Judas Embrace 1966-1968

Ross Grenfell is to blame for drawing me into the music sub-culture present in Invercargill in the late 1960’s. Ross and I both started work at the Public Trust Office in Don St around the same time and as a consequence got on famously. Ross was also the drummer for Judas Embrace so it wasn’t too long before I started hanging out with the band when they played the various dance venues in and around Invercargill. Because I had a camera, I was given the lofty title of Publicity Manager tasked with promoting the band through the local music press. Judas Embrace already had a roadie so they were well ahead of their time.



“Judas Embrace – 1966-1968 (Soul)
Band Members
Brian Lamb – Lead Guitar & Vocals
Ross Grenfell – Drums
Alun Jones – Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Vocals
John Kennedy – Bass Guitar, Saxophone, Vocals


This popular band was innovative and worked hard on its image and presentation. Judas Embrace considered their look as important as their music. They wore mod-period Small Faces- style tailor-made stage clothes, which were radical for Invercargill at the time.


They played at the Otautau Hullabaloo, YMCA Cabaret, RSA and Waverley Church hall (dances) and once backed the teen idol and C’mon TV show resident Mr Lee Grant.


Judas Embrace performed at the Battle of the Bands in 1967. Their repertoire included such songs as Tin Soldier, Mustang Sally, Fox on the Run and Land of 1000 Dances.


Brian Lamb has been a professional singer-songwriter in Australia since leaving Invercargill.”

Source: Page 100 45 South in Concert

Judas Embrace was a dapper band which is not surprising since Brian Lamb did the in-shop display work Abraham Wachner (a Dees St shoe shop) and was meticulous about detail. Lamb did most of the vocals although occasionally John Kennedy put down his bass guitar to take the microphone.

The photo above ended up in the local weekend newspaper circa 1967/68 with the following caption:

“Judas Embrace vocalist John Kennedy raving it up on stage at St Mary’s, Gore last weekend. In the background is bass player and organist Alun Jones. The Judas Embrace with Brian Lamb on lead guitar and Ross Grenfell on drums are fast making an impact on the Southland pop scene after their first appearance at the beginning of the year. They feature a polished style and stage presentation seldom seen with other local groups.”



2011 Left or Right Garden Club Wellington 20 Jan

Left or Right are an Invercargill/Dunedin band that is currently trekking around the country on its Summer Buzz Tour. The band lists its style of music as Blues/Psychedelic/Southern Rock which is an interesting mix.


The band is a three piece comprised of:
Callum Hampton - Guitar, Trumpet, Melodica, Vocals
Steve Marshall - Bass Guitar, Vocals
Metua Marama - Drums, Vocals

On the road with them is a technical crew of one that occasionally blows out to two.

According to page 108 of 45 South In Concert the band were originally called Lefty and Righty and played mostly acoustic material. Prior to that members of Lefty and Right were involved with a school band called No Fat Chicks, but we won’t go there.

The Summer Buzz tour is a long one. The first show was in Onekaka on 29 December and the last show will be in Dunedin on 12 March. The itinerary involves a lot of back track travel and some of the places to be visited are quite small communities. The band have a tour blog which can be read here: click here

In Wellington Left or Right played at the Garden Club which is located on Dixon St in the CBD. The venue was the location of the original Wellington Repertory Theatre but these days is a bar/music complex.


The show was supposed to start off at 9.00pm but it was probably closer to 11pm before the support act Force Fields got going. Left or Right played a relatively short set which included material from their “Nuggety” LP. Crowd attendance was low which will be a disappointment to the band but perhaps not surprising considering it was a coolish Thursday night and some potential punters were probably in Auckland for the Big Day Out.


I’m no music reviewer so you if you want to hear what they sound like the best place to go is the band’s Myspace site click here . For those that wish or need to use their imagination about they sound like the following description from the interwebby might be helpful;

"Left or Right perform a chunky mixture of alternative spacey roots, sonic jazz & fuzzy rock/blues. Recent live performances have taken an experimental, psychedelic, noise rock approach and the group continues to draw inspiration from retro/vintage acts of the late 60's and early 70's."


Add to what I thought was a strong reggae undertone and you might have it.

Left or Right are a band that you need to hear more than once and given that it has a propensity for extensive touring then the opportunity to do this is likely to present itself.

For more Garden Club photos click here

And So It Begins

And so it begins.  This blog has been primarily set up to let me publish some of the Invercargill band photos that I took many decades ago.  The blog is late in coming as I promised years ago to several people that I would set it up.

The words No Kissing, Cuddling or Close embracing are from a wall sign displayed at the Basement dances held once a month at the Waverly Church. 

In today’s environment the words are hilarious but at the time they were taken quite seriously by church administrators always on the look out for teenagers slipping into sin.

Using the words as the blog header was suggested by Kris Lockett after we got together in Wellington for coffee and to catch up on the gossip and reminisce about the good old days in Invercargill.

Feedback is welcome from anybody who remembers the music scene in Invercargill in the late 60’s and 70’s.

Apart from old photos and stuff I might also put up more recent material if it takes my fancy,