Photo: Fairfax Media New Zealand
The last commercial record pressing plant in New Zealand closed in 1987, with urban legend suggesting that EMI disposed of it in Wellington Harbour. The closure of the plant was largely due to the rise of modern technologies, such as cassettes and CDs. But from the mid-50s up until then the LP was king in Aotearoa - with many homegrown hits being pressed into vinyl.
Award-winning journalist Steve Braunias has spent many years sifting through op shops to amass a collection of New Zealand pressed records that provide a fascinating window into our culture of the time. He has now documented some of his weird and wonderful finds - from Bill & Boyd to Tina Cross - in his new book Cover Story.
Braunias has hand-selected some favourite tracks from his collection to share on the show.
