The Chills
The Chills | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The Chills in 1989 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1980–1983; 1984–1992; 1994–1996; 1999–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
|
| Past members |
|
| Website | www |
The Chills are a New Zealand rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band is essentially the continuing project of singer/songwriter Martin Phillipps, who is the group's sole constant member. For a time in the 1990s, the act was billed as Martin Phillipps & The Chills. In the 1980s and 1990s, The Chills had some significant chart success in their homeland and were a cult band in other parts of the world as one of the earliest proponents of the Dunedin sound.
History
Early years and first breakup (1980–1983)
After the demise of the Same, one of the earliest punk rock bands in New Zealand, vocalist and guitarist Martin Phillipps started a new band, the Chills, in Dunedin in 1980. The initial line-up also featured his sister Rachel Phillipps and former the Clean frontman Peter Gutteridge on guitar, Jane Todd on bass and Alan Haig on drums. They made their first live performance supporting Bored Games at the Coronation Hall in Dunedin on November 15, 1980, after which Gutteridge departed. By June 1981, Dodd and Rachel Phillipps had also left, leaving the Chills on hiatus. Martin Phillipps became a short-lived member of the newly reformed the Clean, serving as their keyboardist on tour and for their debut single "Tally Ho!" (1981). The following month, the Chills reconvened with Phillipps, Haig, and Fraser Batts and Terry Moore of Bored Games, on keyboards and bass, respectively. They provided to songs to a local various artists EP, Dunedin Double by Flying Nun Records, marking their recording debut.[5]
Shortly after the EP's release, Haig left to join the Verlaines, being replaced by Martyn Bull. Rachel Phillipps temporarily returned after Batts departed, prior to a tour of the North Island with the Clean, though did not stay for the whole tour. The remaining dates of the trek had the band performing as a trio; this iteration of the band recorded two singles, "Rolling Moon" (1982) and "Pink Frost". Their subsequent plans were put on pause when Bull got a leukemia diagnosis, with the band re-appearing after when his health allowed over the next six months. Peter Allison then took on the keyboardist role, with the band performing sporadically. In the meantime, Phillipps jammed with David Kilgour of the Clean in the band Time Flies, though they never performed live. By June 1983, Haig was asked to re-join them after it became clear that Bull was unlikely to recover, dying the following month. The band became reclusive again, though Martin Phillipps played a some number of solo performances till the end of 1983.[5]
Reformation and international success (1983–1992)
By December 1983, they re-emerged under the new moniker A Wrinkle in Time, with a line-up consisting of Phillipps, Haig, Allison and Martin Kean on bass.[6] The name change was temporary, reverting back to the Chills by early 1984 for the Flying Nun-sponsored Looney tour with Children's Hour, the Expendables and the DoubleHappys. At this point, public perception saw the Chills as solely a backing band for Phillipps, who was the sole member to survive their myriad of line-up changes. "Pink Frost" was released and became a hit in New Zealand, soon followed by another single, "Doledrums", and The Lost EP (1985). The latter reached number 31 on the UK Independent Chart. They played a few shows in London, England towards the end of 1985. In March 1986, the Kaleidoscope World compilation was released, collecting their early recordings, reaching number three on the UK Independent Albums Chart. By October 1986, the line-up shifted again: Phillipps, Justin Harwood of Coconut Rough on bass, Caroline Easther of the Verlaines on drums and Andrew Todd of Smart Russians on keyboard.[7]
They recorded another single, "I Love My Leather Jacket", reaching number 25 on the UK Independent Singles Chart and number four in New Zealand. Spurred on by this success, the band moved to London in February 1987, prior to a five-week trek across Europe. After returning to London, they began working with Mayo Thompson of Red Krayola on their debut studio album, Brave Words.[7] The band spent most of 1987 (February through mid-December) promoting the album by touring Europe, interspersed with four July dates in New York and Boston. A full-fledged North American tour occurred in the fall of 1988; tour dates would be a regular part of the band's life for the next several years.
In 1990, the band were signed to a worldwide record deal with their music appearing on the Warner Brothers imprint Slash Records in North America. Their 1990 album Submarine Bells included their biggest international hit, the whimsically titled "Heavenly Pop Hit". The tune was also a hit in the US, charting at #17 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay Chart; it remains their only American chart appearance. The group's follow-up album, 1992's Soft Bomb, featured a totally different Chills lineup (save for Phillipps), and spun off the hit "The Male Monster from the Id".
Second reformation (1995–present)
Phillipps announced the dissolution of the Chills after the Soft Bomb tour, and joined David Kilgour in a loosely organized covers band known as The Pop Art Toasters, which released a self-titled EP in 1994. Shortly thereafter, though, the 'Toasters dissolved, and Phillipps put together another Chills lineup and resumed gigging.
This seemingly constant turnover of personnel is often cited as one of several reasons for the band's lack of consistent "saleability", and is referred to by the local music scene as "the Curse of the Chills".[8] This became well-enough known to become the title of a 2016 documentary about Phillipps and the Chills.[9]
The "curse" struck again with the recording of the album Sunburnt in England, in the summer of 1995. Two band members were refused entry into the UK, so session musicians had to be recruited at the last moment. Dave Mattacks of Fairport Convention and XTC's Dave Gregory provided drum and bass work for the album, with Phillipps the only other credited musician (aside from guest keyboards played by producer Craig Leon). This album was issued in early 1996 under the group name Martin Phillipps and The Chills.
After that, the band again split, with Phillipps appearing in another one of David Kilgour's bands, the Heavy Eights. Nevertheless, Phillipps continued to recruit new Chills members for live shows and played at least a few shows as The Chills every year from 1997 on. For much of the late 1990s, though, Phillipps was laid low with hepatitis C, a side effect of drug addiction problems.[10] He released an album of solo home demos (Sketch Book: Volume One) in 1999; the demos themselves dated from 1988–1995. In 2000, Secret Box, a three-CD box set of Chills live tracks, demos, radio sessions, and rarities was released.
In 2004, an eight-song Chills mini-album called Stand By was issued, the first all-new Chills material in nine years. Phillipps's album liner notes promised:
I am preparing to take the band in quite a new direction on the next album. And on that we will begin work shortly.
Despite Phillipps's claim, however, no new Chills album appeared for over a decade.
In May 2010, the band played two shows in Australia, their first shows outside New Zealand since 1996. Three years later, after another nine-year hiatus from the recording studio, a single newly recorded Chills track called "Molten Gold" was issued. The track, released on Martin Phillipps's 50th birthday (July 2, 2013), was a non-album 7” single with the rerecorded "Pink Frost 13" as a B-side.[11]
In October 2015, the band issued Silver Bullets, their first album-length release in 19 years.
In February 2017, the band released the David Bowie song "Conversation Piece".[12]
On September 14, 2018, the band released its seventh album, Snow Bound.[13]
The Chills on film
The Chills have been the subject of numerous documentaries, predominantly produced for New Zealand TV.
In March 2019, a feature documentary exploring the history of the band and Martin Phillipps's contemporary struggle with hepatitis C,[14] directed by Julia Parnell and Rob Curry premiered at SXSW[15] before being released theatrically in New Zealand and Australia. It was broadcast in New Zealand on Prime TV.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ[16] | AUS[17] | |||
| 1987 | Brave Words |
|
24 | — |
| 1990 | Submarine Bells |
|
1 | 90 |
| 1992 | Soft Bomb |
|
3 | 99 |
| 1996 | Sunburnt |
|
25 | — |
| 1999 | Sketch Book: Volume One (released as Martin Phillipps) |
|
— | — |
| 2013 | Somewhere Beautiful (live album) |
|
— | — |
| 2015 | Silver Bullets |
|
12 | — |
| 2018 | Snow Bound |
|
9 [18] |
— |
| 2021 | Scatterbrain |
|
4 [19] |
— |
Compilations
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ[16] | |||
| 1986 | Kaleidoscope World |
|
19 |
| 1994 | Heavenly Pop Hits – The Best of The Chills |
|
24 |
| 2000 | Secret Box – The Chills' Rarities, 1980–2000 (Limited private release only) |
|
— |
| 2014 | The BBC Sessions |
|
— |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
EPs
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ[16] | |||
| 1982 | Dunedin Double (various artists) |
|
— |
| 1985 | The Lost EP |
|
4 |
| 1994 | Pop Art Toasters (’60s covers project with David Kilgour) |
|
— |
| 2004 | Stand By |
|
— |
| 2016 | Pyramid/When the Poor Can Reach the Moon |
|
— |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ[16] | AU[17] | UK[20] | US Alt | |||
| 1982 | "Rolling Moon" | 26 | — | — | — | Kaleidoscope World |
| 1984 | "Pink Frost" | 17 | — | — | — | |
| "Doledrums" | 12 | — | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "I'll Only See You Alone Again" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "I Love My Leather Jacket" (CD issue only) | 4 | — | — | — | Kaleidoscope World | |
| 1987 | "House with a Hundred Rooms" | — | — | — | — | Brave Words |
| 1988 | "Wet Blanket" | — | — | — | — | |
| 1990 | "Heavenly Pop Hit" | 2 | 118 | 97 | 17 | Submarine Bells |
| "Part Past Part Fiction" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "The Oncoming Day" (radio-only CD-single) | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992 | "Male Monster from the Id" | 8 | — | — | — | Soft Bomb |
| "Double Summer" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995 | "Come Home" | 33 | — | — | — | Sunburnt |
| 1996 | "Surrounded" | — | — | — | — | |
| "Dreams Are Free" CD single | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013 | "Molten Gold" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| 2015 | "America Says Hello" | — | — | — | — | Silver Bullets |
| "Warm Waveform" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "When the Poor Can Reach the Moon" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016 | "Rocket Science/Lost In Space" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| 2017 | "Conversation Piece" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| 2018 | "Complex" | — | — | — | — | Snow Bound |
| "Lord of All I Survey" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Scarred" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||
Timeline of personnel
References
Citations
- ^ Shuker 2017, pp. 88–89
- ^ Breihan, Tom (30 July 2015). "The Chills – "America Says Hello"". Stereogum. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ Pelly, Jenn (2 July 2013). "Listen: New Zealand Band the Chills Share First New Single in More Than a Decade". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. The Chills at AllMusic. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ a b Thompson 2000, p. 259
- ^ Thompson 2000, pp. 259–260
- ^ a b Thompson 2000, p. 260
- ^ "Kaleidoscope World", Primavera Sound, 29 November 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ Malt, A., "New documentary explores The Curse Of The Chills", completemusicupdate.com, 6 July 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ Michael Hann (24 November 2014). "The Chills: The band who fell to earth". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ "Amazon (US) product listing for Molten Gold". Amazon. 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- ^ Eley, Laura. "The Chills Cover David Bowie's 'Conversation Piece' – Tidal Exclusive". Fire Records. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- ^ "The Chills - "Complex" & "Lord Of All I Survey"". Stereogum. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
- ^ "The Chills - The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ "The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps". SXSW. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d "The Chills discography". charts.nz.
- ^ a b Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
- Top 100 peaks between January 1990 and December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- "Heavenly Pop Hit": "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 2015-07-15". Imgur.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ "Official Charts > Chills". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
Sources
- Shuker, Roy (29 March 2017). Popular Music: The Key Concepts. Routledge. ISBN 9781138680920.
- Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Third Ear: The Essential Listening Companion. San Francisco, California: Miller Freeman Books. ISBN 0-87930-607-6.
Further reading
- Davey, T. & Puschmann, H. (1996) Kiwi Rock. Dunedin: Kiwi Rock Publications. ISBN 0-473-03718-1
- Dix, J. (1988) Stranded in paradise: New Zealand Rock'n'Roll 1955–1988. Wellington: Paradise Publications. ISBN 0-473-00638-3
- Eggleton, D. (2003) Ready to Fly: The Story of New Zealand Rock Music. Nelson, NZ: Craig Potton Publishing. ISBN 1-877333-06-9
- Shepherd, R. (2016) In Love with These Times. Auckland: Harper Collins New Zealand. ISBN 9781775491262
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- The Chills
- APRA Award winners
- Creation Records artists
- New Zealand alternative rock groups
- New Zealand indie rock groups
- Flying Nun Records artists
- Jangle pop groups
- Dunedin Sound musical groups
- Fire Records (UK) artists
- Slash Records artists
- Musical groups established in 1980
- Musical groups disestablished in 1983
- Musical groups reestablished in 1984
- Musical groups disestablished in 1992
- Musical groups reestablished in 1994
- Musical groups disestablished in 1996
- Musical groups reestablished in 1999