The Spivs

ROCKHAPPENZ Public Collection

The Spivs - seen here at a gig at the Granity Tavern
Luke Neary (Bass Guitar), Murray Olds (Drums), Charles White and John Purvis (Guitar/Vocals)

From an article in The Christchurch Press by Nevin Topp

Wot's thick, got no ambition, a lead guitar section that threatens to mime, and employs "natives" who have returned from Australia.  Give up?  Wish I had after interviewing The Spivs, a new Christchurch rock band that is trying to get off the ground.  Originally formed as a one-off band, The Spivs found they liked playing together, and the arrangement has become a semi-permanent one.  Three members of The Spivs, Charles White, Luke Neary and John Purvis have already played together in The Kippers, another local band, which folded at the beginning of last year.  The fourth member, Murray Olds, is the drummer for Vapour and The Trails.  Charles White is a guitarist with The Spitfires while both Neary and Purvis have returned from Australia.  "We all had these emigrants coming back, so we had to employ them" according to Charles White. Neary, White and Purvis had some difficulty in describing the type of music that the band plays, ending up defining the music as energetic rock - aimed to get people "off" including us, John Purvis said.  Charles White said: "There is a message in the music - we're thick" to which John Purvis added, "It's head-banging music.  If you like it you bang your head against the wall, and if you don't like it you still bang your head against the wall." John Purvis then suggested that the lead guitar section of the band was just going to mime its act, and leave the music up to the rhythm section.  Alan Parks, rhythm guitarist for Vapour and The Trails will also join the band, and other hopefuls named to help The Spivs were Blair Allchurch, of Champagne Jam, Bob Ogilvie, a former drummer for The Kippers, and John Lloyd, on keyboards for The Cowboys.  At present the band plays 50 per cent original material, which, John Purvis said was more complex than the cover versions that The Spivs perform.  Charles White wanted it known that The Spivs had no intention of going to the North Island, Australia, on televison, or making a record, because he was tired of reading about all the bands passing through Christchurch that had these goals.  "The ambition of the band is low" he said. The Spivs can be caught in the act at the Club de Grav this Sunday, and they hope to emerge at other locals venues at later dates.