Neighbours

Rip It Up, Issue 56, 1 March 1982, Page 8

Neighbours

The seven-piece champions of Stax soul, R&B and Caribbean clout, the Neighbours, have just completed a week at the Cook, Dunedin. It's their Thursday night stint and after a sizzling first bracket, Rick Bryant, sax, vocals and legend, Trudi Green, vocals and Sam Ford, guitar, talk about being the Neighbours. ■ Their first single, Loye Is Never Cruel' is out and it's great. Isn't it? Trudi: It's good -as a first single. We were aiming at a very big sound and that's why we went to Stebbing Recording Studio. Rick: Since it was our first one it was bound to be experimental and I think it's a little bit Soft but were happy with the sales. ... Why has the band opted for soul and R&B over the more fashionable bigger income earning ears of rock n' roll? Trudi: We love it'. The kids might not relate to it here but I was brought up in England where from the age of 13 on R&B was the . only thing that we really went , out- and danced! to. Even now record wise I'll play Otis Redding ten times more than any

album I've just bought. Rick: We play it partly because we love it and partly because we hope against hope that it's the coming fashion. I've been in R&B. bands for fifteen years now and there's always the people who like it and they make up for the discouragement of the mass not liking it. Trudi: In our original repertoire there are things from the ska and Latin fields that allow us to get away with the R&B stuff. When I first saw Rick in Rough Justice I loved him when I heard the first chorus of 'ln The Midnight Hour' and the whole place moved onto the dance floor. Rick: Yeah, it's the best dance music and we grew up with it. ‘. So the Neighbours' approach is a direct contrast to most of the very superficial, .highly-groomed Auckland set. Agree? Rick: Yeah we're pretty strong in the South Island and in the lower half of the North but we haven't cracked Auckland yet. We've got a rapport with the Auckland musicians that are pretty fashionable but we haven't cracked a rapport with their main following. What of the inevitable, first album? - Sam: The record company wants us to do an album this year but whether it's, after the second or third single is yet to be decided. Rick: We really wanna push the album. Were impatient but they seem to be patient.- Realistically it should be out by Christmas this year. George Kay