Look Blue Go Purple were a New Zealand alternative rock band from

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, active from 1983 to 1987, recognised as part of the "second wave" of the

Dunedin sound The Dunedin sound was a style of indie pop music created in the southern New Zealand university city of Dunedin in the early 1980s. Characteristics According to Matthew Bannister, Dunedin sound "was typically marked by the use of droning or ...

. Their first official show was at The Broome Valley Festival on 5 March 1983.

Members

* Kathy Bull – bass * Norma O'Malley – keyboards,

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

* Lesley Paris –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s * Denise Roughan –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Kath Webster –

Careers after Look Blue Go Purple

After the band split up, Bull went on to

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

, and has since recorded a solo album, ''Some From the Sky'', under her new name Francisca Griffin. Lesley Paris went on to Olla, and now works as station manager for community radio station

Otago Access Radio The Community Access Media Alliance (CAMA) (formerly the Association of Community Access Broadcasters (ACAB)), also known as the Access Radio Network, is a group of twelve New Zealand community radio media organisations. The stations were establ ...

in Dunedin. Denise Roughan went on to play with

The 3Ds The 3Ds were a New Zealand noise pop band based from Dunedin, together from 1988 to 1997. They recorded three albums and several EPs, the best known of which is ''The Venus Trail'' (1993). They achieved commercial and critical success worldwid ...

and Ghost Club. Norma O'Malley was a founding member of Chug. Paris also became manager of

Flying Nun Records Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringin ...

Discography

Featured compilations

The group have appeared on many compilations since 1986 in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The following is a list of these albums that have featured tracks by Look Blue Go Purple. * (1986) - ''

Tuatara Tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') are reptiles endemic to New Zealand. Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. The name ''tuatara'' is derived from the Māori language and m ...

'' (

) - "Circumspect Penelope" * (1989) - '' In Love with These Times'' (Flying Nun Records) (FN028) - "Cactus Cat" * (1991) - ''Getting Older 1981-1991'' (Flying Nun Records) - "I Don't Want You Anyway" * (1999) - '' Scarfies OST'' (Flying Nun Records) - "Cactus Cat" * (2000) - ''But I Can Write Songs Okay'' (Yellow Eye Records) (EYE005-007) - "Ralta" (live version) * (2012) - '' Time to Go: The Southern Psychedelic Moment 1981-1986'' (Flying Nun Records) (FNLP518) - "As Does The Sun"

DVDs

* (2004) - ''Second Season - Flying Nun DVD II'' (

) (FNDVD489) - "Circumspect Penelope" * (2004) - ''Very Short Film'' (Flying Nun Records) - "Cactus Cat"

References

External links

Look Blue Go Purple on Flying Nun
New Zealand indie rock groups All-female bands Flying Nun Records artists Dunedin Sound musical groups 1983 establishments in New Zealand {{NewZealand-band-stub