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Splash Alley Chris Moore (Guitar), Dick Driver (Vocals), Paul Mason (Guitar), Paul Scott (Bass), Kevin Emmett (Drums)
Paul Scott came up with an idea - and a name - in early 1979. The idea was to form a group with Chris Moore (a guitarist he had met on an earlier trip to Christchurch) and who was friends with another guitarist Paul Mason, whilst another friend, Kevin Emmett, played drums. Moore, Emmett and Mason had earlier responded to an advert in Christchurch's CJ's Music Shop, placed by a female singer from Australia who had a vision for a band called Eve and the Apples. After a rehearsal they had decided the Eve and the Apples concept was not them, but agreed to keep in touch. Moore made himself known to Scott, at a university party, by standing on his glasses. The second rehearsal was just the four of them, Emmett, Moore, Scott, and Mason - and the chemistry was there from the beginning. While musical tastes were diverse in the new group, they had Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, The Sex Pistols and Lou Reed in common. For the group's name, Scott recycled his old Timaru College band's handle, Splash Alley. They found a singer in Richard (Dick) Driver, a tall, wild-haired motorcycle racer, late of long-haired punks The Doomed. Driver looked the part and had been on TV as well as in the papers. He recognised in Paul Scott, a self-effacing and humble character, but with the determination and focus needed for a successful commercial pop group. Scott was constantly thinking about and listening to music and coming up with words and sounds. Initially they were a covers band, their set cribbed by Scott from Christchurch pub rockers Vapour and the Trails at the DB Gladstone, where Al Park's group had a near residency in the first half of 1979. In the main it was high-octane rock and sharp pop, but many originals poured forth. Their first gig was at The Dux de Lux on the old University of Canterbury campus and the crowd definitely liked what they heard. When The Swingers swung through Christchurch in late August for attendance-record-breaking shows at the Hillsborough, Splash Alley opened, returning the following week with Vapour and the Trails. |
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