The Clean was a New Zealand

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band that formed in

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 ...

in 1978. They have been described as the most influential band to come from the

Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American sitcom about a community of nuns which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book '' The Fifteenth Pelican,'' written by Tere ...

label, which recorded many artists associated with 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 ...

".Schmidt, Andrew
"The Clean – Profile" profile
''AudioCulture''. Led through a number of early rotating line-ups by brothers

Hamish Hamish is a Scottish masculine given name. It is the anglicized form of the vocative case of the Gaelic name ''Seamus'' or ''Sheumais''. It is therefore, the equivalent of James. People Given name * Hamish Bennett, retired New Zealand cricket ...

and

David Kilgour David William Kilgour (February 18, 1941 – April 5, 2022) was a Canadian human rights activist, author, lawyer, and politician. He was also a Senior Fellow to the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. Kilgour graduated from the Universi ...

, the band settled on their well-known and current line-up with bassist Robert Scott. The band name comes from a character from the movie ''Free Ride'' called Mr. Clean.

History

Hamish and David Kilgour started to play and write music together in Dunedin in 1978, "building up a fat songbook of primitive

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 ...

, minimalist pop, infectious

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

, and adventurous psychedelic instrumentals. Their sound was built around David Kilgour's off-centre, 1960s-influenced guitar, Hamish's

motorik Motorik is the 4/4 beat often used by, and heavily associated with, krautrock bands. Coined by music journalists, the term is German for "motor skill". The motorik beat was pioneered by Jaki Liebezeit, drummer with German experimental rock band ...

drumming, and melodic driving bass, first from Peter Gutteridge, then Robert Scott". The band's 1981 debut single "Tally Ho!" was the second release on Roger Shepherd's

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 ...

label. "Tally Ho!" reached number 19 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

, giving the fledgling label its first hit. Even with the group in abeyance ''The Odditties'' compilation tape of unreleased material appeared in July 1983, followed by a live EP, ''Live Dead Clean'', in 1986, and a greatest hits collection called ''Compilation'' and second ''Odditties'' tape in 1988. For most of the 1980s, The Clean were disbanded; during this time, the Kilgour brothers worked together on an experimental album and EP with the deliberately

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

ny titles "The Great Unwashed" and "Clean Out of Our Minds". In 1989 and 1990, the Clean toured New Zealand, the United States, and Britain and the rest of Europe to promote their album ''

Vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...

''. In 1995, Flying Nun released ''

Abbasalutely ''Abbasalutely'' is a compilation album released in 1995 by New Zealand recording label Flying Nun Records as a tribute album to ABBA. Track listing Versions *''Abbasalutely'' (Cass, Comp) Flying Nun Records, Festival Records, New Zealand 19 ...

'', an Abba tribute compilation. David Kilgour and Robert Scott recorded '' Waterloo'' under the band name Cloth, which the liner notes describe as "the Clean minus Hamish". In 2003, the two-disc compilation ''Anthology'', released on

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

, awakened new interest in the band in the US, building on an international reputation that had been enhanced by endorsements from prominent 1990s indie groups such as Pavement and

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James M ...

. The band released records on US and New Zealand labels—their most recent album being ''

Mister Pop ''Mister Pop'' is the fifth studio album by New Zealand group The Clean The Clean was a New Zealand indie rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1978. They have been described as the most influential band to come from the Flying Nun label, w ...

'' in 2009. They toured the US in 2012 and 2014. Hamish Kilgour's death was announced on 6 December 2022, days after his family reporting him missing.

Discography

*''

'' (1990) *''

Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

'' (1994) *''

Unknown Country ''Unknown Country'' is an album by New Zealand group The Clean, released in 1996. Critical reception ''CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual f ...

'' (1996) *'' Getaway'' (2001) *''

'' (2009)

Awards

Aotearoa Music Awards

The

Aotearoa Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant tha ...

(previously known as ''New Zealand Music Awards'' (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in

New Zealand music The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including ...

and have been presented annually since 1965. ! , - , 2017 , , The Clean , ,

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...

, , , , , -

Filmography

*1999: ''

Scarfies ''Scarfies'' (released as ''Crime 101'' in the United States) is a 1999 New Zealand black comedy film set in the southern university city of Dunedin. The film's original title comes from the local nickname for university students, scarfie, so ...

'', in which they are seen performing the song "Tally Ho!" in a performance at the Empire Tavern, Dunedin (the line-up for this performance was David Kilgour, Robert Scott, Robbie Yeats, and Thomas Bell). The song appeared on the soundtrack.

References

External links

Interview at Acetone MagazineThe Clean on Flying Nun Records

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clean, The New Zealand indie rock groups Flying Nun Records artists Musical groups established in 1978 Dunedin Sound musical groups Jangle pop groups Sibling musical groups Merge Records artists 1978 establishments in New Zealand