This is a 'memoir' not a history and for me it is a aide memoire. The book is set mostly in the 1970's telling of Bollinger's growing up in Wellington, joining a band and travelling the country insistently for meals and love, it wasn't for wealth.
The aide memoire for me is I moved to Wellington in 1977 as a 17 year old and this brings back many many memories of how raw and fun Wellington was for a young chap from Timaru.
As well an outline of Nick Bollinger's life it is part social history of New Zealand and a history of New Zealand bands at the time. If you tried to explain today to a 25 year old how in the late 70's early 80's you could not go to the bar in a nightclub and get a drink, it was waitress service only, they would think you're mad. Or just ignore you as really really tedious but it was true.
The band he traveled with for two years "Rough Justice' rubbed shoulders with all the muso's travelling the brewery circuit and there are delightful little tidbits , Ricky Ball's band history before Hello Sailor for example. There are great little pieces like this that are news to me.
Rough Justice was a Rick Bryant Band. I never saw them I don't think but I saw the Jive Bombers lots and I can say Rick Bryant has never taken anything of himself home, he leaves it all for the audience.
There are many Auckland memories for me as well as I move there as a 19 year old in late 1979. There is a lot of detail regarding the un-licenced clubs that tried to do the right thing for music but could not survive without a liquor licence which was impossible to obtain. This was a real shame and was the brewery lobby that prevented these entrepreneurs from making a dollar.
I spent hundreds of hours at the Gluepot and all the city pubs that had music. I had the best nicest piss taking of me in Queen Street by the Topp Twins when I was a young Police Constable. This book brought all these memories back and I can thank Nick Bollinger for this.
Last but not least Bollinger saw 'Little Feat' play at the Wellington Town Hall, bastard, there will not be many New Zealanders who can say they have seen that outfit.
No comments:
Post a Comment