Customer Reviews

Don't Bring Me Down... Under: The Pretty Things in New Zealand, 1965

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As someone who grew up in London in the sixties and seventies and who now lives in New Zealand this was a must buy. Plus I've been a long time fan of the Pretty Things ever since I picked up a mint copy of their original Fontana lp (from Shoppertunities in Holborn) in the early seventies. The photographs are illuminating (there is some repetiton but this is not a problem) and the text is both informative and entertaining. NZ even now in 2006 has its retro qualities but not to the degree that existed in the sixties. My first visit in 1977 helps me accept the introverted nature of the culture there in previous years as shown in this book. If you're a Pretty Things fan then this is essential for your life. If you're not then try their 60s recordings and then read this - it's a distillation of the progress of rock from its black American roots to its current situation and thus is applicable many times over everywhere in the western world.

If you are a fan of The Pretty Things already then you will want this tidy magazine-style book revealing all about the group's momentous 1965 tour of New Zealand with Sandie Shaw. Even if you are not a fan of The Pretty Things (why not I wonder?), I'm sure after reading this revelatory account, you will be rushing to your nearest record emporium to snap up as many of the group's platters as you can afford or can carry home. Yes, it's true, this is the most revealing account of a group on tour in the early days of rock-group-goes-on-the-road as you could hope to ever imagine in your wildest dreams. If you've ever wondered what the source, or origin was for all these excessive hotel trashing, tv throwing, vomit-stained tales of hard rockin' & hard livin' pop groups on tour...THIS IS IT! If you are of a nervous disposition, or get queasy easy, then please do take care turning the pages. This is a unique, one-off publication of a totally one-off, unique rock group's tour - actually not much more a couple of weeks at the most, told by the participants, and put together by a intensely dedicated team of passionate experts...this is the last word on that fateful Pretty Things visit to New Zealand in the late summer of 1965, with all the words, pictures, tall tales, truths, half-truths, lies all brought forth into the light for the first time ever. Yeah. BUY IT NOW...before it disappears - Lenny Helsing (The Thanes) Scotland UK

Mike Stax and Co. have done a superb job yet again of bringing the rock'n'roll past to life in all of its raucous glory. The Pretties' 1965 tour of New Zealand is a high point in pop mayhem but this is the first time anyone has told the story fully. The photos are fantastic, the overall archival research superb, and the writing excellent throughout. If you want a snapshot of what rock'n'roll was like before it became scripted and predictable, read this book. Truly an excellent story excellently told. Kudos.

For those in the know, the Pretty Things were every bit as cool as the Brian Jones-era Stones. Here is a detailed account of their notorious tour of New Zealand where the outrageous antics of their drummer Viv Prince got them banned for life. Filled with press clippings, a well-researched text (it appears that all of the principals were interviewed) and lots of pictures, the book is obviously a labor of love. Published by UT Publishing, a spin-off of the fabulous Ugly Things magazine, the coolest zine of its kind. Recommended for all age groups.