The Clean
Encyclopedia
The Clean are an influential Indie rock
band that formed in Dunedin
, New Zealand
in 1978. Led through a number of early rotating line-ups by brothers Hamish
and David Kilgour
, the band settled down to their well-known and current line-up with bassist Robert Scott
. Early incarnations of The Clean included Peter Gutteridge
on bass (who wrote "Point That Thing") and Doug Hood on vocals (who later worked with Toy Love
and founded the "Looney Tours" touring company). The Clean forged a distinctive and quirky sound that relied heavily on organ melodies and simple, Ramones
-style chord progressions.
label. Featuring a chugging rhythm and instantly memorable descending farfisa line played by Martin Phillipps of The Chills, "Tally Ho!" reached number 19 on the New Zealand Singles Charts, giving the fledgling label its first hit. Tally Ho was recorded for $50. A follow-up track on the band's Great Sounds Great
EP titled "Beatnik" also achieved success, as did their second single, "Getting Older".
The Flying Nun label went on to become New Zealand's biggest independent record company, championing the Dunedin Sound
, a loosely-connected style of music largely produced by bands from the southern city. Other artists on the label included The Chills
, The Verlaines
, The Bats
, and Sneaky Feelings
. The line-ups of these bands were often interrelated, with Peter Gutteridge being a founding member of The Chills, David Kilgour briefly in The Chills off-shoot band Time Flies, and Robert Scott being the founder of The Bats
.
During much of the 1980s, The Clean disbanded, and during this time the Kilgour brothers worked together on an experimental album and EP using the deliberately punning titles "The Great Unwashed" and "Clean Out of Our Minds". Reforming in the late 1980s, the band explored a slightly poppier vein of music while still retaining their experimental edge.
Although they released several chart-topping singles in their native country, The Clean are a little-known cult band outside of New Zealand, although their influence is surprisingly far-reaching. They became a staple of college radio in the 1980s, Stephen Malkmus
of Pavement
cites them as a major influence, and the band's droney 80s output is a direct forerunner of bands such as Yo La Tengo
and Camper Van Beethoven
.
The Clean continue to produce music, with Flying Nun recently issuing a comprehensive collection of their previously hard-to-find singles. Output from the band has been sporadic over the years, with members involved in other projects and Hamish Kilgour living in New York
. Other projects involving members of the band include The Bats
and The Magick Heads (Scott), Stephen, The Heavy Eights (David Kilgour), and The Mad Scene
(Hamish Kilgour).
In early 2007, The Clean toured New Zealand on their "Bangers and Mash" tour, during which they celebrated Hamish Kilgour's 50th birthday while playing at "The Studio" in Auckland on Saturday 17 March 2007. Later that same year, the band's best-known incarnation (Kilgour/Scott/Kilgour) reunited for a short East Coast tour of the USA. The tour began in Manhattan, NYC with four shows: an in-store performance at Other Music and a three night stand at the Cake Shop on the Lower East Side. Although the tour officially concluded with a performance at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia, the following week the band played an extra show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ, opening for Yo la Tengo at one of the group's annual Hannukah concerts.
In June 2008 a live album recorded during the 2007 New Zealand tour was released in New Zealand on Arch Hill Records, entitled "Mashed". A new studio album, titled Mister Pop was released on 7 September 2009 on Arch Hill, and on 8 September in the United States on the Merge label.
The Clean announced their first European dates in more than 20 years, supporting the cult U.S band Pavement at Brixton Academy on 10 May 2010. They also played at Butlins Minehead
on 14 May. Other dates on the tour included Amsterdam (22 May), Hamburg (23 May), Berlin (25 May) and Barcelona's Primavera Sound festival (29 May).
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band that formed in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1978. Led through a number of early rotating line-ups by brothers Hamish
Hamish Kilgour
Hamish Kilgour is a New Zealand musician notable for founding The Clean along with his brother David in 1978. He later moved to New York City and formed The Mad Scene in the early 1990s.-References:...
and David Kilgour
David Kilgour (musician)
David Kilgour is a musician from Dunedin, a city in the South Island of New Zealand. He first started playing guitar as a teenager in the late 1970s...
, the band settled down to their well-known and current line-up with bassist Robert Scott
Robert Scott (musician)
Robert Scott is a New Zealand musician. He is a part of indie rock bands The Clean and The Bats, playing bass for The Clean, and guitar/vocals for The Bats.Both groups have been greatly influential beyond their limited commercial success....
. Early incarnations of The Clean included Peter Gutteridge
Peter Gutteridge
Peter Gutteridge is a Dunedin, New Zealand, musician. Best known as a singer/songwriter/guitarist, he was originally a bassist, playing in several bands during the 1980s. Initially he was a member of The Clean, alongside Hamish and David Kilgour, whom Gutteridge had known from his schooldays...
on bass (who wrote "Point That Thing") and Doug Hood on vocals (who later worked with Toy Love
Toy Love
Toy Love was a New Zealand New Wave/punk rock band fronted by Chris Knox. Other members were guitarist Alec Bathgate, bass player Paul Kean, drummer Mike Dooley, and keyboard player Jane Walker...
and founded the "Looney Tours" touring company). The Clean forged a distinctive and quirky sound that relied heavily on organ melodies and simple, Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
-style chord progressions.
History
The band's auspicious 1981 debut single "Tally Ho!" was the second release on Roger Shepherd's Flying NunFlying Nun Records
Flying Nun Records is an independent record label formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1981 by music-store proprietor Roger Shepherd.-History:The label was formed in the flurry of new punk rock-inspired labels forming in the early 1980s...
label. Featuring a chugging rhythm and instantly memorable descending farfisa line played by Martin Phillipps of The Chills, "Tally Ho!" reached number 19 on the New Zealand Singles Charts, giving the fledgling label its first hit. Tally Ho was recorded for $50. A follow-up track on the band's Great Sounds Great
Great Sounds Great, Good Sounds Good, So-so Sounds So-so, Bad Sounds Bad, Rotten Sounds Rotten
Great Sounds Great, Good Sounds Good, So-so Sounds So-so, Bad Sounds Bad, Rotten Sounds Rotten is the second EP released by The Clean, a lo-fi rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand. It was released by Flying Nun Records on 12" vinyl in 1982.-Track listing:-External links:...
EP titled "Beatnik" also achieved success, as did their second single, "Getting Older".
The Flying Nun label went on to become New Zealand's biggest independent record company, championing the Dunedin Sound
Dunedin Sound
The Dunedin sound was a style of indie pop music created in the southern New Zealand university city of Dunedin in the early 1980s.-Characteristics:...
, a loosely-connected style of music largely produced by bands from the southern city. Other artists on the label included The Chills
The Chills
The Chills are a guitar and keyboard-based rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand. In the 1980s and 1990s, they were one of the proponents of the Dunedin Sound.- History :...
, The Verlaines
The Verlaines
The Verlaines are a rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand. Formed in 1981 by Graeme Downes, Craig Easton, Anita Pillai, Phillip Higham and Greg Kerr, the band went through multiple line-ups before going on an extended hiatus after their 1997 album Over The Moon. In 2003 a career retrospective, You're...
, The Bats
The Bats
The Bats are an influential New Zealand rock band formed in 1982 in Christchurch by Paul Kean , Malcolm Grant , Robert Scott and Kaye Woodward...
, and Sneaky Feelings
Sneaky Feelings
Sneaky Feelings were a 1980s New Zealand pop/rock band, led by Matthew Bannister, who recorded on the Flying Nun label. Initially recording with the line-up of Bannister , David Pine , Kat Tyrie and Martin Durrant , Tyrie was replaced by John Kelcher early in the band's career...
. The line-ups of these bands were often interrelated, with Peter Gutteridge being a founding member of The Chills, David Kilgour briefly in The Chills off-shoot band Time Flies, and Robert Scott being the founder of The Bats
The Bats
The Bats are an influential New Zealand rock band formed in 1982 in Christchurch by Paul Kean , Malcolm Grant , Robert Scott and Kaye Woodward...
.
During much of the 1980s, The Clean disbanded, and during this time the Kilgour brothers worked together on an experimental album and EP using the deliberately punning titles "The Great Unwashed" and "Clean Out of Our Minds". Reforming in the late 1980s, the band explored a slightly poppier vein of music while still retaining their experimental edge.
Although they released several chart-topping singles in their native country, The Clean are a little-known cult band outside of New Zealand, although their influence is surprisingly far-reaching. They became a staple of college radio in the 1980s, Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an indie rock musician and icon, and a member of the band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.-Early years:...
of Pavement
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
cites them as a major influence, and the band's droney 80s output is a direct forerunner of bands such as Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo, sometimes abbreviated as YLT, is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan , Georgia Hubley , and James McNew .Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential...
and Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven is an American alternative rock group formed in Redlands, California in 1983.An eclectic band, Camper Van Beethoven mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk and alternative country, as well as various types of world music. Their aggressive musical pluralism created a...
.
The Clean continue to produce music, with Flying Nun recently issuing a comprehensive collection of their previously hard-to-find singles. Output from the band has been sporadic over the years, with members involved in other projects and Hamish Kilgour living in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Other projects involving members of the band include The Bats
The Bats
The Bats are an influential New Zealand rock band formed in 1982 in Christchurch by Paul Kean , Malcolm Grant , Robert Scott and Kaye Woodward...
and The Magick Heads (Scott), Stephen, The Heavy Eights (David Kilgour), and The Mad Scene
The Mad Scene
The Mad Scene is a musical group based in New York City. Core members are guitarist Hamish Kilgour , and guitarist/bassist Lisa Siegel.-Career:The band was founded in 1990 in Auckland, New Zealand...
(Hamish Kilgour).
In early 2007, The Clean toured New Zealand on their "Bangers and Mash" tour, during which they celebrated Hamish Kilgour's 50th birthday while playing at "The Studio" in Auckland on Saturday 17 March 2007. Later that same year, the band's best-known incarnation (Kilgour/Scott/Kilgour) reunited for a short East Coast tour of the USA. The tour began in Manhattan, NYC with four shows: an in-store performance at Other Music and a three night stand at the Cake Shop on the Lower East Side. Although the tour officially concluded with a performance at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia, the following week the band played an extra show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ, opening for Yo la Tengo at one of the group's annual Hannukah concerts.
In June 2008 a live album recorded during the 2007 New Zealand tour was released in New Zealand on Arch Hill Records, entitled "Mashed". A new studio album, titled Mister Pop was released on 7 September 2009 on Arch Hill, and on 8 September in the United States on the Merge label.
The Clean announced their first European dates in more than 20 years, supporting the cult U.S band Pavement at Brixton Academy on 10 May 2010. They also played at Butlins Minehead
Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park...
on 14 May. Other dates on the tour included Amsterdam (22 May), Hamburg (23 May), Berlin (25 May) and Barcelona's Primavera Sound festival (29 May).
Filmography
- 1999: ScarfiesScarfiesScarfies is a low-budget 1999 New Zealand film set in the southern university city of Dunedin. The film's original title comes from the local nickname for university students, scarfie, so called because of the traditional blue and gold scarves worn by students during the city's cool winters in...
, in which they are seen performing the song Tally Ho! in a performance at the Empire Tavern, Dunedin (the line-up for this performance was David Kilgour, Robert Scott, Robbie Yates, and Thomas Bell).
External links
- The Clean and David Kilgour discography
- MySpace page
- Interview at Acetone Magazine
- The Clean on Flying Nun Records
- The Clean on Film Archive