Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by The Guardian as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringing global attention to the Dunedin sound, a cultural and musical movement in early 1980s Dunedin.
The Dunedin sound was a musical and cultural movement in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, in the early 1980s. It helped found indie rock as a genre. The scene is associated with Flying Nun Records, an independent label.
Rock music in New Zealand, also known as Kiwi rock music and New Zealand rock music, rose to prominence first in 1955 with Johnny Cooper's cover version of Bill Haley's hit song "Rock Around the Clock". This was followed by Johnny Devlin, sometimes nicknamed New Zealand's Elvis Presley, and his cover of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy". The 1960s saw Max Merritt and the Meteors and Ray Columbus & the Invaders achieve success. In the 1970s and early 1980s the innovative Split Enz had success internationally as well as nationally, with member Neil Finn later continuing with Crowded House. Other influential bands in the 1970s were Th' Dudes, Dragon and Hello Sailor. The early 1980s saw the development of the indie rock "Dunedin sound", typified by Dunedin bands such as The Clean, Straitjacket Fits and The Chills, recorded by the Flying Nun record label of Christchurch. New Zealand's foremost hard rock band Shihad started their long career in 1988. Since 2018 this title is now undoubtedly held by New Zealand Māori metal band Alien Weaponry who have achieved huge success in Europe and the USA.
The Clean was a New Zealand indie rock band formed in Dunedin in 1978. They have been described as the most influential band to come from the Flying Nun label, which recorded many artists associated with the "Dunedin sound", and one of the first bands to be described as "indie rock".
Shayne P. Carter is a New Zealand musician best known for leading Straitjacket Fits from 1986 to 1994, and as the only permanent member of Dimmer (1995–2012).
The Chills are a New Zealand indie rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band were fronted by founding mainstay singer-songwriter, guitarist Martin Phillipps. During the mid-1990s they were billed as Martin Phillipps & the Chills. Their top ten studio albums in their homeland are Submarine Bells (1990), Soft Bomb (1992), Snow Bound (2018) and Scatterbrain (2021). The Chills were a cult band in other parts of the world as one of the earliest proponents of the Dunedin sound. Their top 20 singles are "Pink Frost", "Doledrums", "I Love My Leather Jacket" (1986), "Heavenly Pop Hit" (1990) and "Male Monster from the Id" (1992).
Straitjacket Fits were a four-piece alternative indie rock band that formed in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1986 and broke up in 1994. They released three studio albums, Hail (1988), Melt (1990), and Blow (1993), and several EPs. Their line-up for their first two albums consisted of Shayne Carter, John Collie (drums), David Wood (bass), and Andrew Brough. Brough departed the band in 1991 and was replaced for the band's final album by Mark Petersen.
Able Tasmans were an indie pop band from Auckland, New Zealand, initially formed as a duo in 1983. They released four albums and two EPs on Flying Nun Records before splitting up in 1996.
Heavenly Pop Hits – The Best of The Chills is a greatest hits album by New Zealand group The Chills, released in 1994.
Soft Bomb is an album by New Zealand group The Chills, released in 1992. It was the follow-up to Submarine Bells, which had hit number 1 in New Zealand in 1990.
The Dunedin Double EP is a 1982 compilation EP by The Chills, Sneaky Feelings, The Stones, and The Verlaines, released on the Christchurch label Flying Nun. An unusual format, it contain two 45rpm 12" discs. At nearly 50 minutes length, it was longer than many compilations of the time period. The EP's release publicised Flying Nun as a major alternative record label for the first time. It has become regarded as one of the earliest seminal works of the Dunedin sound, which heavily influenced the development of indie rock.
Kaleidoscope World is a compilation album by New Zealand group The Chills, released in 1986 on Flying Nun Records in New Zealand and on Creation Records in UK. The album was a compilation of early singles, plus all the Chills' tracks which featured on the Dunedin Double EP and The Lost EP. It was reissued in 1987 by Flying Nun with a bonus 7-inch single, "I'll Only See You Alone Again"/"Green Eyed Owl". It was rereleased again in 2016 by Flying Nun and Captured Tracks with a further 7 bonus tracks.
Submarine Bells is an album by New Zealand group the Chills, released in 1990. This was the band's first album on a major label, as Martin Phillipps signed to Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Slash Records, to release the album in the U.S. The album reached #1 on the New Zealand album charts and had significant support from American college radio. The album was awarded gold status in New Zealand and represents the peak of the Chills' popularity at home. It is considered to be one of the defining albums of the Dunedin sound. The supporting tour for Submarine Bells culminated in a triumphant home-coming concert in Dunedin Town Hall.
Brave Words is the debut studio album by New Zealand band the Chills, released in 1987. It was produced by Mayo Thompson.
Grand Funk Hits is a greatest hits compilation by Grand Funk Railroad originally released in 1976 on Capitol Records (LP-ST-11579). It peaked at number 126 on the Billboard 200.
Joel RL Phelps is an American musician and songwriter originally from Montana, known for his work with the indie rock bands Silkworm and The Downer Trio.
Sunburnt is an album by Martin Phillipps & the Chills, though more correctly by Martin Phillipps alone. Owing to visa problems, the usual Chills line-up were not able to take part in the recording sessions, and session musicians Dave Gregory and Dave Mattacks appeared on all tracks, with Phillipps handling vocal, keyboard, and guitar parts, as well as some of the percussion. Craig Leon, the album's producer, also appeared on several of the tracks.
Jane Dodd is a New Zealand musician and contemporary jeweller. She is well known for her role as a bass player in early Dunedin-based Flying Nun Records groups The Chills and The Verlaines, was a long-standing member of Auckland group Able Tasmans, and occasionally played with side-project The Lure of Shoes.
"Kaleidoscope World" is an early song by New Zealand band The Chills. It appeared as the first track on the Dunedin Double, a seminal EP shared between four bands, which launched those bands' careers nationally and internationally. The track was recorded in Christchurch in March 1982, possibly in Toy Love bassist Paul Kean’s home in Longfellow Street in Sydenham.
Martin John James Phillipps was a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for The Chills. As part of the Dunedin sound, Phillipps and the Chills helped lay the groundwork for modern indie rock, and the band's innovative approach to alternative rock and lo-fi formed his legacy. After he died suddenly in 2024, Split Enz and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn said Phillips was a "true original, fascinated by and devoted to the magic and mystery of music".
