Soundtrack to your studies - 1965
Campus sounds from the sixties.
Two of the most important events on the student calendar were the Freshers Ball and the Graduation Ball, which both took place at the Peter Pan Cabaret at the top of Queen Street with the Arthur Skelton orchestra providing music for dancing and a floorshow featuring vocalists from other notable venues around the city.
Orientation included musical performances by students on campus - jazz and classical concerts in the University Hall and a folk concert in the Lower Lecture Theatre. There was also the yearly Revue performance, though this was slowly losing the support of students.
Jazz was still the most popular genre of music in the pages of Craccum and when Thelonius Monk visited, there was a full page article. The writer found Monk curt at the press conference but afterward wandered into his hotel room and found him to be friendly company as soon as the writer put his notepad away.
Meanwhile off campus, coffee lounges like The Galaxie and the Top 20 echoed with pop music of the day. The Keil Isles were amongst the most popular and their lead singer Herma Keil had a hit with ‘Teardrops.’
There was also a run of tours by international beat bands and pop stars, including Cilla Black, Freddie and The Dreamers, The Honeycombs, The Dave Clark Five, Gene Pitney, Millie and The Seekers, The Kinks, and Manfred Mann.
The most controversial visit was by The Pretty Things, who toured with starlet Sandy Shaw. The Taranaki Daily News was horrified by their long hair and captioned the photo of them with “These, believe it or not, are men!” The Truth was horrified by their behaviour offstage: “The drunken and dirty performers wrecked contents of hotel and motel rooms, disgusted their audiences and left several hotel managers considering legal action to make good the damage.”
Yet, the most memorable tour of the year was The Rolling Stones with Roy Orbison and the New Beats. Also on the bill was Ray Columbus and the Invaders, who had just won NZ’s first music awards, The Loxene Golden Disc, for their song ‘Til We Kissed.’
It was a good time for kiwi fans to hear The Rolling Stones since they’d just released their monumental hit ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’.
Add to the playlist
What was on your turntable while you were on campus? Suggest songs to add to our 1960s playlist, and you could win $100 Flying Out voucher.