2013 Southland Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Sat 5 Oct

Left to right, Paul Rosel, Tony Ross' son. Tony Ross Murray Burns, Maaki Goodwilie, Neil Blue

I  arrived at the Working Men's Club a few minutes past 7.00pm expecting to be early. To my surprise the place was already mostly full with the first part of the programme already started. Apparently the doors opened at 6.00pm and the locals were not slow getting in early to claim their tables.

First up was the formal induction ceremony for those Southland musicians recognised for their contribution to the music industry over the decades. The inductees were:

Keith Walker (Drummer/Vocalist)
Bands: Three Company, Pickwick, Southern Dixie

Peter Miller (Drummer)
Bands: Six Farthings, Midnight Cruise, Transition

Peter Chilton (Drummer)
Bands: Tarbet, Airstrike, Kasmsha, Eighties Band

Murray Burns (Keyboardist, Bass-Guitarist, Songwriter, Producer)
Bands: Edge, Storm, Watchdog (ChCh), Red Rose, Mi-Sex

After the formal part of the programme was over the evening was set aside for live performances by those bands associated with each of the inductees. These are often one-off and rare performances.

Highlights included the great harmony vocals of Edge, the excellent guitar work from Dave Baker and Tony Ross' son, and experiencing for the first time the exceptional stage personality of Neil Chilton. This guy is an accomplished and polished entertainer.

The bands playing were:

Southern Dixie
Transition (with a tribute to Elvis the Pelvis)
Edge
Baker Boys/Thunderbirds

The last set of the night was a jam session involving such notables as Garry McNatty, Murray Burns, Dave Gillies, and Roger McLachlan. A rare combination indeed.

The best part of the night was being reacquainted with the characters from the past, including:

Tim Snow (Strobe Lightshow Luminary)
David Clarke (Southern Intellectual)
Allan Timmins (Watchdog Road Manager)
Ken Jones (Co-Creator of the outrageous Flog Balls)
Jackie Cooper

I took a bunch of photos throughout the evening using my Canon 1D Mark IV. I prefer the Mark II but because of its low light capability it seemed better to include this in my kit. I also had a Canon 40-70mm L/2.8, a Canon 85mm f/1.8, Sigma 16mm f/2.8 and a Canon 24mm Lf/1.4. As it turned out lighting was not an issue in fact some of my early shots were over-exposed.

The lighting for the show was provided by Tony Ross of Remarkable Audio and included some FOH Strand Pattern 23's which at 500 watt each are useful at close range.

The sound and mixing system was provided by Taff Sound which is the Invercargill sound production company owned by well known local musician Taffy Hewton.

2013 Murray Burns to Be Inducted Into the Southland Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame

The Southland Musicians Club recently announced the lineup for the 2013 Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame show.  This will include the induction of Murray Burns and a reunion performance of the Edge one of the bands that Burns played in when based in Invercargill. The full Southland Times news item is as follows:
 
"Hall of Fame Lineup Finalised

 Former Mi-Sex rocker Murray Burns is one of five veteran musicians who will be inducted into the Southland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year.

Burns, originally from Invercargill, rose to international fame in the late 1970s and 80s as the keyboards player and hit songwriter for the new wave band Mi-Sex, who had hits with classic songs such as Computer Games, People, Space Race and Blue Day. Burns played a major hand in crafting the band's edgy synth-driven pop-rock sound and punchy songs.

He'll be performing with a reunited lineup of his early Invercargill band Edge, which includes fellow 2013 Hall of Fame inductee Tony Ross.

The annual show will be held at the Invercargill Workingmen's Club on October 5, this year with the theme from Elvis to Mi-Sex.

Joining Burns and Ross on the Hall of Fame honours board will be Peter Chilton, Keith Walker and Peter Miller. They'll be joined by their former bandmates in reformed lineups of Tarbet, Southern Dixie and Transition for a night of nostalgic rock."

 

 

 

The Edge, circa 1974, featuring 2013 Hall of Fame inductees Murray Burns, centre, (sitting) and Tony Ross, second from the right.

 

The full list of band members starting from the left is:

Paul Rosel (drums)

Neil Blue (Keyboards)

Murray Burns (Bass Guitar)

Tony Ross (Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar)

Maaki Goodwillie (Lead Guitar, Vocals)

 

This is what the 45 South In Concert band almanac says about the band:

 

"The Edge evolved from the band Abraham. Tony Ross recalls them as a great band to be involved with, which made his decision to leave and join Vision in 1974 especially difficult. Ironically, all of Abraham's members ended up in Vision except Goodwillie who probably would have as well if Bob Daley had ever left.

 

Murray Burns wore his bass in the style of the legendary  guitarist Jimi Hendrix upside-down with the strings fitted in the reverse order. He later played keyboards with Watchdog before making his name over the ditch in Mi-Sex."

 

Rud Wilson replaced Tony Ross as vocalist after he left to sing for the Vision. The Edge then changed its name to Storm which is a difficult decision to fathom from a marketing and brand building perspective. Murray Burns never played for Watchdog in Invercargill and was a member of the revived Watchdog that formed by Tom Svhela in Christchurch after Tony Bennett, Danny Bennett and Peter O'Neil teamed up with John Purvis and Nancy Kyle-Purvis to form  a new iteration of the famed Baby. Following his stint with Watchdog Burns joined Red Rose and moved to Wellington taking on a residency at the Dr Johns Nightclub in Courtney Place where I saw them numerous times. The core of Red Rose ultimately formed up with Steve Gilpin to create Mi-Sex which quickly took Australia by storm.