RSD TAONGA ON 45!
The Normals unreleased recordings! Pre-‘Nun Punkers pressed on vinyl for the very first time. A Record Store Day 2026 release by Leather Jacket Records Ōtautahi.
Wellington was the last of New Zealand’s four main cities to get a punk scene going, and The Normals were the pioneers.
They came together at the end of 1978, with a lineup comprising Graham Hood (bass), Michael Lawry (guitar), Dazee Day (vocals) and Andy Smith (drums).
They played several gigs at the former Chez Paree coffee lounge in the Embassy Theatre building, then took a break while Graham and Dazee went overseas for a couple of months.
The band re-convened in February 1979 on Graham and Dazee’s return, initially with Don Campbell on drums, replaced by Karl Scutt by the time of their first gig in May. By now they had dropped the cover versions and were writing their own material. More gigs followed over the next couple of months, including support slots with Auckland bands The Swingers and Sheerlux (Iggy Pop was in the audience for the Sheerlux gig, though The Normals had a bad night thanks to equipment problems and broken strings.)
Then on 4 July 1979 The Normals recorded three songs (including the two on this single) in the fabled Studio 2 in Broadcasting House, Wellington, with Tony Burns engineering. ‘Anorexia’ is a well-constructed song, featuring contrasting sections and some fine drumming from Karl Scutt, while ‘Bananas’, with its “You made a monkey out of ME!” punchline, was a fun novelty live number.
The Normals left Wellington in August for the hopefully greener pastures of Auckland. They felt they had done all they could here, having grown frustrated with the apathy of Wellington audiences. They found it hard re-establishing themselves in the changing Auckland scene, money was a problem and members drifted apart. They didn’t play any gigs there, and within a few months had disbanded.
Graham Hood would later go on to bigger things with The Johnnys, while Mike Lawry became a Headless Chicken. Dazee Day moved to Sydney and established her own fashion label and opened a boutique for budding rockers and Karl Scutt ended up in my band Domestic Blitz for a time in 1980. For those of us who were there at the dawn of punk in Wellington, it’s great to see these recording finally released. They are an important part of New Zealand’s punk history, so whack it on your turntable and go bananas!
– David Maclennan
Audioculture: Punk Aotearoa Timeline 1976-81 by Simon Grigg - www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/punk-aotearoa-timeline-1976-81
