1991 – UP THE PUNKS

The Wellington punk scene in 1991 was pretty much ‘running on empty’ with few new bands, limited venues and people more interested in hair metal, hip hop, underground raves and “alternative” indie rock.

A fresh arrival that year was SMUT, a Wellington band that injected a raw UK’82-style thrash-punk energy into the scene: fast, aggressive, with big mohawks, studded jackets, and lyrics carrying explicit social and political messages. All members were active in the NZ Anti-Vivisection movement, tying the music directly to activist circles. SMUT played early shows supporting New Plymouth’s Casualty and S.U.X. at the newly renamed Stax (formerly Rocky’s) in March, headlined the psychedelic “Another Night Under The Mountain” mushroom festival in June alongside Sticky Filth, Das Unter Mensh, and Auckland’s Salad Daze, released their debut EP Tunnel Vision in September with a launch at the Empire Warehouse on Hopper Street (supported by Motorsheep from Palmerston North), and closed out the year with two December shows, including one in Palmerston North.

Meanwhile, Vas Deferens supported New Plymouth’s Sticky Filth in May at Paisley Park and released their debut tape EP Original Hits in June: “Music to invade Poland by, it’s Reich and Roll!” Local heroes Flesh D-Vice resurfaced after a period of inactivity with a hard-edge rock gig at the Naked Angel on December 20. The year also brought one of the few notable international punk visits when Australia’s The Hard-Ons played Wellington in December.