Friday, March 5, 2010

Citizen Band


03-05-10 Citizen Band


Greg Clark, Geoff Chunn, Mike Chunn and Brent Eccles. Some ex-Enz!


7" IN A LIFETIME / GOOD MORNING CITIZEN MANDRILL NZ M 10007

1977 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

7" I FEEL GOOD / GOOD MORNING CITIZEN / MY POHUTAKAWA MANDRILL NZ DRILL 4

1978 3 TRKS with pic sleeve

7" SOMEBODY ELSE / HOLY FULELE MANDRILL NZ DRILL 11

1978 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

LP CITIZEN BAND MANDRILL NZ MAN 2

1978 12 TRKS

LP CITIZEN BAND re-issue CBS NZ CBS 001

1978 12 TRKS CBS re-issue

LP JUST DROVE THRU TOWN CBS NZ SBP 237349

1979 11 TRKS

7" RUST IN MY CAR / DIG THAT TEX CBS NZ BA 222562

1979 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

7" NO STEREO / S.O.S. CBS NZ BA 222596

1979 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

LP PIRATE CBS NZ CSP 129

1979 10 TRKS Live

7" I'M SO UP / I'M SOUPED (Greg Clark & Mike Chunn) CBS NZ BA 222702

1980 2 TRKS with pic sleeve (a Phil Judd song)

7" HOME TONIGHT / PAJAMAS / I WANTED TO BE HAPPY CBS NZ BA 222750

1980 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

7" GREEN ROOM, THE (Greg Clark solo) CBS NZ BA 222837

1981 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

7" WAY IT WILL BE, THE (as "The Sinclair Brothers") CBS NZ BA 223004

1982 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

CD RUST IN MY CAR COLUMBIA AUS 474167.2

1993 16 TRK Collection


I had the good fortune to have seen the original Split Enz at the Golden Bear nightclub in Huntington Beach, CA – at the time of the U.S. issue of “Mental Notes” (known as “Second Thoughts” in Australasia). Mike Chunn was still their bassist at that point.


Took me a few years to get to NZ, but the Citizen Band material was everywhere…in 1980. The debut album is really neat English-language pop music – a bit more polished than some NZ rock music. I was instantly a fan.


But I always got the impression that I had just missed them. They were no longer performing by the time I got to NZ, for example. I think I like the debut album better than the 2nd album, but that’s my opinion. And I like the “I’m So Up” 45 better than almost anything else they recorded!


Took me a few years to even find out that they had re-formed as The Sinclair Brothers, with a great solitary 45, “That Is The Way It Will Be”. End of story.


The CD age has only brought one Citizen Band CD that I am aware of – a “Best Of” CD 17 years ago. Probably out-of-print. Citizen Band were better than being relegated to being merely a Split Enz footnote. Check out their debut LP – snappy stuff!


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi, I have been a fan on the Chunn brothers since the late 70's and they continue to write and record. I have some of Geoff's home recordings of new originals and they are something else. You are right regarding the 1st album and the CD you refer to contains another original titled Tiger in a leopard skin which is an epic rock balLAD.

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