{"id":1059,"date":"2022-06-18T18:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-06-18T06:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2026-10-19T16:07:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T03:07:55","slug":"52","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/2022\/06\/52","title":{"rendered":"52"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:17px\">52 was a four-piece proto-punk \/ art-rock band from Wellington, New Zealand, active from 1978 to 1979. Named after their practice space at 52 Cuba Street, the band consisted of Andy Drey (bass), Dino Houtos (guitar), Graham Sinclair (vocals), and Malcolm Wardlaw (drums). Drawing inspiration from avant-garde icons like Captain Beefheart, Robert Wyatt, and Soft Machine, their sound, described as &#8220;angular, energetic art-rock&#8221; with similarities to Talking Heads and XTC, bridged the gap between progressive rock and the raw energy of first-wave punk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;autoclose&quot;: false, &quot;accordionItems&quot;: [] }\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/accordion\" role=\"group\" class=\"wp-block-accordion is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-is-layout-flow\">\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-1&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-1-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-1\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\">Read more<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-1\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-1-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:17px\">Formed in early 1978, 52 debuted at <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/2024\/01\/rock-theatre-billy-the-club\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"12202\">Ziggy\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> nightclub, infusing their performance with theatrical flair, including a vacuum cleaner salesman as part of the stage act. They quickly gained notoriety, supporting Auckland\u2019s Suburban Reptiles at their Cuba Street space on April 9, 1978. That June, they were the sole Wellington act at the \u201c<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/1978\/06\/new-wave-special-1978\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1026\">New Wave Special \u201878<\/a><\/strong>\u201d at the Town Hall, sharing the stage with punk and new wave bands like the <strong>Scavengers<\/strong> and <strong>Idle Idols<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:17px\">Their music, described as \u201cfuturistic\u201d and hard to pin down, set them apart from the year zero back to basics of their punk contemporaries. In September 1978, 52 held a Thursday night residency at Ziggy\u2019s with the band splitting up by the end of the year. Some members went on to pursue new paths: Andy Drey formed the punk band the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/2022\/06\/steroids\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"485\">Steroids<\/a><\/strong> and later the influential electronic group <strong>The Body Electric<\/strong>, while Graham Sinclair ventured further into the realms of experimental noise music.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Add To This Post<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:15px\">To contribute info, photos, corrections contact mail@upthepunks.co.nz<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Graham Sinclair experimental noise music post-52 <\/h5>\n\n\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 42px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3850680863\/size=small\/bgcol=333333\/linkcol=e32c14\/track=3088492851\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/epicsweeprecords.bandcamp.com\/album\/making-airplane-noise\">Making Airplane Noise by Various<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:15px\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\" style=\"font-size:16px\"><table><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Origin<\/strong><\/td><td>Wellington<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Genre<\/strong><\/td><td>proto-punk, new wave<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Years Active<\/strong><\/td><td>1978<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Associated Acts<\/strong><\/td><td>The Spies, Steroids<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Past Members<\/strong><\/td><td>Andy Drey (bass)<br>Dino Houtos (guitar)<br>Graham Sinclair (vocals)<br>Malcolm Wardlaw (drums)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Timeline<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1978, April 9, 52 Cuba St<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"595\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/1978_04_09_52cubastreet.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3211\" style=\"object-fit:cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/1978_04_09_52cubastreet.jpg 595w, https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/1978_04_09_52cubastreet-198x300.jpg 198w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1978, June 18, Wellington Town Hall<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter is-style-rectangular\" data-effect=\"slide\"><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper\"><ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\"><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"570\" height=\"900\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1027\" data-id=\"1027\" src=\"http:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwavespecial.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwavespecial.jpg 570w, https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwavespecial-190x300.jpg 190w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 570px) 100vw, 570px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"589\" height=\"900\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1034\" data-id=\"1034\" src=\"http:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_07.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_07.jpg 589w, https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_07-196x300.jpg 196w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 589px) 100vw, 589px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"900\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1033\" data-id=\"1033\" src=\"http:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_06.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_06.jpg 602w, https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_06-201x300.jpg 201w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"604\" height=\"900\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1035\" data-id=\"1035\" src=\"http:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_08.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_08.jpg 604w, https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_08-201x300.jpg 201w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1037\" data-id=\"1037\" src=\"http:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_10.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_10.jpg 600w, https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_10-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"><\/a><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1978, September 7, 14, 21, 28, Ziggys<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>52 was a four-piece proto-punk \/ art-rock band from Wellington, New Zealand, active from 1978 to 1979. Named after their practice space at 52 Cuba<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[220,222,223,224],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bands","tag-andy-drey","tag-dino-houtos","tag-graham-sinclair","tag-malcolm-wardlaw","two-columns"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/se2JUk-52","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1978_06_18_newwave_07_crop.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25204,"href":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions\/25204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upthepunks.co.nz\/bands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}