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Above Ground

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Above Ground
Above Ground rehearsal, 566a Colombo St, Christchurch, 1983
Above Ground rehearsal, 566a Colombo St, Christchurch, 1983
Background information
OriginNew Zealand
GenresFreeflow psychedelic Christchurch garage
Years active1983
LabelsSiltbreeze
MembersBill Direen
Maryrose Crook
Stuart Page
Carol Woodward

Above Ground was a band from Christchurch, New Zealand formed in 1983.

History

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Above Ground developed out of the friendship of the four members: Bill Direen (Guitar/Vocals), Carol Woodward (Keyboards), Maryrose Wilkinson (Bass/Vocals) and Stuart Page (Drums). The group played locally and at the Punakaiki Music Festival (West Coast, New Zealand); and would have been forgotten like a lot of bands had Page not recorded nearly every practice and concert and organised the "Gone AIWA" cassette (1983), re-released in 2011 on vinyl by Siltbreeze.[citation needed]

Historian of NZ music John Dix mentions the group in his encyclopaedia of NZ rock and roll Stranded in Paradise: New Zealand Rock'n'Roll, 1955-1988.[1]

Cassette

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Gone AIWA (1983)

Album

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Black vinyl 12" 33 1/3 album was released by Siltbreeze Records, Philadelphia, USA, (from cassette of 1983). 2011.

References

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  1. ^ 'In December came Dance of Death by the Soluble Fish Ensemble, and in July [the cassette] Gone AIWA, by yet another new band – Above Ground. Needless to say, the group was short-lived. ... [Bill] Direen had by now built up nationwide interest for his critically acclaimed but hard-to-get releases.' Dix, John (1988). Stranded in Paradise: New Zealand Rock 'n' roll 1955–88. Page 299. Palmerston North, NZ: Paradise Publications. ISBN 0-14-301953-8 ISBN 0-473-00638-3
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