The Plague (New Zealand band)
| The Plague | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New Zealand |
| Genres | Rock |
| Years active | 1977–1979 |
| Past members |
Richard von Sturmer Don McGlashan Tim Mahon Mark Bell Ian Gilroy Andrew Snoid |
The Plague was a New Zealand theatrical punk/art rock band that existed from 1977 to 1979, and was led by Richard von Sturmer. Their most famous performance was at the Nambassa Music Festival in 1979 and they recorded four tracks for the Infectious EP. Von Sturmer went on to a career in writing and film-making and other members went on to play in bands such as The Whizz Kids, Blam Blam Blam, The Swingers, Coconut Rough and Pop Mechanix.
In 1977 Aucklander Richard von Sturmer returned from England, "charged with the new punk movement that flourished there. He assembled a troupe of 'actors' and they rehearsed a series of theatre/music pieces revolving around his poetry and showmanship. They called themselves The Plague." They wore unusual costumes and performed satires on bureaucracy, cancer and necrophilia. One of the members was guitarist Tim Mahon (The Whizz Kids, Blam Blam Blam), from the same school as von Sturmer, Westlake Boys High School, who joined in 1978. Mahon wanted to improve the group's musical ability to match the theatrics and presentation, and recruited a trio who had played together at Westlake Boys High School, consisting of Mark Bell on guitar (Whizz Kids, Blam Blam Blam, Coconut Rough, Scribble), Ian Gilroy on drums (Whizz Kids, Crocodiles, The Swingers) and Andrew McLennan, aka Andrew Snoid, on keyboards and backing vocals (Whizz Kids, Coconut Rough, The Swingers, NZ Pop, The Zoo). With two guitarists and no bass guitar player, Mahon learned to play bass guitar.
The Plague's first gig was with punk band The Scavengers at the State Theatre on Symonds Street in Auckland. Von Sturmer and his backing vocalists, the Snoids, appeared naked apart from a covering of paint. Their most famous performance was in front of an audience of 30,000 at Nambassa Music Festival in January 1979, again in body paint; as related in the novel The Predictions, the lead singer in cobalt blue, the guitarist red, and the backing singers yellow.
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