Meltdown Records was a small independent record label based in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

, New Zealand, that operated from 1985 to 1989. It was owned by

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

student Peter Shepherd, later Professor of Cell Signalling, Molecular Medicine and Pathology at the University of Auckland and awardee of the

Callaghan Medal Sir Paul Terence Callaghan ( ; 19 August 1947 – 24 March 2012) was a New Zealand physicist who, as the founding director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology at Victoria University of Wellington, held t ...

in 2017, and part funded by the Massey University Students Association.Meltdown Records
Audioculture.co.nz, retrieved 31 May 2023 The label was "steered by" Massey University-based bands Dosage B, the Mannequins and

the Remarkables The Remarkables () are a mountain range and part of the Remarkables Conservation Area that includes Kawarau/The Remarkables and Tāpuae O’Uenuku/Hector Mountains and Te Papapuni/Nevis River valley. Located on the southeastern shore of Lake W ...

. During its four years of operation, Meltdown released 10 records. Its first recording was by for Dosage B, a band led by

Jeremy Corbett Jeremy Corbett (born 1962 in Westport, New Zealand) is a radio and television host and comedian from New Zealand. Biography Corbett was born in 1962. He was born in Westport and grew up in Palmerston North. He also lived in Perth, Australia ...

, who subsequently became a well known radio host in New Zealand. It recorded an EP by the Remarkables and the album ''Fun in the Key of E'' by Three Leaning Men, these two groups being early bands of New Zealand musician Alan Gregg. Another was an EP by the Pterodactyls, which featured former

Chills Chills is a feeling of coldness occurring during a high fever, but sometimes is also a common symptom which occurs alone in specific people. It occurs during fever due to the release of cytokines and prostaglandins as part of the inflammatory ...

member Martin Kean.

National Library of New Zealand The National Library of New Zealand () is charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga) Act 2003). Under the ...

information says that they also recorded the bands Thin Red Line, Cement Garden, the End, Iceland Bars, Polar Bears, Swiss Kids, Statmux, Harry Death, and Coloured Talk.Meltdown Records
National Library of New Zealand. retrieved 31 May 2023 In 1986 Meltdown Records featured on TV show ''Video Dispatch''. In March 1987 they organised and ran the Rheineck Rock Festival at the

Palmerston North Showgrounds Central Energy Trust Arena is the current name of the 180,000 square meter publicly owned recreational complex just west of the Palmerston North city center in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. It has three linked indoor stadiu ...

in conjunction with Radio 92.2XS Stereo FM Radio. Meltdown's demise began in 1987 when

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

closed in New Zealand, meaning that they were unable to get their records pressed at a reasonable cost. Releases were now costing $20 per record, but only retailing for $8 each. In 1989, after releasing ''Melter Smelter'', Meltdown Records ceased production.

References

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Video Dispatch item from 1985
New Zealand independent record labels Defunct record labels Record labels established in 1985 Culture in Palmerston North {{Independent-record-label-stub

See also

References

External links