Posts by Mike Hollywood
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And of course, inspired by the fledgling scene in Auckland, there were a number of movers and shakers in the lower North Island – specifically guys like Gerhard and Karl Pierard (with the Buffalo Music Show, which morphed into Fez) and Scott Bullock (Deco) in Palmy North (of all places) – which helped enable the Dance Music scene to develop a wider profile beyond the Bombay Hills. There was a time when PN was a genuine alternative for any club-obsessed Wellingtonian in the early-mid 80s – before clubs like ‘Clares’ and ‘Naked Angel’, and to a lesser extent Nick Mills’ ‘Exchequers’ really took off in the Capital – essentially because the above three DJs used their Auckland contacts to tap into the seemingly endless influx of quality imported vinyl that was being introduced to Auckland (on labels such as Streetsounds and series like Upfront etc). When you observe how commercialised today’s club scene has become, and the fact that what we called “clubbing” is almost the accepted norm for today’s yoof, you start to appreciate that these guys were genuine pioneers, albeit they were merely transporting something that was working in Auckland out into the regions. The key to it all was of course, the quality beats. I recall my own eureka moment when, following a Skeptics gig (iirc) in PN, I stumbled across Gerhard playing – what felt like very futuristic hi energy – dance music in a small cramped venue. Word of mouth came into a play and before we knew it a lower North Island scene had developed and spread to Wellington. No more Electric Ballroom (a band venue of some repute) for me! I actually recall making trips to Auckland around that time and while I can’t recall ‘Box’ specifically I do remember when the Six Month Club was all the rage. As you say Simon, great times – at a time when the world, and by extension the Dance music scene, was a lot less accessible than it is today.