GOOD AS GOLD; NEW ZEALAND IN THE 1980s by MATT ELLIOTT

 |   |  1 min read

GOOD AS GOLD; NEW ZEALAND IN THE 1980s by MATT ELLIOTT

So, if you were there, what was the Eighties to you?

Springbok Tour, Queen Street Riot, the Rainbow Warrior bombing, Lange and Douglas?

Or Flying Nun, indie rock, the rise of breakdancing and hip-hop? And Poi E?

Maybe you were caught up in the adrenalin rush of the stockmarket with the Chase Corporation and Equiticorp, bought up shares and borrowed to do so, long lunches and living the high life until that day in '87 when you woke up and the market had crashed and you weren't just broke but were in serious debt and the house was going on the market?

The Te Maori exhibition, Peter Jackson's Bad Taste, When the Cats Away, Funny Business, Loyal . . .

True Colours, Beauty and the Beast, Amco Jeans, Penny Whiting and Peter Blake, the microwave oven, Lance Cairns . . .

The Eighties was as messy a decade as any other and only a historian or someone with too much time on their hands would try to find a shape within it.

Matt Elliott for his softcover, coffee-table, thoroughly illustrated 190 page book Good As Gold is smart enough to just throw all the images out there which will provoke and evoke, and just walk us through the years with pictures of McPhail and Gadsby, sports and leisurewear, Rip It Up, video games, The Bone People, BillT James, San Bran, the Rugby World Cup, . . .

Here too is the international impact from sport, Bowie, Dire Straits, Toshiba cassette players, Ray Bans . . .

From Miss Universe to murders, the Rubik Cube to An Unfortunate Experiment at National Women's, this page-flick book will trigger memories. Some fun ones and some not so much.

Alison Holst and Ladies Night were really popular, huh?

GOOD AS GOLD; NEW ZEALAND IN THE 1980s by MATT ELLIOTT Bateman Books $50

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Writing at Elsewhere articles index

THE BARONESS by HANNAH ROTHSCHILD

THE BARONESS by HANNAH ROTHSCHILD

Some patrons of the arts are rewarded with physical legacies: the family name on the wing of a major gallery, a sculpture park, their portraits in public collections . . . Others make do with... > Read more

EVERY POSTER TELLS A STORY! 30 YEARS OF THE FRONTIER TOURING COMPANY edited by ELOISE GLANVILLE and  SARAH MORGAN

EVERY POSTER TELLS A STORY! 30 YEARS OF THE FRONTIER TOURING COMPANY edited by ELOISE GLANVILLE and SARAH MORGAN

Many people who have grown up in the rock era have band posters knocking about the house. Some of these are artistic (my framed one of Big Brother and the Holding Company with Moby Grape in San... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

Oscar LaDell: Gone Away (digital outlets)

Oscar LaDell: Gone Away (digital outlets)

Born in the US and raised in Dunedin, 21-year old Oscar LaDell is a blues-inclusive player whose reach is from deep'n'gruff and convincing Howling Wolf/Chicago blues with brutally distorted guitar... > Read more

LOU REED AND PATTI SMITH IN THE 21ST CENTURY: Patent pending

LOU REED AND PATTI SMITH IN THE 21ST CENTURY: Patent pending

When those archetypal New Yorkers Lou Reed and Patti Smith both released albums in the early days of 2000, it allowed anyone still interested in their careers the chance to consider their relative... > Read more