Soundtrack to your studies - 1988

This year’s main orientation shows were held at the Gluepot. This included an avante-garde overseas act - the very odd duo Frank Chickens (from Japan by way of the UK) - and they were supported by Dead Famous People. Jay Clarkson played a special show at the Maidment Theatre where she was joined on stage by a crew of stilt walkers and acrobats. The final show on the Saturday night was Jean Paul Sartre Experience and The Bats at the Gluepot.

Gigs were also held at Shadows and the Functions Centre behind it, including this reggae event held by the local branch of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

The wider Auckland music scene gained a new venue at the end of the previous year - the Mt Smart Supertop. It was basically a huge circus tent which was erected on the grounds outside the main stadium. It was soon hosting big names such as Midnight Oil, Bryan Ferry, and Guns’n’Roses.

Less auspicious was the arrival of a new festival, Neon Picnic. Before the event could even take place, the checks started to bounce and when the internationals started to withdraw, the event was cancelled. Bob Geldolf had already arrived in the country so decided to make the most of a bad situation and helped arrange a free concert at the Waitemata Stadium using the gear that had been arranged for Neon Picnic. Also on the line-up were The Chills, the Pacific Band from Fiji, Rhythm Cage, and Graham Brazier.

The biggest international album of the year was the Phantom of the Opera
soundtrack, but as far as popular music the top seller was Hysteria by Def Leppard.

What was on the turntable while you were on campus? Suggest songs to add to our 1980s playlist, and you could win $100 Flying Out voucher.