1981 – UP THE PUNKS

The Wellington punk and post-punk scene in 1981 represented a vibrant yet transitional phase for the city’s underground music community, rooted in the earlier “Terrace Scene” (a loose, arty, post-punk network centered around cheap flats and parties on The Terrace from roughly 1979–1981). This year marked both creative highs and significant challenges, as the scene grappled with band evolutions, releases, notable events, and the massive social disruption of the 1981 Springbok rugby tour protests against apartheid.

Early in the year, Wellington’s new-wave received some exposure through a 30-minute documentary on the Terrace Scene by Chris Knox, aired on the TV show Radio With Pictures. This captured the obscure, DIY spirit of Wellington’s post-punk world, which had remained largely in the shadow of the Auckland scene (see AK79).

Several key bands were active or releasing music:

Shoes This High relocated to Auckland and released their debut EP before splitting up.
Condemned Sector recorded additional tracks at Sausage Studios but split in April; three members quickly reformed as the post-punk outfit Neoteric Tribesmen the following month.
The Steroids, The Mockers, Neoteric Tribesmen, Protons and Beat Rhythm Fashion all put out 7” singles.
Naked Spots Dance released their first 12” EP.

A highlight was the Wellingtonzone concert in April at the Wellington Town Hall, featuring The Steroids, The Digits, The Mockers, and Beat Rhythm Fashion. The event was recorded, and a live compilation LP featuring all four bands followed in August on Bunk Records – serving as a snapshot of the city’s energetic, independent scene at that moment.

The defining event of 1981, however, was the South African Springbok rugby tour, which sparked widespread protests, civil unrest, and deep national divisions. In Wellington, these tensions directly influenced the punk community. Riot 111 formed explicitly as a response to the protests and police violence, releasing the overtly political single “1981!” in August – the first such punk record in New Zealand to address the tour and its implications head-on.

That same month, The Cure returned to Wellington for a Town Hall show and participated in a now-legendary informal jam session with local musicians (including members of Neoteric Tribesmen and others) in the band’s Clyde Quay School practice room – often remembered as a magical, intimate crossover between international post-punk and the local scene.

By the end of the year, the playful, relatively innocent energy of the late-1970s/ early-1980s punk explosion had been overshadowed. The Springbok tour protests left lasting social scars, and rising boot boy/ skinhead violence made gigs more difficult and aggressive. The scene shifted toward a harder, more confrontational edge, with the earlier “arty, vaguely nihilistic” vibe giving way to meaner streets and a more politicised atmosphere.

Overall, 1981 encapsulated Wellington’s punk/post-punk world as creative and productive – marked by releases, compilations, and high-profile moments – but increasingly shaped and scarred by broader societal conflict.

January

Shoes This High: Shoes This High EP
Nambassa Festival: Protons play
Sausage Studios: Condemned Sector recording
Radio With Pictures: Wellington Scene documentary
Jan 8-9, Last Resort: The Androidss, Condemned Sector
Jan 19, Last Resort: Whizz Kids
Jan 24-26, Sweetwaters: Steroids, The Mockers, The Gordons +
Jan 31, Protons: Lights On/ Modern Homes

March

Last Resort: Who Slapped John, Naked Spots Dance
Last Resort: The Gordons, Pen Knife Glides
March 23-25, The Terminus: Techtones

April

Condemned Sector split
Wallsockets split
April 3, Wellington Town Hall: Wellingtonzone
April 8-9, The Terminus: Techtones
April 9, Last Resort: The Screaming Meemees, Blam Blam Blam
April 10-11, Last Resort: Techtones
April 11, The Terminus: Steroids
April 22-25, The Terminus: The Mockers
April 23-26: The Newmatics, The Preservatives
April 23, location?: Split Enz, Blam Blam Blam

May

Neoteric Tribesmen form
May 1-2, Last Resort: The Screaming Meemees, Blam Blam Blam, Ainsworths, Naked Spots Dance
May 6, St James Theatre: Madness, The Newmatics

June

June 4-6, Last Resort: The Screaming Meemees

July

Steroids: Credit Card/ Destination Tokyo
The Mockers: Trendy Lefties/ Murder On Manners St.
July 2, Thistle Hall: “Rock Against Racism”
July 3, Wellington Polytech: Neoteric Tribesmen, The Mockers
July 13: Wellingtonzone compilation
July 14-15: The Terminus: Blam Blam Blam, The Screaming Meemees
July 16, Victoria University: Blam Blam Blam, The Screaming Meemees
July 27, Beat Rhythm Fashion: Beings Rest Finally/ Bring Real Freedom
July 29, Rock Theatre, Not The Royal Wedding: Beat Rhythm Fashion, +

August

Riot 111: 1981
Wellington Town Hall: Wellingtonzone II
Aug 3, Oriental Bay/ Clyde Quay School: The Cure house party and jam session
Aug 4-5: Wellington Town Hall: The Cure – Picture Tour.