The Narcs are an award winning New Zealand band, that formed in 1980 in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand, by bassist Tony Waine, drummer Bob Ogilvie and guitarist Garth Sinclair – departed/replaced by Australian guitarist/singer songwriter Andrew/Andy Dickson. Christchurch remained the band's base with a series of resident club and pub gigs building their following. Touring had become a regular event for The Narcs by 1981, and the pressures of the road contributed to Bob Ogilvie leaving – being replaced by Steve Clarkson on drums in 1982. Keyboardist Liam Ryan became a full-time Narc in 1983. The band pursued a management deal with

Mike Chunn Jonathan Michael Chunn (born 8 June 1952 in London) is a former member of the New Zealand bands Split Enz and Citizen Band. He performed alongside his brother Geoff Chunn in both bands. His musical performing career was cut short due to agoraph ...

, and signed a record deal with CBS Records. During a retreat at a commune the band wrote most of the songs for their debut album, ''Great Divide''. The single, "Heart and Soul", peaked at No. 4 on the NZ charts. At the 1984

New Zealand 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 that ...

, the band won 3 awards and the album achieved

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

status. The band worked in both NZ and Australia, recording a total of four albums and playing alongside such acts as Midnight Oil,

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built ...

, Elton John and

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. The band reformed in 2016 with ex-

DD Smash DD Smash was a New Zealand pop/rock band formed in 1980 by Dave Dobbyn after the breakup of Th' Dudes. The band briefly used the name "Dave Dobbyn's Divers" until drummer Peter Warren came up with "DD Smash". Dobbyn says the name "seemed to say ...

drummer Peter Warren and Rikki Morris of The Crocodiles and have continued to play live and record music since then. In 2018, the band released new single 'Summerhill Stone'.

Discography

Albums

Extended Plays

Singles

Awards and nominations

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. ! , - , 1982, , The Narcs , , Group of the Year, , , , rowspan="7" , , - , 1983 , , The Narcs , , Group of the Year, , , - , rowspan="4" , 1984 , , "You Took Me Heart and Soul" , , Most Popular Song , , , - , "You Took Me Heart and Soul" , , Single of the Year , , , - , Dave McArtney for "You Took Me Heart and Soul" by The Narcs , , Producer of the Year , , , - , Andy Dickson (The Narcs) , , Male artist of the Year , , , - , 1985 , , Fane Flaws for "Diamonds On China" by The Narcs , , Video the Year, , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Narcs, The Musical groups established in 1980 New Zealand musical groups