told what to do by the megaton / so you might as well die while you're having fun........

The Suburban Reptiles, (along with The Scavengers), were the first 70s styled punk band in New Zealand.

By late 1976 the revolution in style that blew up in the first part of the decade, firstly in New York, and then in London (from where it went around the world) had touched, however slightly, Auckland, New Zealand.

Whilst the rest of the country was blissfully unaware the revolution independently threw up the two bands. The difference between the two was a matter of approach. Almost from the start, the Reptiles repertoire was almost wholly original.

The other point of difference was the stance. While the Scavs were working class (-ish), the Reptiles were more art school. Since both bands came out of tertiary art institutions, and probably came from similar backgrounds, quite middle class, this was, in both cases, a conscious stance. Of course, the Scavs could actually play their instruments too (especially Des who was quite a powerhouse)......but, hey, let's face it, lack of musical ability never held a punk band back.

living out of a suitcase / life at a breakneck speed...

After original drummer Des Edwards left to become a juggler, he was replaced by Buster Stiggs (Mark Hough) (formerly in After Hours with Neil Finn). Jimmy had found him in Auckland's Queen St. The original guitarists Sissy Spunk( Trish Scott) and Shaun Anfrayd (Brian Nicholls) quit a couple of months later leaving Buster on drums, Zero (Clare Elliot) as vocalist, Jimmy Joy on sax and occasional vocal, and Billy Planet (Will Pendergrast) on both bass and guitar. This was the core of the band, with various add-ons including Johnny Volume from the Scavengers on guitar; and Bones (the Hillman came from his car and I needed a surname for the first bio I wrote) on bass. As co-founder, I designated myself manager, simply because I couldn't play an instrument, although I hit the drums for two rehearsals. This was more a symbolic title as I had no experience things were fairly haphazard at best to start with.

The first gigs, often using gear borrowed from Split Enz (who were unaware of the loan, being in the UK), were interesting. We got thrown out of the Auckland University Quad after trying to crash a gig by Th'Dudes (at my friend, and Dudes' singer, Peter Urlich's insistence); borrowed a van and driver from the NZ Anarchist society which was impounded by the cops when the driver refused to obey street signs; fired from a Catholic Boys School ball after one song-something to do with swastikas, not knowing Deep Purple tunes (the kids were chanting for Smoke On The Water, the band started a song with the riff then went into Coup d'etat), me booking them the gig by telling Benny Levin, the legandary 60s promoter, they were an "urban blues" band, and calling Brother Humphries a fascist; sold out the University's Maidment Theatre; featured in media 'fashion' shoots, and played the Elam Art School Ball (they got it!). Film survives of the last and is currently being restored by the NZ Film Archives.

Zero & Jimmy, Jan 78

The band reduced THE fashionable party of the year, who were dying to experience 'punk rock', from five hundred to five in three songs as the others left in disgust; and, with the Scavengers and Masochists had a capacity crowd at the Uni Cafe, where Billy Planet emptied the cafe's full rubbish bags over the crowd.

By August 1977 there were still less than thirty of us in Auckland, although the second generation punks, the likes of Kerry Buchanan and John No-One, were starting to appear at gigs like Disco D'Oras' in Newton Road, and Crofts in Airedale Street.

Even so, walking down Queen Street, whilst not threatening, was an experience. I guess it was like a private member's club in those days. By October 1977 it had started to grow and by the end of the year there were hundreds of so-called 'punks' in Auckland.

The 'punk rock horror' angle got the band extensive coverage in various Sunday papers time and time again (we managed to get on the front of three newspapers in one day once including a story about strangling seagulls (as with most of it, all fiction of course..we were a placid arty bunch). They'd accept anything we feed them as the bio on these pages shows (much of it was printed verbatim by an Auckland tabloid).

On a nightmare trip to Wellington, for the rather backward Students Arts Festival at Victoria, in August 1977 (if we thought Auckland was conservative, Wellington made it seem like NYC), with The Scavengers, after a vigilante posse was formed to run us all out of the capital, the bands featured on the front page of a daily there every day for a week.

Elvis had just died and I managed to get them a gig at a memorial gig, which soon erupted into a brawl when Billy announced on stage that his death was timely.

We recorded our first demos at Harlequin Studios in Mt. Eden in an all night session in August nominally produced by Tim Finn (although he was asleep for much of it). Two tracks from that session are on AK79 and the 2004 Raw Power EP.

In late 1977 The Suburban Reptiles were signed by Phonogram NZ. The A&R guy (who had quite a thing for Zero...actually he sweated profusely in her company and couldn't take his eyes off her chest rather offensively) suggested that they should rush out covers English punk hits (Boomtown Rats etc), but this, thank god, never happened.

I insisted that they were put on the Vertigo label, just so I could see the iconic 'hippie' Roger Dean label on a punk record. Silly but..

The second was the glorious Saturday Night Stay at Home b/w 45 Single, produced by former Split Enzer, Phil Judd, who soon joined the band. To my mind Saturday Night remains one of the greatest bits of 7" vinyl released in NZ, and indeed one of the best things to come out of the global punk revolution. Judd didn't ever come close to it in The Swingers.

But his personality, combined with other factors, effectively destroyed the band. Indeed, at the Angel Mine premiere in Auckland's Civic Theatre, two versions of The Suburban Reptiles played, one with Buster, Zero and Judd, and one with Billy & Jimmy. In the meantime, the band had managed to tour New Zealand several times; Zero had been arrested for saying 'fuck' on stage (and acquitted, which is now a NZ legal precedent), and become nationally notorious.

Taking time off from the band, Zero also toured NZ as a cast member of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Gary Glitter and appeared on the cast album.

Another Auckland Star shot, in Jean Batten Pl., Auckland

An album was partially recorded at Stebbings and Mandrill but the tapes have long since walked - the story goes that after the Phil Judd debacle, Billy wiped them. However, Billy claimed in 2004 he had discovered these again or at least copies. In late 1979 the remnants mutated into The Swingers. Bones ended up later in Midnight Oil, Buster in The Models.

Buster provided most of the graphics for the band. After January 1978 he gave the band much of its direction and was its driving force, something which caused increasing friction with the other three core members. However its doubtful that without his drive the band would've survived as long as it did and had the influence it did on NZ rock'n'roll.

A poll on student radio in 2001 named Saturday Night as the best NZ single ever.

The Singles

Megaton (Planet) Desert Patrol (Stiggs) recorded at Harlequin Studios, October, 1977. Released Feb 6, 1978 on Partisan Politik / Vertigo 12" (first 12" released in NZ) 6036 920. Produced by the band and Doug Harlequin (aka Doug Rogers).

Saturday Night Stay At Home (Stiggs) 45 Single (Stiggs) recorded at Mandrill Studios 1978. Released on Vertigo 7", 6036 924, August 1978. Produced by Phil Judd.

Miscellany

Propeller was to release a four track EP in 1980 but it didn't appear. It included the two A sides and two unreleased tracks. It even had a cat number (rep3) but got lost in the rush somehow

Both A sides plus the previously unreleased Coup D'etat (from the Finn Session) are on the Propeller re-release of AK79 (rev 503) 1994, via Flying Nun. The Megaton track on Ak79, however, is a 1993 remix of the take from the earlier Tim Finn session (which is not the session that the single came from) from the 4 track tape, by Simon Grigg, as the orginal 2 track single master is missing.

Saturday Night appears on the Propeller compilation Give it a Whirl (rev504) 2003, and on John Baker's AK 79 vinyl edition in 2008.

A limited edition vinyl 7" release of Desert Patrol / Coup D'etat plus the unreleased Razor Smile (from the Finn sesion) and Rosie was released in NZ (on pink vinyl no less). Raw Power (RP 009) 2004. The version of Rosie is the first part of the track from Angel Mine taken from a cassette in I own. The second, extended instrumental part is missing although it can be heard in the film. The first copies of the single were on pink vinyl, and came with badges.

45 Single is on Simon Kay's 2002 compilation Move to Riot. Raw Power (RP 008) 2002

Saturday Night Stay at Home has turned up on a variety of compilations both authorised and unauthorised including Hits and Myths (CBS 1981) and John Baker's collections.

A Copy of Saturday Night was sold online by on Ebay for US$518 in October, 2008. Megaton (second edition..white Vertigo label) went on eBay for US$470 in 2007.