The Clean: in the dreamlife you need a rubber soul
by Richard Langston
The Clean are the seminal rock trio from the South Island, who are often credited as creating the ‘Dunedin Sound’ in the early 1980s. Richard Langston was, and is, a fan, a well-known journalist, and a published poet. But the book about The Clean is not a narrative with some photos and bits of rock memorabilia. Langston was asked to create this book by Sam Elworthy a long time ago, and he later saw it as his mission to collect the interviews and images that let the key participants tell the story. So what we read is what the players felt about the group in their own words along the way.
And what a visually impressive book it turned out to be: based on everybody keeping their own record of photos, posters, and ephemera, Langston has done a superb job as the editor, just adding some text for continuity in places. Certainly, there is immense creativity in the images made by the band members themselves, but with the help of friends and lovers, this is an absolute visual treat. With a lot of thought, the design and the use of colour in the layout make it a fascinating book to look at; and the inclusion of Craig McNab’s black and white photos of the group are also superb.
If it reads like the text of a radio documentary, with vivid pictures at each turn, there is also a very rock’n’roll story. The Clean were formed in Dunedin by the Kilgour brothers, Hamish and David, with initially Doug Hood on vocals in 1978; then a rhythm section of Pete Gutteridge (bass) and Lindsay Hooke (drums) was added in 1979, with Hamish doing the singing. The classic trio line-up was David Kilgour on guitar, Hamish Kilgour on the drums, and Robert Scott played the bass. Having played in Dunedin in 1979, in the wake of Chris Knox and The Enemy, they then began to branch out.
The Clean went to Christchurch in 1980, recorded a song called ‘Tally Ho’, made some videos with Chris Knox, and played in some pub gigs to a receptive crowd. Roger Shepherd was forming Flying Nun Records, and put the song out on an EP called Boodle Boodle Boodle, which then did really well in the New Zealand market. The Clean ventured up to Auckland to link up with other punk influenced groups, including The Screaming Mee Mees, and it was onwards and upwards from there. Their timing seems to have been perfect, given the new wave of bands and creativity in the early 1980s.
Rock groups formed by brothers have a certain trajectory, based on sibling dynamics. In this country we think of the Finn brothers from Te Awamutu, and their influential group Split Enz. But The Clean were very much a South Island band: having grown up in both Christchurch and Dunedin, the Kilgours also lived on a farm near Cheviot, which seems to have been their spiritual home. Their father was a war veteran who found civilian life difficult, before succumbing to a neurological condition, leaving their mother Helen with two talented teenagers. She played some piano and also encouraged them to draw, had her own idiosyncratic style, as well as having an intuitive touch.
Like the stories of most rock groups there are plenty of ups and downs, as well as tragedies. Former member Pete Gutteridge died in 2014, and more recently their friend Martin Phillipps of The Chills. The Clean toured, recorded, and broke up, re-formed and released their best work Unknown Country in 1996. Hamish was the more troubled, mercurial core of the band, restless and fascinated with living in New York, but ultimately unable to survive there. He returned to New Zealand, realising he had health problems, and was later found dead in Christchurch in 2022. David Kilgour, and his long-term partner, Genevieve McCoy, returned to live in Dunedin and he continues to release solo records; and Robert Scott makes music with other groups, including local legends The Bats.
For those of us who were too young to see The Clean in action, or were not into the ‘D.I.Y. attitude’ of the Dunedin Sound, the book recalls some inspired compositions and their creative aptitude.
by Richard Langston
The Clean are the seminal rock trio from the South Island, who are often credited as creating the ‘Dunedin Sound’ in the early 1980s. Richard Langston was, and is, a fan, a well-known journalist, and a published poet. But the book about The Clean is not a narrative with some photos and bits of rock memorabilia. Langston was asked to create this book by Sam Elworthy a long time ago, and he later saw it as his mission to collect the interviews and images that let the key participants tell the story. So what we read is what the players felt about the group in their own words along the way.
And what a visually impressive book it turned out to be: based on everybody keeping their own record of photos, posters, and ephemera, Langston has done a superb job as the editor, just adding some text for continuity in places. Certainly, there is immense creativity in the images made by the band members themselves, but with the help of friends and lovers, this is an absolute visual treat. With a lot of thought, the design and the use of colour in the layout make it a fascinating book to look at; and the inclusion of Craig McNab’s black and white photos of the group are also superb.
If it reads like the text of a radio documentary, with vivid pictures at each turn, there is also a very rock’n’roll story. The Clean were formed in Dunedin by the Kilgour brothers, Hamish and David, with initially Doug Hood on vocals in 1978; then a rhythm section of Pete Gutteridge (bass) and Lindsay Hooke (drums) was added in 1979, with Hamish doing the singing. The classic trio line-up was David Kilgour on guitar, Hamish Kilgour on the drums, and Robert Scott played the bass. Having played in Dunedin in 1979, in the wake of Chris Knox and The Enemy, they then began to branch out.
The Clean went to Christchurch in 1980, recorded a song called ‘Tally Ho’, made some videos with Chris Knox, and played in some pub gigs to a receptive crowd. Roger Shepherd was forming Flying Nun Records, and put the song out on an EP called Boodle Boodle Boodle, which then did really well in the New Zealand market. The Clean ventured up to Auckland to link up with other punk influenced groups, including The Screaming Mee Mees, and it was onwards and upwards from there. Their timing seems to have been perfect, given the new wave of bands and creativity in the early 1980s.
Rock groups formed by brothers have a certain trajectory, based on sibling dynamics. In this country we think of the Finn brothers from Te Awamutu, and their influential group Split Enz. But The Clean were very much a South Island band: having grown up in both Christchurch and Dunedin, the Kilgours also lived on a farm near Cheviot, which seems to have been their spiritual home. Their father was a war veteran who found civilian life difficult, before succumbing to a neurological condition, leaving their mother Helen with two talented teenagers. She played some piano and also encouraged them to draw, had her own idiosyncratic style, as well as having an intuitive touch.
Like the stories of most rock groups there are plenty of ups and downs, as well as tragedies. Former member Pete Gutteridge died in 2014, and more recently their friend Martin Phillipps of The Chills. The Clean toured, recorded, and broke up, re-formed and released their best work Unknown Country in 1996. Hamish was the more troubled, mercurial core of the band, restless and fascinated with living in New York, but ultimately unable to survive there. He returned to New Zealand, realising he had health problems, and was later found dead in Christchurch in 2022. David Kilgour, and his long-term partner, Genevieve McCoy, returned to live in Dunedin and he continues to release solo records; and Robert Scott makes music with other groups, including local legends The Bats.
For those of us who were too young to see The Clean in action, or were not into the ‘D.I.Y. attitude’ of the Dunedin Sound, the book recalls some inspired compositions and their creative aptitude.
Review by SA Boyce
Title: The Clean: in the dreamlife you need a rubber soul
Author: Richard Langston
Publisher: Auckland University Press
ISBN: 9781776711567
RRP: $49.99
Available: bookshops
Author: Richard Langston
Publisher: Auckland University Press
ISBN: 9781776711567
RRP: $49.99
Available: bookshops
RSS Feed
