AK79

AK79 is a collection of unreleased tracks by punk bands active in Auckland, New Zealand in the late 1970s. The album was compiled by Bryan Staff, with artwork from Terence Hogan, and was released by Ripper Records in December 1979.[1]

AK79
Compilation album by
various artists
ReleasedDecember 1979
GenrePunk
LabelRipper Records

History

Bands featured on the original compilation include The Scavengers,[2] The Swingers, The Primmers, Proud Scum, Toy Love and The Terrorways. An initial pressing of 500 was sold to a retailer. It was later reissued on LP and cassette via CBS, but deleted in 1982.

The defining record of the Auckland punk scene, it became rare and sought-after over the next decade.

An expanded and remastered CD version of the compilation was compiled by Simon Grigg and Roger Shepherd. This was released jointly by their record labels Propeller Records and Flying Nun Records in November 1993. This issue was expanded to include tracks by The Suburban Reptiles, The Spelling Mistakes, The Features and The Marching Girls, and additional titles from the bands on the original album.

The reissue was remastered and partially remixed by Grigg, with expanded artwork by Andrew B. White. The liner notes were by Grigg, Staff and Terrorways drummer Kerry Buchanan.

On 21 and 22 November 2008 a number of the bands got together for a reunion gig (compered by Bryan Staff) in Auckland, including The Scavengers, Proud Scum, The Terrorways and The Spelling Mistakes. Neither The Terrorways or Proud Scum had performed since 1980.[3]

A bootleg two-LP edition of AK79, with further unreleased tracks and a 20-page book (including commentary from 30 band members and original punks) was sold at the reunion gig, as well as AK79 T-shirts and other memorabilia.

AllMusic reviewer Chris Woodstra called AK79 "probably the best compilation of New Zealand's entries for punk rock and new wave of the late '70s".[4] Music writer Nick Bollinger included AK79 in his 2009 book 100 Essential New Zealand Albums.[5]

In 2014 the album was named as the second recipient of the Independent Music NZ Classic Record award, presented as part of the 2014 Taite Music Prize.[6]

AK79 was reissued on CD in a remastered version in December 2019 and on double vinyl by Propeller Records and Flying Nun Records in January 2020. It featured the original Ripper Records label design and was the first time the CD tracklisting was released on vinyl.[7]

Track listing
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Mysterex"The Scavengers3:44
2."Never Been To Borstal"The Terrorways2:04
3."I Am A Rabbit"Proud Scum1:49
4."True Love"The Scavengers2:39
5."Suicide"Proud Scum1:36
6."She's A Mod"The Terrorways1:50
7."Certain Sound"The Swingers3:30
8."Funny Stories"The Primmers2:24
9."Squeeze"Toy Love3:25
10."Baby"The Swingers3:10
11."You're Gonna Get Done"The Primmers3:15
12."Toy Love Song"Toy Love2:41
1993 reissue
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Megaton"Suburban Reptiles4:28
2."Coup D'Etat"Suburban Reptiles1:28
3."Routine"The Scavengers2:07
4."Mysterex"The Scavengers3:44
5."Never Been To Borstal"The Terrorways2:04
6."I Am A Rabbit"Proud Scum1:49
7."True Love"The Scavengers2:39
8."Suicide"Proud Scum1:36
9."She's A Mod"The Terrorways1:50
10."Certain Sound"The Swingers3:30
11."Funny Stories"The Primmers2:24
12."Squeeze"Toy Love3:25
13."Baby"The Swingers3:10
14."You're Gonna Get Done"The Primmers3:15
15."Toy Love Song"Toy Love2:41
16."Saturday Night Stay At Home"Suburban Reptiles2:47
17."Suicide 2"Proud Scum3:23
18."Short Haired Rock'n Roll"Terrorways2:06
19."City Scenes"Features3:28
20."Feel So Good"The Spelling Mistakes2:29
21."First In Line"The Marching Girls2:47
22."Frogs"Toy Love4:45
23."Victim"Features3:28
24."Hate Me Hate Me"The Spelling Mistakes1:58
25."True Love"The Marching Girls2:58
2008 reissue
No.TitleArtistsLength
1."Mysterex"The Scavengers3:44
2."Never Been To Borstal"The Terrorways2:04
3."I Am A Rabbit"Proud Scum1:49
4."True Love"The Scavengers2:39
5."Suicide"Proud Scum1:36
6."She's A Mod"The Terrorways1:50
7."Certain Sound"The Swingers3:30
8."Funny Stories"The Primmers2:24
9."Squeeze"Toy Love3:25
10."Baby"The Swingers3:10
11."You're Gonna Get Done"The Primmers3:15
12."Toy Love Song"Toy Love2:41
13."Saturday Night Stay At Home"Suburban Reptiles2:47
14."Born To Bullshit"The Scavengers 
15."Stingy"The Spelling Mistakes 
16."Hate Me, Hate Me"The Spelling Mistakes 
17."Sheep"Toy Love 
18."Suicide 2"Proud Scum3:23
19."Short Haired Rock'n Roll"Terrorways2:06
20."Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight"Rooter 
21."Mysterex (Version 2)"The Scavengers 
22."Pull Down The Shades"The Enemy 
23."Police Wheels"The Primmers 
24."Stage"The Superettes 
25."1978"Toy Love 
26."First In Line"Marching Girls 
27."Toilet"The Features 
28.UntitledThe Features 

References
  1. "AK79 Receives 'Independent Music NZ Classic Record' Award". Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  2. "The Scavengers To Tour New Zealand!", Stuff.co.nz, 11 October 2004.
  3. "Celebrating classic punk", New Zealand Herald, 11 September 2008.
  4. Chris Woodstra, AK79 review at AllMusic (accessed 2011-05-18).
  5. "Book Review: 100 Essential New Zealand Albums" Archived October 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, NZ Musician (accessed 2011-05-18).
  6. "The Taite Music Prize: announcing this year's 'Independent Music NZ Classic Record' award". Independent Music NZ Inc. Independent Music NZ Inc. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  7. "Simongriggdotinfo | AK79".
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