Nun flies to 30th birthday
The solo project began in Christchurch in 1981 when, with a strong music scene in the city, Shepherd was keen to document what was going on. He is celebrating his 30-year journey with a series of concerts from signed bands in November, artfully rechristened ‘Nunvember’.
“I’m an enthusiastic fan who wanted to help out in a delusional way,” laughs Shepherd.
Delusional indeed - but the time was right, the people were right, and business exploded.
“We got shot out of the water with The Clean, a remarkable band,” explains Shepherd, whose musical history began with a school holiday job at a music store, “They rolled through town at just the right time.”
After signing The Clean, who were “the biggest band in New Zealand,” the label then dominated the eighties, according to Shepherd: a big turnaround from a small set up designed just to record what was going on in the music scene. The success was also through friends in a post-punk era characterised by a do-it-yourself attitude.
“Music was reinvented to some extent,” says Shepherd, “Anyone could pick up an instrument and play. Anyone could start a band. Anyone could make a record.”
Strong, driven personalities helped keep Shepherd on his toes, including Martin Phillipps from The Chills, Shayne Carter from Straightjacket Fits and the colourful Chris Knox, with “bucketloads of personality.”
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Shepherd, who sold half the label to Australia’s Mushroom Records in the late eighties and was promptly squeezed out when James Murdoch’s News International bought Mushroom.
“Flying Nun ended up without its own identity,” laments Shepherd, who had been running the label for a while from Mushroom’s London offices.
He returned to New Zealand six years ago with his family and settled in Wellington. After he was asked to compile a box set for the 25th anniversary of Flying Nun, relationships with the new owners started to repair themselves.
“In Wellington I was bumping into old friends and getting reconnected to the music,” says Shepherd, “At the end of 2009 I asked, ‘Look, would you be interested in selling me back Flying Nun.’ They said, ‘Yes.’”
Now Shepherd’s back at the helm and he couldn’t be happier.
“We’re just going to go for it. I’m not interested in mainstream, commercial music and I never have been. I’m looking forward to maintaining that.”
Nunvember shows, assorted Wellington venues, November 5-25.










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