Added: 3 years ago
From: nzoz1977
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  • I'm pretty sure David Bowie kinda sounded like this then.

  • @dicknavis123

    Actually David Bowie has sounded like this in 1970. That's who really was ahead of the time and whatever! Split Enz are brilliant anyway! Love this.

  • @Andrey71music I can't agree more. I hear all of the old SE and Bowie does come to mind. That said, there is not much other than Bowie besides these guys that have the music, theater and soul that Bowie did. I think Adam and the Ants when I see this too. Bowie was more poetic, but SE, Adam, Squeeze, etc. was rock (art rock) turning new wave before new wave was new wave - if that makes sense.

  • Don't forget about the old XTC...

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  • This song/video reminds me of an awesome horror/comedy movie from New Zealand called "Braindead" or "Dead Alive"....not sure..either way, check it out!

    Great storyline. Romance, zombies, a physcho rat, and just a little bit of blood...

  • Wow! today I found out where, Janes Addiction, ripped off their sound from!

  • Sounds like 70s hard rock with some punk/new wave mixed in....the bassline and percussion are so 70s

  • I remember the song back then, but this is the first time I've seen the vid.

    Henceforth, the memory of this tune is now tainted in my brain. But I think I can handle it.

    They say everthing happens for a reason. And it's probably a GOOD thing that it's taken 30 plus years for me to witness the video or "Bold As Brass" , now that I've some solid years worth of sobriety under my cap. Seeing this at the wrong time could have been devastating.

    Five stars and thumbs up from me to the Enz

  • I see the headlights of the 80s coming.

  • Neil & Tim remind me of Drake & Josh :$

  • Pure brilliance ,.. love it ! ... Wayne

  • Love at first sight

  • I'm made a comment on the wrong neil. sorry.

  • Someone had chooks in the backyard for sure. Love the hand under the piano key lid!

  • NZ gave Split Enz, Dragon and Crowded House 3 great bands from 3 great eras

  • In America there was (and still is in some cases!) DEVO, THE RESIDENTS and DEVO-and now bands like They might be Giants. In England we have/had GONG, CARDIACS, XTC and WIRE. New Zealand gave us SPLIT ENZ-great ear food!! The world seems smaller in retrospect. Nature will find a way, bands doing their own thing but somehow not in isolation! Worship these bands with all due reverance.

  • Frm the wife of Faust6688-One of my very fave Enz songs, yea!! :) I know Tim's dance in this vid by heart, used to do it every time the vid was on (makes me VERY glad YouTube didn't exist back then for real). Again, thanks for taking the time to post these, yr the best!! :)

  • The reason I got into split enz was Noel Crombie he,s such a funny guy.

  • love the cow lick Neil. lol

  • this is new wave before new wave. in retrospect we still have a lot to learn about the modern history of music, This should have been done after the demise of punk not along side it, a well advances group

  • Genius song ~ I can't believe this harks back from 1997.

    I was in form 1 then (yes sadly 45 yr's old now).

    It still sounds very contemporary ~ even for an old bugger

  • This was 1977. Who else sounded like this back then? These guys were way ahead of their time.

  • @blackhawk12151 I think about the only comparable band may have been Sparks at that time. This was New Wave before the term was ever coined.  Ahead of its time to be sure.

  • @blackhawk12151 Check out English band 'Cardiacs' 1977 onwards-more key changes, less pop more dark edge Genisis meets XTC clearly very contemporary with Split Enz.

    Cheers

    JOHN

  • @MrLymerJ I checked them out... one of their clips was played on Australian TV show 'Rock Arena', so I'm guessing we must have a tad exposed...

  • @blackhawk12151

    Talking Heads, a little bit. This is not to say that great minds don't think alike.

  • This is an amazing song and a video that was way ahead of it's time; I cannot believe I haven't heard it before!

  • This album was written while Judd was still in the band, but by the time they recorded he was gone. that's why Neil's role is somewhat limited. After this he started taking on a greater role in the band. Tim sings all the songs on this album.

  • Oh Neil... How adorable you are. <3

  • @TakeThatSuckaz Adorkable. Even I am liking the look.

  • @masterawesomeish Totally! I was actually a little sad to find that Neil has never needed glasses, they were just a prop. He's just so adorable with them. He's still pretty hot without them at least, but I've always liked men with glasses.

    Also, I really like this look. It reminds me a tiny bit of some of the odd stuff Oingo Boingo would do back in the 70's.

  • 'Dizrhythmia' my first enz album!

  • jesus christ this takes me back...86th st/4th ave brooklyn...after school...going into the record store(i forget the name)...listening to split enz and thinking about cindy...

  • @afterthefox You're a die-hard Enz head!

  • "Bold as brass" - the opposite of cookie cutter pre-fabricated conformity. Great video.

  • I remember being scared of this clip when I was young....

  • @missionridiculous haha ... i hear that ;) I'm a kiwi who was 16 in 1977 & clearly remember watching Split Enz on TVNZ in their garish make-upand my younger brother (who was still in primary school) running out of the room whenever the "scary clowns" were on ;)

  • @gabbax2hey77 That's hilarious.

    This video would have been a good tool for your parents to use to discipline your younger brother with if he didn't behave.

    "OK, young man! Clean your room, or we're putting on the 'Bold As Brass' video! NOW!"

    With me, it was this old conch shell. I always thought something was going to slither out of it and sting me. Anytime it was threatened to make an appearence, you'd better believe that I suddenly became real docile.

  • FANTASTIC, great stuff, I pity the generations growing up with out the ENZ

  • i want at least one of those crazy colored suits.

  • Thats a sick riff ....SiCk r i FF ......indeed a riff that is spewin.

  • i've gotta learn that funky chicken pickin' riff lol

  • This is one of my faves. My Split Enz faves keep changing! They've always got something to offer...

  • I love this song and the clip rocks.

  • Sounds a bit like Adrian Belew!

  • Wow Neil Finn at 19 years old !!

  • @subfight Going for the 'uncle arthur on acid' look.

  • @MrSuperiority when JJ ruled in oz

  • i smell a faiint scent of janes addiction

  • @mfactor88 Janes Addiction aren't that cool and this song was done in 77

  • @spatzlelg yeh i know sorry i meant it as maybe janes heard it or were influenced by it.

    ps i would have given my left nut to have seen these guys live back then :)

  • @mfactor88 Yes, definitely out there and this song is mood music.

  • Yes, very interesting. I see your point.

  • I want to be back in 1977 again....

  • How these guys existed in Muldoon-era New Zealand astounds me to this day.

  • @Anon371 and all the brit stuff under thatcher as well

  • I'm slightly frying and you still suck. Where's your audience suppose to be at?

  • How this band never reached super stardom status in the U. S. is a complete mystery to me.

  • Is it me or are Noel Crombie and Rowan Atkinson related?

  • Without a Doubt ( grin ) Split Enz was one of the greatest, most unique bands in the history of rock. As wacky, funny and eccentric as they appeared ( brilliant visual concept ) listen to Tim Finn's extraordinarily literate, intelligent and supremely witty lyrics and you see the sheer brilliance of the man's talent. The band were all phenomenally skilled players and the musical arrangements were quirky and catchy as all hell. There isn't enough love in the universe for these guys!

  • Retard, this band is Spilt Enz because it has only New Zealand people in it. No Australians. Why do you think Enz is how its spelt? It has NZ in it. This is pure NZ people in it.

  • If I recall correctly, at this point Tim and Phil Judd were still sharing main vocals at this stage. Neil had been brought in to replace a guitarist (one of the Chunn brothers?). Shortly after, Phil left (some say because he had an aversion to playing live in front of big crowds), and the Finns started harmonising superbly. But No-one should forget the harmonies between Tim and Phil in the early days. May be wrong, but that's how I recall it.

  • @madphilgreenballs well, while yr on the subject - Dizrythmia saw the replacement of three members; Jonathan (?) Chunn was replaced by Nigel Griggs on bass, Emylyn Crowther was replaced with Mal Green on drums and Phil Judd was replaced by Neil Finn on guitar. :) I LOOOOVE this band!!! :D

  • @RevSpike think you're right. Jonathan (Mike) Chunn left and turned up with his brother Geoff in Citizen Band. Don't forget a number of the original Enz used second given names in the band. If "Late Last Night" is correct, Tim's first name is Lyle. Not all members did. Maybe some didn't have a middle name. And I think they picked Mal up in the UK. They toured Mental Notes in the UK and released a re-produced version as Second Thoughts. But maybe my memory is going. Anyone else verify this?

  • @madphilgreenballs Yah - story is they wanted a symbolic change in the name of success - so they all began using their middle names. BRIAN Timothy Finn, PAUL Emlyn Crowther (his middle name is a "family name; a last name), and Phil (ever the rebel) decided to STICK with his first name (when the guys went for weird hairdos he SHAVED his head). You simply must do a netsearch for the radio series: ENZOLOGY. You will be amazed beyond belief. I don't think it's officially available any more, but...

  • @RevSpike Thanks Rev. Knew I had some of it right, but also admit my memory ain't what it used to be. Funnily enough, I've tracked down John Dix's original version of Stranded In Paradise. Hadn't realised I'd brought it up to Singapore when we left. Looking forward to reading the Enz part of that soon.

  • @madphilgreenballs ENZOLOGY!!!! Sit back and listen and listen and listen!!! (check yr YT mail for link)

  • Just one more reason why the 1970's were the greatest decade of all time - especially in New Zealand

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  • if these guy's were just getting started today,they would still kill it!!

  • too awesome. Just love the local boys.

  • Just picked up a Mushroom Record copy of Dizrythmia from a local shop. Not an album you see around here much.

  • @camc23 This clip is also funny when not under the influence

  • This made me at 8yrs feel that us Kiwis can be as creative and imaginative as any American or UK citizen!! Too bad that no one cares about us

  • @tomtomastina I loved them @ 3 yrs. old! Much <3 to the kiwis out there.

  • Best band ever to come out of Aotearoa (New Zealand) tumeke much !!!!!

  • When Split Enz first went on tour in Britain the crowds where umm-ing and arr-ing as to wether this was punk or not. The agreed that this was not punk but something totally unique.

  • @bellimbopinni I call it Clown Rock.

  • @bellimbopinni weirdo rock lol or maybe schizoid rock!

  • thanks for posting this. I had no idea......Freaking awesome music

  • wow i like tis music, and its almost twice as old as me!

  • 1:54 - MAD!!!!

  • Nice looking guys...

  • Rickenbacker

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  • The craziest bassline i've ever heard in my whole life... pure dadaism with 4 strings and a rickenbarcken.

  • I've always loved Crowded House, and I'm just now getting into Split Enz. I know I'm a bit late, but better late than never, huh? Thank you for posting all of these old videos, otherwise I'd still be clueless about Split Enz... and that would be a damn shame! :)

  • The strangest video I've ever seen. They look dead. Yet the song is pure fun and energy.

  • split enz is the band in it's own realm....nz rocks!!!!

  • whos singing lead tim or neil i just cabt figure out which ones which

  • @boobiesgirl

    It's Tim who's singing in this.... Neil's wearing the glasses.

  • @boobiesgirl i think it's Tim singing lead, and Neil doing backup. Neil steals the show, imo though... that funky callick, and his facial expressions! LOL Tim and Neil are both great musicians!!

  • @ramadarose41 it's called a cowlick - cuz it looks like what a farm boy'd get sittin with his back against the cow fence! :)

  • @RevSpike a cowlick is what happens when a cow licks a fly off of it's body resulting in a twirl of hair that sticks out you silly city mouse.

    more importantly, viva Split Enz viva the Brothers Finn!

  • @RevSpike 

  • @boobiesgirl i kinda sure tim sings most split end songs,neil doese do backing vocals a lot in split ends, crowded house is more neil's stuff.

  • great song

  • One of the best things in the history of everything.

  • One of the most truly original groups ever! In a strange way, their stuff doesn't date. As fresh and fun as always. I think what's at the heart of their magic is that they were simply seriously good musos! NZOZ - love all your posts! thanks for putting up this excellent music for us all.

  • @BrynRob Yeah I'm with you still fresh, because it's funny as well as unique. Love this band because they had heart.

  • LMFAO DUDE THAT BASS PLAYER IS GOOD AS FUKK!AND HES LAUGHING WHILE PLAYING HES A FUKKIN GOD

  • Love this so much...reminds me of being a kid again. Thank you!

  • Crazy ass band and kick ass songs and then the best band came out of this with

    Neil Finn and crowded house the song chocolate cake was the best along with the rest

  • dizrythmia, hmmmm yep in the best 10 albums ever made, parrot fashion love, perhaps the best pop song ever written, frenz of the enz till the enz

  • funny , but this is what you saw later (80s) in goups like talking heads n simple minds etc

  • why do they look like the Munsters! LOL where's Marilyn? hahaha ;-)

  • @ramadarose41 marilyn wish he was half the artist this guys are still, you see : who remembers marilyn today? this has more than 30 yrs and still rocks

  • This is kind of the coolest song ever written. :-)

  • For all the weird makeup and proto-punk hair, Split Enz's music was always wonderfully melodic and progressive.

    Tim looks like Heath Ledger's Joker.

  • gotta love neils hair.peacock hair part..hahaha

  • Almost 33 years old, yet it is as fresh as the day recorded.

  • @BerlinFan82

    You are so right! :-))

  • I absolutely agree. This song is so unique and ahead of it's time. What a great fucking band. :-)

  • my hubby labeled this "nerd rock", and there IS such a thing according to Wikipedia. LOL if i'm a nerd, then so be it... i LOVE this band, and all its incarnations, weird make-up and hairstyles and all! wish i could have seen 'em live! long live the Enz and Crowded House; long live the Finns!!!!

  • @ramadarose41

    I ve seen em live, We were at TA College 2 years behind Neil,

    I remember him and I being in school orchestra together, One day in 1973 we were both waiting for orchestra rehearsals to start . Now if anyone remembers 1973 it was All about " Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"

    Neil was goofing around on the piano,

    He was playing "Roy Rogers " and singing " Turn on the TV... shut out the lights..Roy Rogers is riding tonight....

    Man it was sweet.. good piano player. MC

  • I ve seen em live, We were at TA College 2 years behind Neil,

    I remember him and I being in school orchestra together, One day in 1973 we were both waiting for orchestra rehearsals to start . Now if anyone remembers 1973 it was All about " Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"

    Neil was goofing around on the piano,

    He was playing "Roy Rogers " and singing " Turn on the TV... shut out the lights..Roy Rogers is riding tonight....

    Man it was sweet.. good piano player. MC

  • @ramadarose41

    This doesn't sound ''nerd rock'' at all to me. I think that ,for example, Weezer is a better example of ''nerd rock''.

    But anyway both Split Enz and Weezer are fine bands.

  • actually this is the one I saw on Tizwas and since it was from 1977 then i was only 4 or 5 years old and to be fair i think this would've frightened the shite outta little fella's a lot older than me...I must say tho, as a 37 yearold i have to admit split enz were a pretty goddam good band...

  • I'm very pleased to know that this clip actually got played on a British TV show (for children) back in the day!

  • yeah Tizwas was a deadly show for kids but to a five year old those grey faces looked pretty scary. I've seen the finn bros and crowded house a load of times in dublin and they always acknowledge their irish origins (top men!!!)

  • Oh yes, they do acknowledge their Irish roots, indeed. They've made mention of it in many of their interviews.

  • Creelzor,

    #1 if you are not an "old timer" then you did not see this tour ( I did) so how do YOU own it and I don't?

    #2 if you think weed is for "old timers" and the only music "old timers" like is The Dead, a shopping trip to the Clue Factory is in order. Stock up !

    #3 ordering people to not be fans of a band because you own them is not the act of a fan , it is the act of a child desparate to be different. GROW UP!

    Liking The Finns doesn't make you different ,just tasteful.

  • Where are the young musicians as daring, inventive and talented as those up here, in the living culture of today.. please?

  • I find it hard to believe how boring, conservative and unadventurous many young bands are today. This is from somebody who has played in bands during the 90's and 00's... most don't dare take this sort of thing on.

  • @nzoz1977 I wear crazy hats every once in while. i used to strip down to my smiley-face boxers... But I'm too old for that now!  :-)

  • @sonicfrogdotnet don't give up

  • @FukuzawaY Do you listen any their songs exept this one?"I Got You" or "I Walk Away" or other their famous hits?Split Enz is extraordinary band with an amazing style and amazing music!Modern bands look similar to each other,but Split Enz is unique!These guys have a sence of humour.Do you know what is this?By the way,Neil Finn(guitar) is wonderful songwriter,maybe the best songwriter of Southern Hemisphere.He's a frontman of Split Enz and also Crowded House.Check it and then use a word "crap",Ok?

  • Get a copy of dizrthymia get a nice bottle of wine, smoke a fatty and enjoy my bros and sisters

    peace out, love, che guevara, and magic mushrooms for all

  • I would never Boo them off stage these guys were Great! Better than some acts Today no auto tune and no lipsync and play real instruments

  • The cardboard cutout dancing partners add tremendously to this. These guys are great.

  • Yeah, they were ahead of a lot people... they're talent even caused them to get booed off the stage when they attempted to support AC/DC in 1975. The videos for 'I Got You', 'I Hope I Never', 'History Never Repeats', 'Six Months In A Leaky Boat', 'Dirty Creature' and this video were all made by a great video-maker Chris Lofven - who now happily lives in Noosa, working on a local radio station and also has a business making videos for weddings, promotions, etc.

  • One of the great shames is that Chris Lofven's creative vision for bands and his ground-breaking videos didn't get him as far as his competitor; another Melbournite named Russell Mulcahy - who later became famous for his videos including 'Video Killed The Radio Star', 'Hungry Like Wolf', 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart' as well as some major Hollywood stuff...

  • nzoz1977: Well, I'll admit that Mr. Lofven makes very good videos. I wonder if he had any say about their makeup, and facial expressions, or did The Enz thought of that themselves? Why would they be booed off the stage for supporting AC/DC?

  • Chris Lofven did not get them to wear make-up. The clothes and make-up were done by Noel Crombie (the one of the left who shakes his leg with the odd hair). The Enz had been cooking up their act since 1973 in New Zealand.

    As for the AC/DC incident, it came down to their audience. Most people who followed AC/DC in Australia in 1975 were 'sharpies', a very tough local division of Britain's skinheads. Even if the sharpies liked Split Enz, they were forbidden to admit it.

  • One of the sharpies who booed Split Enz off the stage was Magda Szubanski. She later found success as a comedian (she also stars in the kid's movie 'Babe' - the pig movie) and found a fan and friend in Split Enz's singer Tim Finn. It would have been an interesting moment to see her admit to Mr Finn that she was one of those mean sharpies that booed his band off the stage.

    In 1976, the same thing happened to them when they played in Texas, which led to a punch up between Tim and Phil.

  • Interesting to note - the punch up between Phil Judd and Tim Finn, Tim's younger brother Neil Finn joined the band to replace the departed Phil Judd.

    Although Neil's playing embarrassed the Enz so much that it caused them to turn down his amp during their gigs; it was Neil who wrote and sang the bulk of their later hit singles including 'I Got You'. Ten years after joining Split Enz, Neil was scoring international hits with Crowded House.

    Check out 'Don't Dream It's Over'!

  • @nzoz1977: "Sharpies", eh? Fascinating how the youth will pigeon-hole themselves into categories. I can see how they would be reluctant to admit a fondness for the Enz. Why limit oneself? These guys are great. Innovative, and outstanding musicians.

  • Ha ha, Sharpies were a frightening lot, but so were many other camps of Australian youth.

    Sharpies embraced Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, Coloured Balls and other hard boogie Aussie bands - most being the big brothers of AC/DC (they were all from the same community).

    The sharpies and their ilk also frightened Queen from returning to Australia, after they were booed off stage at the 1974 Sunbury Festival. I believe Queen eventually returned to Oz, but only many years later.

  • @nzoz1977: From my experience, some Aussies are a rough and tumble lot. I would imagine the "sharpies" would have a large membership in Australia for that reason. So, the Sharpies booed Queen off the stage? No need to explain why. That would have been fun to have watched, though!

  • Freddie Mercury was so angry about being booed that he told the audience that his band were going to be the biggest band on the planet and they wont be returning to Oz.... ha ha, he was right.

  • nzoz1977: Mercury was right, alright. Queen served-up some very good hits. Some could be considered classics. "Oz", I think it's a great nick-name for Australia. What would the nick-name be for New Zealand? Nez? Newz?

  • I think it's just NZ... I don't think there's ever been a nickname for the country.

  • @nzoz1977: Oh, is the word "Oz" another word for "Australia"?

  • Yes... it is. Hence 'nzoz' being the initials of New Zealand and Australia

  • Shh, Enz are ours, stick to grateful dead old timer :)

  • If you are speaking to me - I'm 31, but will be 32 in a couple of days. I doubt that makes me an old timer (that is, unless you're under 18?)

    If were addressing that comment to terrafirma; then all I can say to you is to not be so rude. I recommended terra to check their videos out. This really has nothing to do with you.

  • creelzor: Ha! The Enz aren't yours'... They hail from NZ. Besides, I don't like the Grateful Dead anyway, and never did.

  • this is the 80's in 1977. Very Madness.

  • Who is that on acoustic guitar? name please.

  • Neil Finn - later of Crowded House

  • Many thanks .... I'd sort of worked it out tho wasn't sure, lotsa googling etc increases my fascination with these people and their ensuing careers. I am smitten by this song and vid, never tire of it. Wheres the 11 setting....

  • Very 'Cabinet of Dr Caligari'!

  • I thought this weirdness didnt come out until the eightiees

  • Make a move, get off your spine Shake your leg, tow the line Mum's the word, the doctor said Try your hand at this instead Standing fast as bold as brass Holding on until the last Call the tune and play it all day long There's a song that's just begun Strikes a chord in everyone It's the decent thing to do - your best Risk you take- when on the make Is falling down - upon the ground
  • That's the breaks - a bone or two

    Bring's it home- it's up to you

    Standing fast as bold as brass

    Holding on until the last

    Call the tune and play it all day long

    There's a song that's just begun

    Strikes a chord in everyone

    It's the decent thing to do - your best

    They're gonna move my spine?

    Make a move, get off your spine

  • sweet!!

  • This is awesome! They were really ahead of their time, not just in their music, but also in making videos. There really weren't videos being made by bands back then, other than films of performances, for the most part.

  • I was thinking the same thing. This video (along with My Mistake) were WAY ahead of their time.

  • forget my last text just seen it in top corner silly me

  • had the album lent it out never came back can anybody tell me the albums name only i cant remember AWESOME BAND

  • album was i think something like dizrythmia

  • One of my favourite Split Enz songs. Haven't seen this clip for 25+ years. Thanks once again for another fine video!!!

  • the enz original music way ahead of it's time.

  • Wow this was such a great line up!

    Yes love the Enz!!!!