The Empire Hotel, Dunedin
Their floors were often puddles of booze and broken glass, their air a heady mix of teenage sweat and cigarettes, and the volume always went up to ‘‘max’’. But for rock and pop fans of a certain age, New Zealand’s live music venues were the perfect ‘‘slice of heaven’’.
Venues such as the Gladstone Hotel, the Cook and the Gluepot, to name but a few, witnessed the birth of many of New Zealand’s best-loved bands including Split Enz, the Dance Exponents, Hello Sailor, DD Smash, Herbs, The Mockers, Th’ Dudes and When The Cat’s Away.
And if live music fans weren’t thrashing their heads to local bands, they were rocking out to such international acts as New Order and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Now most of those venues have gone.
‘‘While the history of rock’n’roll was written inside pubs across the city, most of the legendary venues of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s have now largely disappeared,’’ said Bayleys’ national director of commercial, John Church.
They had been either swept aside by the wrecking ball or converted into commercial or residential premises, he said.
With one the country’s last legendary live music venues, the King’s Arms in Auckland, having recently sold, and the landholding most likely facing a new future, here are some of the New Zealand’s most famous music spots and the great moments in rock and pop history that defined them.
The Gladstone, Christchurch
Originally named after a British prime minister, the Gladstone shook off its rather stuffy beginnings in the 1970s when it became, in the words of The Press, ‘‘a meeting place for all the young people who like to listen to uptempo music and dance to their hearts’ [content]’’.
The pub, on the southeast corner of Durham and Peterborough streets, nurtured local bands such as the Gordons, the Clean and the Verlaines, and hosted international performers such as Nick Cave and the Saints.
The pub was bulldozed to make way for an office building, and the site is now occupied by a legal firm.
The Captain Cook Tavern, Dunedin
Known to generations of Dunedin students as the Cook, the pub is one of New Zealand’s most famous drinking institutions.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, the Cook’s low stage hosted the Enemy (before it became Toy Love), Rockylox, the Clean and Look Blue Go Purple to name but a few.
In 2014 it was closed as the University of Otago cracked down on out-of-control student drinking. It reopened again earlier this year as an upmarket gastropub. The Empire was the main home of the ‘‘Dunedin sound’’.
The revolutionary early grunge guitar-driven sounds played by the likes of the Verlaines, the Clean, the Chills, Sneaky Feelings and the Bats could be heard in the firstfloor bar for much of the decade, until the pub changed hands.
The new owner signalled he was not interested in that sort of music. Last drinks were poured in 2009 and the pub has stood empty since.
The Adelaide, Wellington
This pub had a colourful history even before it became a classic rock bar. The two-storey, 440-square-metre pub and hotel was built in 1899 and was home to 1970s former prime minister Norman Kirk after he was expelled from the Labour Party.
The pub hosted gigs by the Skeptics, Headless Chickens and Straitjacket Fits during the late 1980s. It was closed after struggling financially and the Wellington Council deemed it was earthquake prone. The pub was sold in 2015 and is set to be redeveloped into residential accommodation.
The Gluepot, Auckland
Standing staunchly at the corner of Ponsonby and Jervois roads, the Gluepot is the spot where Mick Jagger once played a 30-minute set for free and Midnight Oil’s Peter Garrett smashed his foot through the stage.
From the late ’70s onwards, the Gluepot was Auckland’s premier live music destination, attracting big Kiwi bands and international acts alike. It closed on Labour Weekend in 1994 when the owner, Dominion Breweries, put it on the market. It is now a mix of apartments and retail space.
‘‘Most of the legendary venues of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s have now largely disappeared.’’ John Church, Bayleys