Citizen Band | |
|---|---|
 Citizen Band performing live, 1978 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New Zealand |
| Years active | 1978–1982, 2016 |
| Past members | Geoff Chunn Mike Chunn Greg Clark Brent Eccles Roland Killeen |
Citizen Band were a New Zealand band formed by the brothers Geoff and Mike Chunn, both of whom had previously been members of Split Enz. [1]
Geoff Chunn played guitar, sang, and wrote most of the songs. Mike Chunn played bass guitar. Other members were guitarist Greg Clark and drummer Brent Eccles, both previously in New Zealand glam rock band Space Waltz. [2] Formed in 1977 after Mike Chunn left Split Enz [3] due to his struggles with agoraphobia, [4] the band played concerts around Auckland including a free concert in Albert Park and a one-day rock festival. The band recorded their first album Citizen Band at Mandrill studios, produced by the band and Glyn Tucker.
Their second album Just Drove Thru Town was recorded at Mandrill Studios on 18–30 June 1979. It was produced by Jay Lewis and engineered by Glyn Tucker. Two singles were released from the album, "Rust in My Car"/"Dig That Tex" and "No Stereo"/"SOS".
After the band moved to Australia, Mike Chunn left the band, and was replaced by Roland Killeen. The band broke up in 1982.
Citizen Band's original lineup could be regarded as a New Zealand supergroup, as both Chunn brothers were previously in Split Enz, [3] and Clark and Eccles were in glam rock band Space Waltz.
| Date | Title | Label | Charted | Certification | Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Citizen Band | Mandrill | 27 [2] | - | |
| 1979 | Just Drove Thru Town | CBS Records New Zealand | 18 | - | SBP237349 |
| 1980 | CB Bootleg (Live) | - | - | ||
| 1993 | Rust in my Car | - | - | ||
In 2012, Citizen Band, along with other NZ bands who played at The Gluepot in the 1970s: Dragon, Hello Sailor, and Street Talk, reunited for a 'Gluepot Reunion' concert. [5]
On 27 May 2016, Citizen Band reformed for a one-off concert at the inaugural Sounds Session [6] organised by The Sound radio station at the Tuning Fork in Auckland. Tickets could only be obtained by winning them from the radio station via a TXT message sent when an earlier named New Zealand song was played (May is New Zealand Music Month).
The play list was:
and then an encore of "Hold Tight" a cover of a Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich song.
Neil Mullane Finn is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for being a principal member of Split Enz with his brother Tim, the lead singer and a founding member of Crowded House, and a touring member of Fleetwood Mac. Finn joined Split Enz in 1977 after the departure of founding member Phil Judd and influenced a shift away from band's art rock roots and towards a new wave and pop-oriented sound. Gradually rising in creative prominence within the band, he came to write the majority of the band's successful songs in the 1980s, including "One Step Ahead", "History Never Repeats", "I Got You", and "Message to My Girl".
Paul Newell Hester was an Australian musician and television personality. He was the drummer for the band Split Enz for a short time in 1984, and co-founding member and drummer of the rock group Crowded House.
Split Enz were a New Zealand band formed in Auckland in 1972. Regarded as the first New Zealand band to gain significant recognition outside of Australasia, they were noted for their flamboyant visual style and theatrical performances. Originally formed by university students Tim Finn and Phil Judd as an acoustic-based act, they built a strong regional reputation as an art rock band before moving to Australia in 1975, where they recorded and released their debut album Mental Notes. Their second and third albums, Second Thoughts (1976) and Dizrythmia (1977) were recorded in the UK. Judd left before the recording of the latter and was replaced by Tim Finn's brother Neil. This change, as well as Neil's increasing involvement in the songwriting process, signaled a shift away from the band's art rock roots and towards a new wave-influenced pop sound that culminated in the band's most commercial period in the early 1980s starting with the single "I Got You", whose breakthrough along with its parent album True Colours (1980) gained them significant international success.
Brian Timothy Finn is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz. Finn founded the band in 1972 with Phil Judd and served as lead singer and principal songwriter. Following Judd's departure in 1977, he was joined by brother Neil. Finn wrote or co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs, including "I See Red" and "Six Months in a Leaky Boat". While still a member of Split Enz, he began a solo career, scoring the two hits "Fraction Too Much Friction" and "Made My Day" in 1983; he left the band in 1984.
Geoffrey Noel Crombie is a New Zealand percussionist and former member of the band Split Enz. He fulfilled multiple roles including costume and hair designer, singer, album cover designer, and music video director. Prior to Split Enz, Crombie worked as a postal assistant and was also an artist. He attended Mana College and then moved to Auckland to study art at Elam School of Fine Arts.
Jonathan Michael Chunn is a former member of the New Zealand bands Split Enz and Citizen Band. He performed alongside his brother Geoff Chunn in both bands. His musical performing career was cut short due to agoraphobia.
Anthony Edward Charles Rayner is a New Zealand musician who spent twelve years as a keyboardist in the band Split Enz. He has also played in the groups Orb, Space Waltz, Crowded House, The Makers, The Angels in 1986-1987 and 801.
Dizrythmia (1977) is the third studio album released by New Zealand new wave band Split Enz. It was the first Split Enz album without co-founding members Phil Judd and Mike Chunn. Neil Finn and Nigel Griggs, the first being the younger brother of band leader Tim Finn, replaced them respectively. Meanwhile, Nigel's old friend and former bandmate Malcolm Green took the place of Emlyn Crowther, who also left around this time. The album was released domestically by Mushroom Records, and overseas by Chrysalis Records.
Philip Raymond Judd is a New Zealand singer-songwriter known for being one of the founders of the bands Split Enz and The Swingers.
Malcolm Green is an English-born drummer best known as a member of New Zealand band Split Enz from 1976 to 1981.
Paul Emlyn Crowther is the former drummer of Split Enz who performed with the band from July 1974 to November 1976.
The Beginning of the Enz is the fifth studio album from New Zealand rock group Split Enz. The album is a collection of non-album singles and demos that pre-date the band's first album, 1975's Mental Notes. Three of these songs, "129", "Lovey Dovey" and "Spellbound", were later re-recorded and included on Mental Notes and Second Thoughts.
"I See Red" is a 1978 song by New Zealand art rock group Split Enz. It was released in December 1978 as the lead single from their studio album Frenzy.
Geoff Chunn is a New Zealand musician, best known as an early member of Split Enz.
Waves was a New Zealand folk rock band that recorded a top-selling self-titled album in 1975 before disbanding in 1977. Its lineup emerged from an acoustic trio, Rosewood, which originally included Geoff Chunn, who later joined Split Enz. Despite making only sporadic live appearances—one of which was a double billing shared with Split Enz—their singles gained major airplay on Auckland radio and the Waves album reached No.7 on the New Zealand album charts, later becoming a sought-after collector's item.
Glyn Tucker Jr. was a leading figure in the New Zealand music industry for more than twenty years. Following an early career as a singer/songwriter in The Gremlins (1965–1968) he founded Mandrill Recording Studios in Auckland in 1975, and produced and engineered hundreds of New Zealand songs in the late seventies, eighties and early nineties.
Mandrill Studios was a recording studio in Parnell, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. Many of New Zealand's prominent artists have had their work recorded there.
Alastair Riddell is a New Zealand singer-songwriter.
Space Waltz are a New Zealand glam rock band formed in 1974 by frontman Alastair Riddell. In 1974, they had a number-one hit in New Zealand with "Out on the Street".
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| National | |
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