Flying colours
New Zealand Listener|March 30 - April 5, 2024
Look Blue Go Purple, a group which stood out among the many in 1980s Dunedin, is being honoured at the Taite Music Prize. RUSSELL BROWN tracked down the op shop-raiding politest band in rock'n'roll”.
Flying colours

In Look Blue Go Purple's first press interview in 1984, the band's drummer, Lesley Paris, advanced a theory about what made them sound different in a Dunedin music scene where you could barely throw a party without someone forming a band. "I just think that when we play together, we all listen really hard to each other - and when I play with other people, I sometimes get annoyed because some people don't seem to listen."

After a deep breath to acknowledge the passing of 40 years, the five members of Look Blue Go Purple - who have assembled on a Zoom call to talk about being named as this year's Taite Music Prize Classic Record recipients - are more than happy to endorse the idea.

"That was so well put," says bass and flute player Norma O'Malley. "I thought about this today and I think that the beauty of LBGP is that we played for each other."

"We were collaborative and considerate," agrees singer-guitarist Kath Webster. "Very considerate of each other." 

"Such a polite band!" O'Malley replies. "The politest band in rock'n'roll," Paris deadpans.

The Classic Record honour is well deserved and a little bit of a fudge: officially, it's for Compilation, the 1991 CD release that collected all their studio recordings, rather than for any of the three EPs they released on Flying Nun Records when they were still together.

There has been another compilation since: 2017's Still Bewitched, released jointly by Flying Nun and the Brooklyn New York label Captured Tracks. The American release underlined how well the band's music has weathered and the global reach it eventually achieved. Its title references Bewitched, LBGP's 1985 debut, which was recorded in 22 hours in an empty Auckland office on equipment their producer Terry Moore had borrowed from The Lab recording studio.

This story is from the March 30 - April 5, 2024 edition of New Zealand Listener.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the March 30 - April 5, 2024 edition of New Zealand Listener.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM NEW ZEALAND LISTENERView All
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 mins  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024