Steve Gilpin
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Stephen Ellis Gilpin (28 April 19496 January 1992) was a New Zealand singer and a founder of new wave band
Mi-Sex Mi-Sex (also styled as MiSex) is a New Zealand new wave band originally active from 1978 to 1986, and led for much of its existence by Steve Gilpin as vocalist, Kevin Stanton as guitarist and songwriter, Murray Burns as keyboardist and songwri ...
. In November 1972, he won the national final of TV talent show, ''New Faces''. In 1977 he was a founder of Mi-Sex, which became one of the most popular new wave bands in New Zealand and Australia in the late 1970s to early 1980s. They relocated to Australia in August 1978 and reached number one on the Australian
Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
Singles Chart with "
Computer Games A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...
" (1979) and had top five hits with "Computer Games" and "People" on the New Zealand Singles Chart. Gilpin also had a solo career including releasing material before forming Mi-Sex. He joined various groups after their disbandment and performed as a solo artist. He was severely injured in a car accident in November 1991 and died of his injuries on 6 January 1992, aged 42.


Biography

Stephen Ellis Gilpin was born on 28 April 1949 in
Wellington, New Zealand 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 metr ...
. He began his music career as a cabaret singer in hotels. In 1972 he issued two singles, "Spring" and "Stoned Me", on Strange Records, and another single, "Anna, No Can Do", on HMV Australia. In November that year he was the winner of New Zealand TV talent show, ''New Faces'', ahead of
Shona Laing Shona Laing (born 9 October 1955) is a New Zealand musician. She has had several hits in her native country, as well as a few minor international hits, most notably "(Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy" and "Soviet Snow". Laing contributed to Manfred M ...
. He followed with a string of singles until his focus shifted from cabaret to rock music. In 1976 Gilpin met with
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
band Father Thyme and suggested that they work together. In 1977 Gilpin formed Fragments of Time with Don Martin on bass guitar and Alan Moon on keyboards (both ex-members of Father Thyme). Moon soon left and was replaced on keyboards by Murray Burns (ex-Red Rose), Kevin Stanton joined on guitar; and Phil Start on drums. Start was replaced by Steve Osborne on drums. Mi-Sex was formed by Gilpin, Burns, Martin and Stanton, after Osborne was replaced by Richard Hodgkinson. They started playing new wave and Stanton adapted the band name, Mi-Sex, from a track, "My Sex", by United Kingdom band,
Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
from their 1977 album, ''
Ultravox! Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
''. Mi-Sex' debut single, "Straight Laddie" appeared in 1978, which was co-written by Gilpin and Stanton and was produced by the group. The band decided they would try the Australian touring circuit and arrived in August that year. Within six months they had become the fourth most popular band in Sydney. ''
The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'' described their popularity in March 1979 "one of Sydney's major acts ... they played in the niversityUnion ... on a very successful night ...
hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
will leave to tour New Zealand on March 19". Mi-Sex received support from
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
's Sydney 'youth' radio station Double Jay and its nationally televised pop show, ''
Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
''. They issued their debut album, ''
Graffiti Crimes ''Graffiti Crimes'' was the debut studio album by New Zealand new wave music group Mi-Sex, released in July 1979. The album peaked at number six on the New Zealand albums chart and number 16 on the Australian Kent Music Report. the album was cert ...
'', in July on CBS Records and supported
Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...
on the Australian leg of their tour. In Australia Mi-Sex achieved their highest chart peak in October 1979 with a number-one hit single, "
Computer Games A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...
", on the
Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
. The track was co-written by Gilpin, Burns and Stanton. In their homeland it reached No. 5 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 ...
. Australian musicologist,
Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...
, described it as an "electro-pop anthem ... th its simplistic, brain-teasing riff and Gilpin's mannered vocal yelps, tboasted little substance but was constructed for maximum effect". Mi-Sex performed at the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
with various artists in the Concert of the Decade on 4 November 1979. The group won the 1979 ''
TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...
'' – ''Countdown'' Music Awards for 'Most Popular Album or Single', 'Best Australian Single' and 'Best New Talent' at the ceremony held in April the following year. The next year they recorded their follow-up album ''
Space Race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...
'', which reached No. 1 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. They completed a six-week tour of the United States. Their next single, "People" reached No. 3 in New Zealand – their highest local hit single – and No. 6 in Australia. However, during the early-1980s their popularity waned and the group effectively split in 1985. Gilpin remained in Australia and played with a variety of bands including Rapid Fire in 1985 with Allan Carr, Phil Emmanuel on guitar, and Chris Haigh. He joined as guest vocalist with
The Incredible Penguins The Incredible Penguins were an Australian supergroup formed in 1985, which reached the top ten on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart with their cover of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" in December. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and A ...
in 1985, for a
cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of "
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single release by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reach ...
", a charity project for research on
fairy penguins The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian lit ...
, which peaked at No. 10 on the Australian
Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
in December. Mi-Sex released a ''Greatest Hits'' collection in 1988. Gilpin also performed with a covers band Under Rapz. He lived on a rural property near
Mullumbimby Mullumbimby is an Australian town in the Byron Shire in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. It promotes itself as "The Biggest Little Town in Australia". The town lies at the foot of Mount Chincogan in the Brunswick Valley about 9 ...
in northern New South Wales.


Death

On 25 November 1991, while driving home from an Under Rapz gig at nearby
Byron Bay Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a hea ...
, Gilpin was involved in a car accident. He sustained serious head injuries that left him in a coma. He never recovered consciousness and died in
Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...
Hospital on 6 January 1992, aged 42. He was buried on his property. Two benefit concerts were held in February for his wife Maggie, and their two children.


References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilpin, Steve 1949 births 1992 deaths Road incident deaths in Queensland 20th-century New Zealand male singers New Zealand new wave musicians