For New Zealand Music Month, Wellington Museum is celebrating the capital’s first generation rockers and rollers with a new exhibition Burning Up Years - a showcase of New Zealand music made in 1960-78.
Burning Up Years - curator Ben James with Yadana Saw Photo: RNZ/Kirsten Johnstone
The exhibition takes its name from the 1969 Human Instinct album Burning Up Years. It's a period of New Zealand music that Benjamin James, the Museum's Programme Developer believes more people should pay attention to
"It just really spoke to me. I never realised New Zealand was making such great music. You hear of Split Enz all the time and all the pop bands everybody knows. But then when I started figuring out that there bands all over the place that were making music like this. Amazing."
Bands like The Quincy Conserve, Mammal, Blerta and names including Shona Laing and Frankie Stevens are present on the walls.
Burning Up Years exhibition - old band posters Photo: RNZ/Kirsten Johnstone
Others such as The Avengers and The Premiers have their instruments, locally pressed and recorded vinyl albums, photos, press clippings and posters on display.
The exhibition pays tribute to New Zealand's technically minded types with a collection locally manufactured Concord amplifiers and Jansen guitars.
One of the prized exhibits is a Bill Sevesi lap steel guitar owned by Wellington producer Lee Prebble
"That's a Commodore lap steel...he's played on Phoenix Foundation album and The Woolshed Sessions. That's Lee's favourite lap steel."
Burning Up Years exhibition Photo: RNZ/Kirsten Johnstone
Burning Up Years encompasses the New Zealand gear and also makes mention of the "HMV recording studios and EMI recording press that was here in Wellington". It also gives visitors an opportunity to "learn more about the bands" that used these facilities.
The exhibition is a celebration of the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the unsung heroes of New Zealand music. For James it's about reframing New Zealand Music Month.
"I've always thought in New Zealand Music Month they go about these new bands and they kind of repeat the same stuff. It's nice to have a lot more tilting of the hat to artists of the past"
Music details
Artist: Mantis
Song: Island Suite
Composer: Mantis
Album: Turn Onto Music
Label: Vertigo
Artist: The Bill Sevesi Team and Tommy Stowers
Song: Tumunu
Composer: Traditional
Album: Our Serenade
Label: Stebbings
Artist: The Phoenix Foundation
Song: Slightest Shift In The Weather
Composer: Scott, The Phoenix Foundation
Album: Pegasus
Label: FMR
Artist: The Quincy Conserve
Song: All Right In The City
Composer: Dunn, McCashen
Album: Epitaph
Label: Regal
Artist: King Kapisi
Song: Screems From Da Old Plantation
Composer: Urale, Futialo
Album: Savage Thoughts
Label: FMR
