls, guitar
; and Kim Smith
, backing vocals, were invited to join. Grigg found a drummer
, an apprentice butcher and part time juggler, Des Edwards and the original lineup was complete.
This group only lasted the first few practices in a basement in Auckland
's inner suburb, Ponsonby
, before both Smith and Edwards departed. The first practices however produced a nucleus of a live set with a mix of covers (including songs from Roxy Music
, The Damned and The Modern Lovers
) and a number of originals.
The only live performance from this lineup was an aborted late night set in Auckland University's Student Quadrangle, with the power being pulled by University custodians after one song to a bemused crowd fresh from a concert by Th'Dudes
.
Having thought they were the only 'punks' in town, The Suburban Reptiles had a chance encounter in an Auckland pub, The Globe, that night with The Scavengers
, who likewise had believed they were the only ones.
A drummer was now needed and Salter and Elliot had a chance encounter with Mark Hough, who had been playing in a band called After Hours
, with Neil Finn
. Hough, an art student at Elam (Auckland University's Fine Arts School), was asked to join and the first serious lineup was formed. The members then, in the tradition of punk bands the world over, took stage names: Salter became, initially Jimmy Vinyl and later Jimmy Joy and Lino Clone; Elliot took Sally Slag but quickly became simply Zero (although to the band she was simply Zed); Nicholls was Shaun Anfrayd; Pendergrast naturally identified with his (highly strung) Buzz Adrenalin but opted for Billy Planet; Scott was Sissy Spunk; and Hough, though wanting Buzz, was Buster Stiggs. Grigg used the name Partizan Politik as a management coverall.
The first performances were at a variety of private parties in April 1977, but the first major public performance was in June when they, with The Scavengers
, and another newly found band, The Masochists, played a party put on by Grigg and David Blyth, for Blyth's forthcoming film, Angel Mine.
Over the next couple of months the band played regularly although Scott and Nicholls left, with The Scavengers' Johnny Volume playing from time to time before Pendergrast moved to guitar
and Wayne 'Bones Hillman
' Stevens, from The Masochists, joined on bass, the name Hillman coming from the brand of car he drove. Over the period the band was fired from a Catholic Boys School; was pursued and vilfied by a hungry media, repeatedly making the front pages of various newspapers; and were attacked by a vigilante mob at a student arts festival in Wellington
.
They also, during this period, recorded their first single, a double A side, single
(the first released in New Zealand
). The first recording sessions were nominally produced by Tim Finn
(although he slept through much of the session) at Harlequin Studios in Mt. Eden, and produced four tracks, at the time unreleased. The second session a few weeks later, produced by the band and Doug Rogers, re-recorded two of those songs, "Megaton" and "Desert Patrol", and these, after some gestation came out on Phonogram
's Vertigo
label in January 1978, selling about 500 copies at the time.
In late 1977 Grigg departed and Hough became the defacto manager, with the band taking on the role of a more conventional touring act thereafter. However, in mid 1978 Zero was arrested for swearing on stage at the Riverhead Rock Festival. The subsequent court case and her acquittal set a legal precedent as to what could be said and where. Over that period, both Tony Baldock and Rolland Killeen played bass for the band at various times.
For the second single, the band were pleased that former Split Enz
guitarist Phil Judd
became involved and offered to produce. Judd became more and more part of the band over the following months. His arrival caused a great deal of friction between the members who effectively divided into two camps, with Judd and Hough on one side and Pendegrast and Salter in the other, with Zero in the middle. Drug issues also caused problems. The band were intending to record "Mamba" as the next single but Judd decided to re-write, play all guitars and produce his old mate's song. Planet left them all to it, didn't attend any further recording sessions and effectively left the band. The resultant single, "Saturday Night Stay at Home", with Judd's soaring guitar and little else audible or recognisable of the Suburban Reptiles was an instant classic. A Student Radio survey in the early 2000s named it the greatest NZ single of all time. New Zealand will forever be denied what could well have been the definitive kiwi punk album which could've/would've/should've been recorded instead.
It was too late for the Suburban Reptiles however and ,at the premier of Angel Mine in October 1978, two bands both played under that name. The Hough / Judd led band re-emerged some months later as The Swingers
.
The Scavengers
The Scavengers were a New Zealand Punk Rock band, formed in 1977. In 1979 they moved to Melbourne, Australia, and became The Marching Girls in 1980.-History:...
were the first punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands to form in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
History
The Suburban Reptiles were first conceptualised by AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
students Simon Grigg
Simon Grigg
Simon Grigg is a New Zealand music businessman, writer, radio host, publisher, producer, DJ and archivist. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, he attended Palmerston North Boys High, Auckland Grammar and the University of Auckland.-Punk rock:...
and Brett Salter in late 1976, with some encouragement from filmmaker David Blyth. Grigg and Salter had originally planned to form a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
band but Grigg was redirected by Blyth after he saw a live review of The Sex Pistols in the New Musical Express.
Grigg, seeing himself as the manager, explained the concept to Salter, who played the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, and other students, William Pendergrast, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
; Clare Elliot, (Salter's partner), vocals; Trish Scott, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
; Brian Nicholls, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
; and Kim Smith
Kim Smith
Kimberly Katherine "Kim" Smith is an American fashion model and actress.-Career:Smith was born in Houston. A graduate of Permian High School in Odessa, Texas, she got her big break into modeling when she accompanied a friend to a Model Search of America contest...
, backing vocals, were invited to join. Grigg found a drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, an apprentice butcher and part time juggler, Des Edwards and the original lineup was complete.
This group only lasted the first few practices in a basement in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
's inner suburb, Ponsonby
Ponsonby
Ponsonby is a surname which may refer to:*Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede was a British politician, writer, and social activist...
, before both Smith and Edwards departed. The first practices however produced a nucleus of a live set with a mix of covers (including songs from Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
, The Damned and The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970–74 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks with drummer David Robinson and keyboardist Jerry Harrison...
) and a number of originals.
The only live performance from this lineup was an aborted late night set in Auckland University's Student Quadrangle, with the power being pulled by University custodians after one song to a bemused crowd fresh from a concert by Th'Dudes
Th'Dudes
Th' Dudes were a late 1970s / early 1980s pop/rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. Hits include "Walking in Light", "Right First Time", " Be Mine Tonight" and "Bliss".-Members:*Dave Dobbyn*Ian Morris *Peter Urlich...
.
Having thought they were the only 'punks' in town, The Suburban Reptiles had a chance encounter in an Auckland pub, The Globe, that night with The Scavengers
The Scavengers
The Scavengers were a New Zealand Punk Rock band, formed in 1977. In 1979 they moved to Melbourne, Australia, and became The Marching Girls in 1980.-History:...
, who likewise had believed they were the only ones.
A drummer was now needed and Salter and Elliot had a chance encounter with Mark Hough, who had been playing in a band called After Hours
After Hours
- Television and film :* After Hours , a 1985 movie directed by Martin Scorsese* After Hours , a 1953 Canadian television series* After Hours , a 2007 television drama broadcasted in Singapore...
, with Neil Finn
Neil Finn
Neil Mullane Finn, OBE is a New Zealand Pop recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House...
. Hough, an art student at Elam (Auckland University's Fine Arts School), was asked to join and the first serious lineup was formed. The members then, in the tradition of punk bands the world over, took stage names: Salter became, initially Jimmy Vinyl and later Jimmy Joy and Lino Clone; Elliot took Sally Slag but quickly became simply Zero (although to the band she was simply Zed); Nicholls was Shaun Anfrayd; Pendergrast naturally identified with his (highly strung) Buzz Adrenalin but opted for Billy Planet; Scott was Sissy Spunk; and Hough, though wanting Buzz, was Buster Stiggs. Grigg used the name Partizan Politik as a management coverall.
The first performances were at a variety of private parties in April 1977, but the first major public performance was in June when they, with The Scavengers
The Scavengers
The Scavengers were a New Zealand Punk Rock band, formed in 1977. In 1979 they moved to Melbourne, Australia, and became The Marching Girls in 1980.-History:...
, and another newly found band, The Masochists, played a party put on by Grigg and David Blyth, for Blyth's forthcoming film, Angel Mine.
Over the next couple of months the band played regularly although Scott and Nicholls left, with The Scavengers' Johnny Volume playing from time to time before Pendergrast moved to guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and Wayne 'Bones Hillman
Bones Hillman
Bones Hillman is a New Zealand musician. He played bass guitar in his first band The Masochists, an early New Zealand punk act, formed with friends from the Auckland suburb of Avondale . In late 1977 he joined the Suburban Reptiles and appeared on their first single, "Megaton"...
' Stevens, from The Masochists, joined on bass, the name Hillman coming from the brand of car he drove. Over the period the band was fired from a Catholic Boys School; was pursued and vilfied by a hungry media, repeatedly making the front pages of various newspapers; and were attacked by a vigilante mob at a student arts festival in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
.
They also, during this period, recorded their first single, a double A side, single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
(the first released in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
). The first recording sessions were nominally produced by Tim Finn
Tim Finn
Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
(although he slept through much of the session) at Harlequin Studios in Mt. Eden, and produced four tracks, at the time unreleased. The second session a few weeks later, produced by the band and Doug Rogers, re-recorded two of those songs, "Megaton" and "Desert Patrol", and these, after some gestation came out on Phonogram
Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records was started in 1962 as a joint venture between Philips Records and Deutsche Grammophon. In 1972, Phonogram was merged with Polydor Records into PolyGram....
's Vertigo
Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records today is a UK-based record label operated by Universal Music UK.-History:Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the late 1960s for its record sub-label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI with Harvest Records and Decca Records with Deram...
label in January 1978, selling about 500 copies at the time.
In late 1977 Grigg departed and Hough became the defacto manager, with the band taking on the role of a more conventional touring act thereafter. However, in mid 1978 Zero was arrested for swearing on stage at the Riverhead Rock Festival. The subsequent court case and her acquittal set a legal precedent as to what could be said and where. Over that period, both Tony Baldock and Rolland Killeen played bass for the band at various times.
For the second single, the band were pleased that former Split Enz
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...
guitarist Phil Judd
Phil Judd
Philip Judd is a New Zealand singer-songwriter known for being one of the founders of the bands Split Enz and The Swingers.-Split Enz:...
became involved and offered to produce. Judd became more and more part of the band over the following months. His arrival caused a great deal of friction between the members who effectively divided into two camps, with Judd and Hough on one side and Pendegrast and Salter in the other, with Zero in the middle. Drug issues also caused problems. The band were intending to record "Mamba" as the next single but Judd decided to re-write, play all guitars and produce his old mate's song. Planet left them all to it, didn't attend any further recording sessions and effectively left the band. The resultant single, "Saturday Night Stay at Home", with Judd's soaring guitar and little else audible or recognisable of the Suburban Reptiles was an instant classic. A Student Radio survey in the early 2000s named it the greatest NZ single of all time. New Zealand will forever be denied what could well have been the definitive kiwi punk album which could've/would've/should've been recorded instead.
It was too late for the Suburban Reptiles however and ,at the premier of Angel Mine in October 1978, two bands both played under that name. The Hough / Judd led band re-emerged some months later as The Swingers
The Swingers
The Swingers were a New Zealand rock band. Formed out of the remnants of The Suburban Reptiles, the founding members were Phil Judd , Wayne Stevens , and Mark Hough . Formed in 1979, the band released the single "One Good Reason" which was a top 20 hit in New Zealand...
.
Singles
| Date | Label | Cat. Number | Tracks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/2/1978 | Vertigo | 6036 920 | "Megaton" / "Desert Patrol" |
| 8/1978 | Vertigo | 6036 924 | "Saturday Night Stay At Home" / "45 Single" |
Tracks on compilations
- "Saturday Night Stay At Home" on Hits and Myths (1982)
- "Saturday Night Stay At Home", "Megaton", and "Coup d'État" on AK79AK79AK79 is a compilation album of tracks by punk bands active in Auckland, New Zealand, in the late 1970s. The album was compiled by Bryan Staff, with artwork from Terence Hogan, and was released by Ripper Records in 1979 - just in time for Xmas. Bands featured on the original compilation include The...
Reissue (1992) - "Saturday Night Stay At Home" on Hate Your Neighbours Vol.1 (1997)
- "45 Single" on Move To Riot (2002)
- "Saturday Night Stay At Home" on Give It a WhirlGive It a WhirlGive It A Whirl: The Soundtrack from the Major Television Series is a compilation album released in 2003 by recording label, Propeller Records for the six-part New Zealand Documentary Give It A Whirl. The Documentary, released in 2003, traced the development of New Zealand music from the 50's...
(2003)