Mi-Sex

Mi-Sex
Mi-Sex at the Lady Hamilton Nightclub 1978
Background information
Origin	Wellington, New Zealand
Genres	Rock, new wave
Years active	1978–1985, 2011, 2014-current
Labels	Columbia
Past members	Steve Gilpin Kevin Stanton Don Martin Murray Burns Phil "Smarty" Smart Steve Osborne Richard Hodgkinson Paul Dunningham Colin Bayley

Mi-Sex (also styled as MiSex) is a New Zealand new wave rock band that was originally active from 1977 to 1986. Led by Steve Gilpin as vocalist, Kevin Stanton as guitarist and songwriter and Don Martin as bassist. They provided top ten singles, "Computer Games" in October 1979 (No. 1 in Australia, No. 5 in New Zealand) and "People" in 1980 (No. 6 and No. 3, respectively). Their first two albums both reached the New Zealand top 10, Graffiti Crimes (July 1979) and Space Race (No. 1, June 1980). They were known for their cutting edge production and dynamic live shows. Gilpin died in January 1992, two months after a serious car accident from which he never recovered. Mi-Sex have periodically reformed, including in 2011 with Steve Balbi (ex-Noiseworks) on lead vocals.

Mi-Sex was formed in 1978 in New Zealand when Murray Burns on keyboards, Steve Gilpin on lead vocals, Don Martin on bass guitar and Kevin Stanton on lead guitar and backing vocals (all ex-Fragments of Time) and were joined by Richard Hodgkinson on drums. The band name is adapted from an Ultravox track, "My Sex", from that group's debut album, Ultravox! (February 1977).

Gilpin had earlier performed as a solo artist in New Zealand, following his winning a TV talent quest, New Faces, in 1972 (second place in the same show was Shona Laing).Invercargill-born Burns was influenced by progressive rock bands such as Yes, whereas Stanton's influences veered towards heavy metal. During 1977 Gilpin met Martin and they set about forming their own band; Martin brought Stanton on board and together with former Father Time members Alan Moon and Phil "Smarty" Smart, they formed Fragments of Time.