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The Album
Widely released in early 1980, despite its title (although 250 copies were sold to one Auckland store in December 1979 – see below), AK79 is the defining release of the thriving Auckland punk scene of the late seventies.
At the time of its release, AK79 was effectivley a timely document of a scene that had passed, that had more or less moved as punk turned into post-punk and the Auckland punks who had, in increasing numbers filled a similarly increasing number of venues, many short-lived, over the past couple of years moved on. The music changed and the venues disappeared under the weight of the inevitable violence the now followed punk and evolving tastes. Much as it did all over the planet. And as such AK79's release was timely.
The Suburban Reptiles (with Phil Judd on right, and Des Hefner drumming).
Saturday Night Stay at Home video shoot at the Shortland Street studios of TVNZ.
The CD reissue in 1993 was an attempt to expand that record to cover a wider overview of that scene and create a historical record of a very important and now distant era, in Auckland city.
Terry Hogan's original sleeve for Ripper's Proud
Scum 45.
The musical rupture that hit the Northern Hemisphere in 1976 filtered slowly down to New Zealand through the fog of the the country's distance which was accentuated by a state enforced isolation. Much of that history is covered here and elsewhere, including the liner notes of the CD and vinyl reissue of this album, plus wonderful sites like Mysterex.
The Original Release
The album's history begins in 1978 when Bryan Staff, a radio DJ on an Auckland commercial station 1ZM, first started to show an interest in the dozens of new bands playing around the Auckland area.
The bands were, by mid 1978, centred around a new Auckland venue, Zwines, housed in a 120 year old stone building off Auckland's Durham Lane. The building had a quite a history. It was – so the (fictional) story went – Auckland's first jail, and in the sixties and early seventies it was a nightclub where some of the more legendary bands in Auckland's rock'n'roll history had played. In the early to mid 1970s it was Grandpas & Granny's (perhaps the worst rock club name ever?) owned by, amongst others, the great Tommy Adderley, who was at the time, Auckland rock royalty.
However, by the end of 1977 it was largely derelict. In the early months of 1978 it was – and the word should be applied very loosely – refurbished as Zwines, and became Auckland's second dedicated punk venue (the first, Hugh Lynn's Diamond Dogs in Queen Street, was short lived).
Jonathan Jamrag with Proud Scum @ Rock HQ.
Photo: Anthony Phelps
Zwines became a focal point for the growing scene, with The Scavengers playing there regularly and residencies being given to the first of the second generation punk bands, such as Rooter (soon to be The Terrorways).
In their wake there were countless bands formed – names like Get Smart, The Aliens, The Idle Idols, The Mucky Pups, The Rednecks, The Stimulators and so on. Some mutated into others, all cross bred with each other and the scene grew hugely as the kids flowed in from the 'burbs.
In 1978 New Zealand had virtually no local recording industry. True, a few bands were recorded by the majors, but mostly they were a fairly safe and sad bunch with the energy and innovation of the 1960s and early to mid-70s a distant memory, and many are best forgotten. Only Zodiac in Auckland were recording what could be called rock 'n' roll. Staff came up with the idea of asking bands to bring in tapes to the station he was working at, this then encouraging a few of these punk acts to record.
Chris Knox with The Enemy at the State Theatre, October 1978
Photo: Anthony Phelps
From there he took the concept one step further. He decided to compile an album of some of these acts, using whatever funds he could scrape together. Some acts provided their own recordings (such as The Swingers), some worked on Radio NZ downtime, some at Mascot after Staff worked out a cheap rate there. The idea was that whatever return came from the album would go towards singles by the bands.
To this end, Bryan formed a label, Ripper Records.
Terrorways @ Zwines.
Photo: Murray Cammick
Over the next few months the album came together and a name – AK79 – and a sleeve, designed by Terence Hogan, was applied to it, with the now famed image (of one of The Terrorways, Dean Martelli) taken by Anthony Phelps.
The only band who really didn't fit were The Swingers, led by Phil Judd, who made it on to the vinyl by virtue of the fact that they were now signed to Ripper via a Mike Chunn connection.
The stumbling block was, however, pressing and finding the funds to pay for 250 copies, now being demanded by Ode Records, who had arranged pressing. Enter The Record Warehouse, an Auckland based record chain, whose Roger King agreed to take all 250 and pay in advance for them. That allowed Staff to, if not cover all his costs, at least get the records in the store.
And so it was as the new decade turned, AK79 hit the shelves.
And left the shelves – within a few days they were all gone. Two hundred and fifty more were pressed in early 1980 and sold to stores other than Record Warehouse, followed by another similar run a month or two later.
And that was it for a time, until Bryan moved his label's distribution to CBS in late 1980. They repressed the album early in 1981, and even did a now very rare cassette edition. You can tell the CBS pressings by the copyright line at the bottom of the label (the first copies didn't have it).
However by the end of 1982, Ripper was no longer with CBS (Bryan had moved to Wellington and the record was deleted) and the album was no longer available. Total sales well under 2000 copies.
Over the next few years it became harder and harder to get and attained an almost mystical status, selling for big bucks around the world.
John "Atrocity" Jenkins, Windsor Castle, Auckland, 1979.
Photo: Sara Leigh Lewis
The Reissue
About 1990 Bryan Staff passed all the Ripper masters to Flying Nun for safekeeping, but little was done with any of them immediately.
Prior to that I'd approached Bryan about a CD version but he was disinterested feeling that album had done it's dash. I did a deal to acquire the rights and did so. Then, in 1992 I approached Flying Nun's Roger Shepherd and suggested that perhaps we should look at this CD reissue of AK79, although we should use the opportunity to expand it – to turn one of the few releases from the NZ punk scene into a document of the times.
With that wider objective in mind, and having agreed that the album would be a joint release between my Propeller label and Roger's Flying Nun, we went ahead at full speed. I compiled what I though would be an appropriate tracklisting, using a bunch of songs from Propeller and Ripper many of which were unobtainable.
There was a little duplication with my Bigger Than Both of Us collection, but that too was out of print at the time. There were a few unreleased tracks too, plus some singles, such as the Suburban Reptiles' debut which had never made it to LP or CD before. I spent the next few months tracking down masters and photos before we finalised a track listing.
The Terrorways @ The Globe.
Photo: Murray Cammick
I remastered the collection (and mixed an unreleased Suburban Reptiles track, and their debut single, Megaton which now existed only on an unmixed 4 track) at Airforce Studios in 1993 with Luke Tomes. Oddly, we discovered that it was, and always has been, in mono!
The whole thing was repackaged, around Terry's original artwork, by Andrew B White at Revolver with extensive new liner notes from myself and Kerry Buchanan, the original drummer from Rooter, plus Bryan Staff.
It was released early in 1994.
Thus, the world now had AK79, the CD – the defining collection of the Auckland punk scene – a hugely important scene that changed the city and the music that has been made in it since. It was also the album that was ground zero for, and kickstarted the whole indie label era in NZ, one that continues today.
It's a collection which I'm not only quite proud of, but also one that stands up to repeated listening some three or more decades after it was all recorded.
The album ties up an era in Auckland: the punk era which completely changed popular music in NZ thereafter and forever, although one which existed for just a very brief moment, from early 1977 through to late 1979. Anything calling itself Auckland punk after that date really had little to do with this album and the acts and scene it represents.
Toy Love @ Zwines
Photographer unknown
Rawly recorded, AK79 was musically quite brilliant in (many) places and defintive, and stands as a tribute, not only to the often extraordinary and inspiring bands who played in the scene, but also to the vision of Bryan Staff, without whom much of this music and history would have been lost.
AK79, the 1994 CD tracklisting, was was reissued in 2019 on Ripper Records double LP (and CD) (2RPR1) via Propeller / Flying Nun with a limited red edition. This is the first time the CD version has been on vinykl and the first time AK79 has been officially on vinyl since the early 1980s.
The 2008 double vinyl version with a red cover was unofficial and unlicensed. Also completely unauthorised is the use of tracks on Spotify and other digital media by an Australian company called Blue Pie. They add tracks to various odd punk collections and have put the whole of AK79 online as something called The Independents, not only pirating the tracks but also the inner sleeve. The artists have never seen a cent from these digital bootlegs and complaints to Spotify in the past have seen these taken down and then resubmitted.
The extended tracklisting:
- Suburban Reptiles: Megaton (original release Partisan Politik / Vertigo 12" 6036 920, Jan 1978)
- The first post 76 punk single released in NZ and the first 12" single released in NZ. Recorded Sept 77 at the original Harlequin, Mt Eden Rd. Produced by Doug Rogers (credited as Doug Harlequin) and Suburban Reptiles. Mixed for CD by Simon Grigg (the mixed master is missing). First CD issue.
Tina & Craig (Aliens) @ The Windsor Castle, 1979
Photo: Sara Leigh Lewis
- Suburban Reptiles: Coup D'Etat (previously unreleased)
- Recorded Sept 77 as a demo at Harlequin Studios with Doug Rogers and Tim Finn, previously unreleased. Mixed in 1992 by Simon Grigg.
- The Scavengers: Routine (previously unreleased)
- Recorded as a single with Mike Lesbian on vocals, Jan 78. Planned for issue on Polydor 45 but never released.
- The Scavengers: Mysterex (original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- Recorded at Mascot Studios mid 78. Produced by the band.
- The Terrorways: Never Been to Borstal (original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- Recorded at Mascot early 1979. Produced by the band.
- Proud Scum: I am a Rabbit (original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- Recorded at Harlequin Studios late 1979. Produced by the band. The original 1994 CD credit is incorrect. Alistair (Rabbit) Duguid wrote this, not Jonathan Jamrag. Fixed in 2019.
- The Scavengers: True Love (original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- Recorded as Mysterex. Features Des on the talking bit.
- Proud Scum: Suicide(original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- Recorded as with I am A Rabbit, but written by John "Atrocity" Jenkins.
Johnny Volume / Scavengers @ Zwines
Photo: Murray Cammick
- The Terrorways: She's a Mod (original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- The old Ray Columbus tune of course. A big stage favourite. Recording details as Borstal
- The Swingers: Certain Sound (original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- The band that didn't quite fit the orginal album. Produced by Phil Judd and recorded mid 79 at Mascot.
- The Primmers: Funny Story (original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- Recorded by the band at Harlequin April 79.
- Toy Love: Squeeze (original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- Produced by the band at Mascot Studios mid 79
- The Swingers: Baby (original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- Recording as with Certain Sound.
Photo: Sara Leigh Lewis
- The Primmers: You're Gonna Get Done (original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- Recording as with Funny Story. A story of Auckland street violence and of its time.
- Toy Love: The Toy Love Song (original release on AK79 vinyl, Ripper RPR1, December 1979)
- Recorded at the same sessions as Squeeze.
- Suburban Reptiles: Saturday Night Stay at Home (original release Vertigo 7" 6036 924, August 1978)
- Their second single, recorded at Mandrill, April / June 78. Released Sept 78. Produced by Phil Judd.
- Proud Scum: Suicide2 (original release on Ripper 7" RIP2, April 1980)
- Produced at Mascot late 79 by Bryan Staff & Mike Chunn.
- The Terrorways: Short Haired Rock'n'roll (original release on Ripper 7" RIP2, April 1980)
- Produced at Mascot mid 79 by Bryan Staff & the band.
Photo: Sara Leigh Lewis
- Features: City Scenes (original release Propeller 7" REV 1, June 1980)
- Produced April 1980 at Mascot, by the band, Simon Alexander (uncredited on the single sleeve) and Steve Crane.
- The Spelling Mistakes: Feel So Good (original release Propeller 7" REV 2, June 1980)
- Produced at Mascot, May 1980 by Fane Flaws.
- Marching Girls: First In Line (original NZ release on Propeller 7" REV4, August 1980)
- The CD says this had UK release on Postcard - not true, it was the POP:AURAL label. produced in Melbourne late 79 by the band.
- Toy Love: Frogs (previously unreleased in NZ)
- Recorded at the same sessions as above Toy Love tracks. Only prior release on a US Bomp Records collection, 1980.
- Features: Victim (original release Propeller 12" REV 6, December 1980)
- Off their second single, recorded at Harlequin by the band with Simon Alexander.
- The Spelling Mistakes: Hate Me, Hate Me (original release Propeller 7" REV 2, June 1980)
- Produced in May 1980 at Mascot, by Barry Jenkin.
John Atrocity, 1979.
Photo: Sara Leigh Lewis
- Marching Girls: True Love (original NZ release on Propeller 7" REV4, August 1980)
- Recording as True Love.
