Posts Tagged Neill Duncan
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October 9, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 131 Electricity On Stage In The Rain
I woke up this morning and Facebook reminded me that a year ago I was very nearly killed by a runaway car – I was lucky to survive. Just like the time I nearly fell to my death at McLaren Falls when I was eighteen or almost drowned at Ocean Beach at the turn of […]Archive
May 22, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 112 Jayrem Records
It was Jim Moss and his Wellington answer to the South Island’s Flying Nun and Auckland’s Ripper or Propeller Records and yet it was totally different. Those other labels had their own style or ethos whereas Jayrem would release any type of music in any given genre – from the Upper Hutt Posse to the […]Archive
March 6, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 101 The Old Bodge
It wasn’t huge but it had a lot of soul and some great bands played there – the original Bar Bodega on Willis Street. Fraser created a monster in 1991 and I was lucky enough to become a small part of it. The larger pub venues of the 80s like the Terminus or Cricketers were […]Archive
September 21, 2015 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 77 Vocals
It’s the best time. When you go into record the vocals over the tracks with the headphones on or when you open your lips to sing that first line at a live gig to a big crowd – there is nothing quite like it. I wasn’t blessed with any great voice and so I had […]Archive
August 23, 2015 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 73 Your Hair – Mother Gun
You think the world’s in love with your hair All tangled up but it’s gonna look great You spent your last twenty bucks on the braid And stole the night with a dead straight face Why not try a different style you can lose yourself in a thousand ways Rolling down your shoulders like a […]Archive
January 25, 2015 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 43 A Snakelike Life – Part One
At the beginning of the nineties most of the various Spines had left town – Ross, Wendy, Caroline, Tim and Rob. I had just got my telecaster back and was writing lots of new songs in Holloway Road on it – I really needed a rhythm section. Neill Duncan – the last remaining Spine in […]Archive
October 5, 2014 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 28 The Miscreant
I first met Brent McLachlan when the Spines were playing in Christchurch and he was doing our sound – we hit it off immediately. When The Gordons broke up and he moved to Wellington he became our regular live sound guy and was great – he recorded everything on cassette and got a terrific drum […]Archive
September 7, 2014 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 24 The Drummers
I’ve always had great drummers in the Spines – they like my songs and the fact that I’m crap on drums and can’t tell them what to play. Barton Price was to be the first but before we got to do a gig he was headhunted by the Crocodiles then the Models. He was a […]Archive
June 15, 2014 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary #12 The Moon
At the end of 1984 the Spines was humming again. Ross Burge and Wendy Calder were both back in the band and it was time to record our first album. Neill Duncan suggested Capture Studios in Gisborne, run by his old mate Maurice Priestly. We took the train. Jayrem Records gave us a budget for […]Archive
May 12, 2014 by Simon Sweetman
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 7 Your Body Stays
I wrote this song. .. 1982. All this stuff was going down – a close friend of mine was in an abusive relationship – I was in a relationship with a strange girl that turned to pus when this other boyfriend of hers emerged out of nowhere. So I had a wild one night stand […]Archive
May 8, 2014 by Simon Sweetman