"The grandfathers of Kiwi punk will hit the limelight once more in a new rockumentary. Jamie Howells-Cosson speaks with the director about his journey to capture one of the south's wildest bands.
Getting thrown out of a Bible class dance for being too loud was probably a sign of things to come.
That
Put together a hard-rockin' band and a friendship with the biker gang the Antarctic Angels, things were always bound to get loud, large and messy.
The band and the bikers have been captured in a rockumentary by producer Simon Ogston, of Bellbird Pictures.
Antarctic Angels and the Unknown Blues is the result of two years of interviews.
Ogston stumbled upon the Unknown Blues when working on another documentary called Rumble and Bang about the
When Ogston mentioned The Chants had a reputation as rock and roll hellraisers, he was told to check out the Unknown Blues.
He first met the southern band when he filmed their partial reunion gig at the Appleby Tavern, Invercargill, in 2010.
He started interviews, compiled footage and delved into the past, when the band was regarded as one of Invercargill's notorious live acts in the 1960s.
"The Unknown Blues were the worst-behaved band in
The band played between 1965 and 1970.
The original lineup was Dave Hogan (vocals, harmonica), Phil Sharman (drums), Bari Fitzgerald (rhythm guitar), John Hancock on bass and Vaughan McKay (lead guitar). Sharman later left and was replaced by Keith Mason on drums.
As for the Antarctic Angels, they were not an official chapter of the Hells Angels. Regarded as an informal and not so organised group, they were formed and led by Roy Reid.
The Angels used to ride their bikes to the Blues' gigs in rural Southland.
The band had a recording session with Viking Records, but they were never released commercially.
In 1969 the band was second in Invercargill's
Most of them now live in
The band was often billed as "Invercargill's wildest group" on its gig posters.
Blues vocalist Dave Hogan said the band's notoriety gave them a selling point.
They played at the Agriculture Hall in
"Invercargill in [the] 1960s was a great place to be a teenager and in a rock and roll band.
"I would not trade that experience for anything. I regret nothing and apologise to no-one. Every member of the band is a life-long friend and that is a really big thing," he said.
45 South In Concert author Neil McKelvie described the band as wild, unruly and staunchly alternative. In the Southland Musicians Club history book, McKelvie says, "They were the Rolling Stones bad boys to every other bright-eyed Invercargill Beatles pop group".
Included in the rockumentary is footage of the band's 2011 reunion gig with the full lineup of original members, which they played when Hogan was inducted into the Southland Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.
Ogston filmed the gig, which was to be the last time the band played together.
Immersing himself in the past was the enjoyable part of the job, Ogston said.
He found a lot of old photographs, and a lot of his favourite pictures connected to the band are at the Southland Musicians Club.
Ogston said a favourite photo was of Antarctic Angels leader Roy Reid racing down
Another that caught his attention was Reid sitting on a horse in a suburban setting in "some kind of paramilitary jacket".
Another is of Reid playing a guitar with a Maltese cross stuck to it and with a large swastika in the background.
Ogston said Reid also occasionally played rhythm guitar for the band.
Reid was "not a Nazi, but not to be f***** with", Ogston said.
The motorcycle gangs in the 1960s and 70s were different to what they were today, Ogston said.
There was far fewer drugs and violence involved, in the days of free love and flower power.
"There were never any large or small scale brawls at our gigs," Hogan said. "Roy Reid and Barrie Neilson, of the Antarctic Angels, were often our bouncers and they knew how to take care of business."
Ogston calls the band the "grandfathers of kiwi punk".
This claim is backed up by Chris Knox, of 1980s Dunedin-based punk rock band The Enemy and later of Toy Love, who cited the Unknown Blues as an influence, Hogan said.
The reunion gig last year in Invercargill is one of his favourites.
The rockumentary premiered at the Appleby Tavern last month."
Source: stuff.co.nz
