The Scavengers were a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band that formed in 1977. They moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, in November 1978 and became Marching Girls.

History

The band was formed in 1976 at Auckland Technical Institute by

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

students Ken Cooke, Simon Monroe, Mike Simons and Marlon Hart, under the name The 1B Darlings. They were heavily influenced by British R&B,

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

and 1960s US

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

. In 1977, they renamed themselves the Scavengers and gave themselves punk

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

s (Cooke as Johnny Volume, Monroe as Des Truction, Simons as Mike Lezbian and Hart as Mal Icious). Their style mutated in the direction of the US

and

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock genre and movement. A retrospective label, the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variet ...

acts. Through much of 1977, they and Suburban Reptiles were the only punk bands in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. In June 1977 they, along with Suburban Reptiles and the Masochists, played New Zealand's first major punk gig, at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. Their repertoire during this time was mostly covers, but by early 1978, they had written a set of original tunes. In late 1977, bassist Hart left to be replaced by

Brendan Perry Brendan Michael Perry (born 30 June 1959) is a British singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as half of the duo Dead Can Dance with Lisa Gerrard. Early life Perry was born in Whitechapel, London, England, UK, in 1959 to a mot ...

, who performed under the stage name "Ronnie Recent". In March 1978, they began a residency at Zwines, a new Auckland punk club. Simons soon left (inspiring their signature song "Mysterex"), and Perry moved to vocals. Two Scavengers tracks appeared on the Ripper compilation ''

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. History ...

'', and a retrospective album was released in 2003.

The Marching Girls

The Scavengers moved to Sydney, then Melbourne, Australia, in November 1978, and renamed themselves Marching Girls, issuing some recordings and video clips.

Legacy

Perry later formed

Dead Can Dance Dead Can Dance are a British-Australian band founded in Melbourne in 1981 by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard, before relocating to London the following year. The Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance's style as "const ...

, and Monroe ( Des Hefner) played briefly for the Birthday Party during the latter band's final tour of Australia and New Zealand. Monroe went on to play in a series of Melbourne-based acts including the Slaughtermen and Maurice Frawley. Both Cooke (Go Public and Daisy West) and Monroe are still working musicians in Melbourne. The Scavengers were hugely influential in Auckland in the late 1970s, inspiring a whole generation of young bands. They re-formed in 2004 for a one-off show in Auckland without Perry, and again at the AK79 reunion in 2008. The

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

/punk band Scavengers of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, England, has no connection to the New Zealand band.

Discography

References

*Eggleton, D. (2003). ''Ready to Fly''. Nelson, NZ: Craig Potton. *Dix, John (1988). ''Stranded in Paradise: New Zealand Rock'n'roll 1955–88''. Palmerston North, NZ: Paradise Publications.

External links

AudioCulture profileThe Scavengers at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scavengers, The New Zealand punk rock groups Musical groups from Auckland