The Enemy were a punk rock band from

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 ...

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 coun ...

, that are often seen as the starting point of 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 ...

rock movement. Formed early 1977 and fronted by vocalist

Chris Knox Chris Knox (born 2 September 1952) is a New Zealand rock and roll musician, cartoonist and movie reviewer who emerged during the punk rock era with his bands The Enemy and Toy Love. After Toy Love disbanded in the early 1980s, he formed the g ...

with bassist Mick Dawson, drummer Mike Dooley, and guitarist

Alec Bathgate Alec Bathgate is a New Zealand musician who was a key member of The Enemy and Toy Love, as well as being one half of the Flying Nun Records act Tall Dwarfs, alongside Chris Knox. In addition to playing guitar in these bands, he also releas ...

, the band were strongly influenced by artists similar to those cited by the then-ascendant international punk rock music scene. Elements of

Glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

, hard rock and the catchy chart-pop music of the 1960s were fused with definitive pre-punk acts like

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades ...

and

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

(who is referred to in the song "Iggy Told Me", during the performance of which Knox would often intentionally cut himself, drawing blood). During the last months of 1978, bassist Mick Dawson left to return to Dunedin and former

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 a ...

member

Phil Judd Philip Raymond Judd (born 20 March 1953) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter known for being one of the founders of the bands Split Enz and The Swingers. Split Enz In 1972, Judd and Tim Finn founded the arty folk band Split Enz. In its early ...

joined the band, but the lineup proved incompatible. Due to these and other tensions (the 'punk' label was becoming something of a burden), the Enemy ceased soon after. Though the band did not release any official recordings, some of their performances and their few-but-extensive studio recordings (their entire 20-song repertoire was recorded in Auckland, October 1978 just before their November split) are available in bootleg form. With a solid 'originals-only' performance regime, the Enemy are seen as hugely influential on the development of New Zealand's indigenous rock music culture. Though the band only existed from 1977 to 1978, they created a distinct, idiosyncratic style and popularised an 'original music is crucial' attitude which helped facilitate the development of several local music scenes in both Dunedin and New Zealand in general. Upon the demise of the Enemy, Bathgate, Dooley and Knox went on to form

Toy Love Toy Love was a New Zealand new wave and punk rock band that originated in Dunedin and was active from 1978 to 1980. Members included Chris Knox, Alec Bathgate and Paul Kean. History Chris Knox was the band's front man and other members w ...

. Toy Love played a number of songs that the Enemy had originally performed, though usually with some musical rearrangement or alteration of the sometimes-pungent lyrics. Songs that began with the Enemy but were subsequently utilised by Toy Love include "Swimming Pool", "I Don't Mind", "1978", "Squeeze", "Cold Meat", "I'm Not Bored" (which The Enemy introduced as "I'm Not Bored, I'm Dead"), and "Don't Catch Fire". After Toy Love broke up in October 1980, Bathgate and Knox remained together as Tall Dwarfs. Early supporters of the Enemy included Dunedin brothers Hamish and David Kilgour, founders of

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, which recorded many artists associated with the "Dunedin sound".Schmidt, And ...

. Legend has it that Hamish Kilgour named The Enemy for their music style, and in response or retaliation, Knox commented that the Kilgour's own sound was "squeaky clean", hence that band's name.

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AudioCulture profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enemy Dunedin Sound musical groups New Zealand punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1978

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