The Bluestars were a
garage rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
band from
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand, who were active during the 1960s. They became one of the most popular bands in New Zealand at the time and enjoyed a hit in the Auckland area with their first
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, which appeared on
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
, where they were the first New Zealand rock band to be signed to the label. But, they are now best known for their subsequent release, "Social End Product", that with its line "I don't stand for the Queen", took aim at the monarchy and social oppression, anticipating certain sentiments expressed in the music of the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
and other 1970s
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
acts. Their work is now highly regarded by garage rock enthusiasts.
History
Origins
The Bluestars formed in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
,
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 ...
in 1962. John Harris, a young reporter for the ''
Auckland Star
The ''Auckland Star'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, from 24 March 1870 to 16 August 1991. Survived by its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Star'', part of its name endures in ''The Sunday Star-Times'', created in ...
'', was also a musician adept on several instruments. One day he met Murray Savidan and Roger McClay, two students at Auckland Grammar School, at a second-hand music shop, and they decided to form a band, initially called the Nomads. Saividan sang and played bass and McClay played guitar. Harris became the drummer, but switched to lead guitar after McClay departed from the group. Jim Crowley became the group's drummer. Harris recruited a friend, Rick von Bokhoven to join on vocals and guitar. In 1962, the Nomads changed their name to the Bluestars. By 1963, they were playing regular gigs at church halls and youth clubs.
That year, a key turning point in the band's early development happened when Savidan bought a copy of
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' ''
Please Please Me
''Please Please Me'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two sin ...
'' LP and played it for the group. They immediately decided to change their whole approach to a
beat group
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle ...
format. They cancelled all of their scheduled appearances in order to learn the new material, rehearsing nearly all of the songs from ''Please Please Me''. They returned to live performance and unveiled their new repertoire at St Chad's Hall, but were initially greeted with a tepid response. But, within a week of plying new material, it began to catch on. With their new direction, they immediately made most of the other local bands appear outmoded and their stock began to rise. Influenced by the Beatles, they began to write their own songs.
In early 1964, they approached Eldred Stebbing of Zodiac Records about a possible record deal. They recorded several demo tapes at Stebbing's basement studio, but none of the recordings were issued. At this time bassist Murray Savidan was handling the group's bookings and arrangements. He steered them away from the seedy and sometimes dangerous inner-city clubs in favour of suburban dance venues, such as the Tamaki Yacht Club, where they often drew crowds of up to three hundred.
Recording
Decca
In 1965, actor and voice-over man Terry Hayman approached the group, offering to become their manager. He told the group that he had a recording contract with
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
in London. While the group was skeptical of his claim, they signed with him anyway. Hayman arranged for a clandestine recording session at Auckland's Radio Theatre, where they snuck in, uninvited, and hurriedly recorded four tracks before the Auckland Symphony Orchestra arrived. Hayman brought in recording engineer Wahanui Wynard. Two of the songs from the session, much to the band's astonishment, ended up being released on a
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
for Decca, demonstrating that Hayman was, not only affiliated with the label, but had arranged to have the band signed in November, making them the first New Zealand rock band to record for the prestigious label. The resulting single "Please Be a Little Kind" b/w "I Can't Take it" was released by Decca's London label in December 1965 and on their Australian counterpart in February 1966.
The A-side was a moody ballad, and, on the flip-side, "I Can't Take It" was a raucous and upbeat garage number. The single reached #12 on the Auckland charts. The Bluestarts became one of the most popular bands in New Zealand along with the La Di Da's and the Gremlins.
Later in 1966, they went to Mascot Studios to record a follow-up "It's the End" and "S'pose We're Away", but the single was rejected by Decca, who parted ways with the group. The band recorded several other songs at the Mascot sessions, such as the brooding "Don't Wanna Be Lonely".
Allied International
They proceeded to sign with Allied International Records, and recorded their next single which featured a song on the A-side for which they are best-known, "Social End Product".
The song features highly invective lyrics delivered in snide fashion by Murray Savidan.
Its first line, "I Carry my girl through the main city streets", is based on a real-life incident involving a row between lead guitarist John Harris and his girlfriend in which he carried her "kicking and screaming" around downtown Auckland.
Its defiant third line, "I don't stand for the Queen", announced a swipe at the conventional practice of standing to sing "
God Save the Queen
"God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...
" before public events, such as movie showings, and anticipated the kind of anti-royalist sentiments later heard from the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
and other punk acts. The B-side, in stark contrast to its counterpart, is a light pop ballad. The single failed to chart.
Later in 1966, guitarist Rick von Bonhoven departed, and in an attempt to reflect the influence of popular organ-based acts such as
the Spencer Davis Group
The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK numbe ...
and the
Small Faces
Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The band w ...
, drummer Rick Crowley moved to keyboards. The group brought in a new drummer, Eric Jackson, who was seventeen at the time. In October the Bluestars opened their own music club, the Gallows, in Remuera.
They painted the walls in deep blue and adorned them group-themed images and artifacts. After, numerous attempts to secure a club license, they were unable to secure one, but opened anyway, functioning without a proper permit. In an effort to keep outside noise to a minimum, the group always made sure to keep the windows closed during performances, but other bands did not take this precaution, and a rash of neighbor complaints forced them to finally shut down by year's end.
In January 1967 they did a summer tour of various coastal resorts. In February, they released their last single, the music hall-influenced "I'm a Little Man" b/w "Sherlock Sweet". The B-side had a garage organ-based riff similar to that in
? and the Mysterians' "
96 Tears
"96 Tears" is a song recorded by the American garage rock band ? and the Mysterians in 1966 (''see'' 1966 in music). In October of that year, it was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the U.S. and on the RPM (magazine), ''RPM'' ...
". Like their previous effort, the single failed to chart. In March 1967 they broke up.
Later developments
John Harris moved on to composing and recording religious songs with St Paul's Singers and later became a successful television producer.
Murray Savidan became a successful advertising agent, as well as professional photographer.
Rick von Bokhoven became a graphic artist. Jim Crowley moved to Sydney and continued to be active in music, playing with several bands over the years.
He died in 2001.
In the intervening years their work as come to the attention of garage rock enthusiasts, and has appeared in various compilations such as ''Wild Things, volume 1'', ''Trans World Punk, Volume 2", and ''Ugly Things, Volume 3''.
The song "Social End Product" is particularly well-regarded. Ian Marks mentioned "...the Bluestars got to record their own genuine 100% original, garage punk classic, possibly the greatest
'60s punk record of them all – the mighty 'Social End Product'".
Membership
Early lineups 1962–1964
*Murray Savidan (bass, vocals)
*John Harris (lead guitar, drums)
*Roger McClay (guitar)
*Rick von Bokhoven (vocals and guitar)
*Jim Crowley (drums)
1965–1966
*Murray Savidan (bass, vocals)
*John Harris (lead guitar,)
*Rick von Bokhoven (vocals and guitar)
*Jim Crowley (drums)
1966–1967
*Murray Savidan (bass, vocals)
*John Harris (lead guitar,)
*Jim Crowley (organ)
*Eric Johnson (drums)
Discography
*"Please Be a Little Kind" b/w "I Can Take It" (Decca UK F-12303, December 1965) (Decca Australia DEC-361, February 1966)
*"Social End Product" b/w "I'm Over Here" (Allied JAR-540, September 1966)
*"I'm a Little Man" b/w "Sherlock Sweet" (Allied JAR-545, February 1967)
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bluestars, The
New Zealand garage rock groups
Musical groups established in 1962
Musical groups disestablished in 1967
1962 establishments in New Zealand