The Puddle are a New Zealand rock band originally 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 1983 by George D. Henderson. They had a mini-album, a live album, a studio album and a single released on New Zealand independent record label

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 ...

between 1986 and 1993. The group has continued to exist since then, with several line-up changes and periods of inactivity. Since 2006 the group has released four albums on Dunedin independent record label Fishrider Records."The Puddle" on Fishrider Records' website
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Early history

Prior to forming The Puddle George D. Henderson had been a key member of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand experimental avant-garde punk groups The Amps and The Spies. In 1980 he relocated to

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 River / ...

and formed The And Band who self released one 7-inch single. Very early line-ups of The Puddle included Shayne P. Carter on drums, replaced briefly by current drummer

Ian Henderson Ian Henderson may refer to: *Ian Henderson (footballer) (born 1985), English footballer for Rochdale * Ian Henderson (musician), New Zealand drummer *Ian Henderson (news presenter) (born 1952), Australian news presenter *Ian Henderson (police office ...

who is George's brother. The first settled line-up of the band, which recorded the min-album '' Pop Lib'', released on Flying Nun Records in 1986, also included Peter Gutteridge (keyboards), Lesley Z Paris (drums), Ross Jackson (bass), Norma O'Malley (flute) and Lindsay Maitland (coronet & French horn). Maitland died of an accidental drug overdose in 1987 and Gutteridge left to form Snapper. The remaining line-up recorded a live album ''Live at the Teddy Bear Club'' released on Flying Nun Records (FN172). It was followed in 1992 by a studio album, ''Into the Moon'' (FNCD164), recorded by

Alastair Galbraith Alastair Galbraith (born 1965) is a New Zealand musician and sound artist from Dunedin. Career Galbraith's first band was The Rip, which he formed with Robbie Muir, and Mathew Ransome and later Jeff Harford (of Bored Games). They released two ...

, which was released on CD together with the " Pop Lib" EP. Henderson was imprisoned in 1991 for drug-related offending. On his release a new Line-up of The Puddle was formed. This line-up recorded a 7-inch single "Thursday"/"Too Hot to be Cool" released on Flying Nun Records in 1993 (FN278). At this time this line-up of The Puddle recorded an album ''Songs For Emily Valentine''. This album was not released until 2005Chilton, Chris
"Puddle Deep, Mountain High"
''Southland Times'', 8 July 2011 although two songs from it were released as a 7-inch single on French label Acetone in 1993. In the second half of the 1990s Henderson contributed songs to the Dunedin collective group Mink. In 2000 The Puddle (with Ross Jackson back on bass and Alan Haig on drums) performed at the Dunedin Sound music event organised and broadcast live on California's

KFJC KFJC (89.7 FM) is a non-commercial college radio station in Los Altos Hills, California, at Foothill College, using a variety radio format that features a broad spectrum of music styles and public affairs programming. KFJC's over-the-air broadc ...

radio station, and are included on the double CD released by the station as ''KFJC 89.7 FM Presents The Dunedin Sound''.Entry for ''KFJC 89.7 FM Presents The Dunedin Sound'' on Discogs.com
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2001 to present

The Puddle (Henderson and Jackson, with ex-Mink drummer Heath Te Au) continued to play from 2001, although Henderson's health was affected by continued drug use and the effects of

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

. In 2005 Henderson began to address his health issues. This coincided with a studio recording session in Wellington organised by a friend Richard Steele (which produced the 2010 album ''Playboys in the Bush''). Since then The Puddle have recorded another four albums, all released on Fishrider Records. The current line-up of The Puddle (since 2006) is Henderson (guitar, vocals), his brother Ian Henderson (drums), Gavin Shaw (bass) and Alan Starrett (viola, keyboards). They are occasionally augmented by keyboard/ trumpet player Lucy Hunter from fellow Fishrider Records band Opposite Sex.

Discography

Albums

Singles and other appearances

* "Christmas in the Country" appeared on a

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Bnet compilation ''Weird Culture Weird Custom'' * ''Live in the palm of your hand'', cassette, Infinite Regress (

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

) * "Friends (live)" appeared on a split Onset/Offset label 7-inch around

* "Thursday"/"Too Hot To Be Cool", 7-inch, Flying Nun (

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

) * "The Power of Love"/"Mamelons damadou", 7-inch Acetone (France) (

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

) * "Average Sensual Man", on split 7-inch single with Robert Scott/Adalita Srsen (

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

) * "Secret Holiday"/"Victory Blues", Fishrider (

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

)

References

* * * *

External links

The Puddle on Myspace

George D. Henderson on Myspace

ThokeiTapes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puddle, The New Zealand indie rock groups