SPLIT ENZ SHOCK! SCOOP! SCANDAL!

Rip It Up, Issue 1, 1 June 1977, Page 1

SPLIT ENZ SHOCK! SCOOP! SCANDAL!

From our London correspondent, Mr Edward Rayner, comes the latest hot news on Split Enz. We print a slighty abridged version of a letter from the Enz s keyboardsman.

On Phil Judd and Mike Chunn’s departure: Primarily both left for the same reason they both wanted to be able to spend more time with their wives and children. They also both were tired of touring and its trappings. You can probably understand how tiring it can become after virtually 2Vz years on the road. I could also mention other factors such as the punch-up between Tim and Phil in Atlanta but I won t.

On the new members: Well, unfortunately we've had to recruit another pommie whinger. Nigel Griggs has long been a friend of our drummer Malcolm and so we now have a very close nit(?) rhythm section. The other new musician, Neil is is, of course, Tim's brother. Their parents are, at present, considering whether to leave Te Awamutu and take up Tims offer to become roadies.

Neil, as you know is a very talented young lad. only 18 years old who we are going to mould and lovingly shape. He is playing mainly rhythm and acoustic guitars, mandolin and he s also singing a lot to thicken out Tim s sprightly poppish voice. Good lad that.

On the new material: After the US tour finished Tim and I spent a couple of weeks at his uncle s place in Baltimore where we completed tapes of old unrecorded songs, wrote lyrics and finished enough songs to fill a-n album. On this present tour the show is comprised of these new songs (about a dozen) plus one or two oldies. We made a conscious effort to keep ail the songs down in lenght (most are 3 growing ever more conscious of the need for the Enz to have a top-selling single and Rule The World!

On the U.K. tour: This is our second headlining tour of the U.K. So far we've done 12 out 15 dates, playing public concerts, universities, polytechs and small clubs, all of which have been well attended and very successful. The Victoria Palace in London for instance was sold out and was probably the best gig we ve ever done here. Spl-it Enz look-a-likes are becoming quite übitquitous and a fan-club is in the process of being formed.

On recording: Immediately after this tour ends, we will spend a few days polishing the potential album material and then we re straight into the studio to record. We re fortunate enough to have Geoff Emerick as producer although it will be more or less a co-production with the band. Emerick has just completed work on the new Supertramp album and is well known for his work with the Beatles and Paul McCartney's Wings. Actually, we ve already put down four tracks at AIR Studios, one of which will be released as a single to coincide with our NZ,Aussie tour. The coming LP. due to be released in the Antipodes in October will be comprised of about a dozen or so shortish songs; there will be no "Stranger Than Fiction s' or Nightmare Stampedes until the third or fourth albums. Future plans: Of course any of our plans are governed by the criteria of success. Say, for instance, if yve started receiving articles TV and radio coverage and rave reviews in Uganda, we would have to don our machine-guns and make our way over there to take advantage of it all. However, we do have a tentative schedule that takes us up till the end of this year as follows:

22nd May finish UK tour; Ist June —start recording at AIR studios. 9th July finish recording; 12th July arrive NZ for rehearsal and tour; 31st July leave NZ for Australian tour; early September concerts in Christchurch. Wellington and Auckland; 23rd Sept leave Auckland for London; late Sept UK tour commences; mid October UK tour concludes: mid October leave London for LA; late October US tour commences: late November US tour finishes; early December UK tour commences . . . etc, etc? etc. Hope to see you in NZ, Regards, Eddie.