The Screaming Meemees were a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

- new wave

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

formed in the early 1980s. The band formed in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

in 1979, while at school at

Rosmini College Rosmini College is a state integrated Catholic secondary school for boys, situated in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand. The school caters to Years 7-13 (Forms 1-7), and currently has a roll of approximately 1097. Founded in 1962 by Father Catch ...

on Auckland's North Shore, composed of

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

Tony Drumm Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby lea ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Michael O'Neill,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

player

Peter van der Fluit Peter van der Fluit (born 1963) is a musician, composer, writer, producer, and business person from Auckland, New Zealand. He was a founding member of the post-punk new wave band the Screaming Meemees. As of 2022 he serves as the main Creative D ...

and drummer "Laurence "Yoh" Landwer-Johan. The band was propelled into the limelight, in part, by the inclusion of their single ''All Dressed Up'' in the compilation album '' Class of 81'' produced by

Simon Grigg Simon Grigg (born 1955) is a New Zealand music businessman, writer, broadcaster, publisher, producer, DJ and archivist. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, he attended Palmerston North Boys High, Auckland Grammar and the University of Auckland. Pu ...

Propeller Records Propeller Records was an independent record label formed in Auckland, New Zealand, by Simon Grigg in 1980. 1980-81 In the years prior to 1980 the New Zealand contemporary Sound recording and reproduction, recording industry was largely moribund. ...

. By late 1980, the band was at the forefront of what was called the "North Shore Invasion". The Screaming Meemees were named "Most Promising Group" at the 1981

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant tha ...

.http://www.nzmusicawards.co.nz/awards2006/history1981.html 1981 New Zealand Music Awards In early 1981, The Screaming Meemees released the single, "Can’t Take It", with The Newmatics’ "Judas" on the flip side. The single sold about 2000 copies and entered the top 40 in New Zealand. This was followed by the "Screaming Blamatic Roadshow", which included label-mates

Blam Blam Blam Blam Blam Blam were a New Zealand pop/rock/alternative band. Tim Mahon (bass) and Mark Bell (guitar, vocals) had been members of The Plague and The Whizz Kids. After losing their drummer Ian Gilroy to The Swingers in 1980, Tim and Mark joi ...

and The Newmatics. The follow-up single was ''See Me Go'', released as a limited release 12" edition, and a 7". Despite being unavailable after the initial week of release, the song was briefly the number one single on the New Zealand charts. This accomplishment was achieved with little airplay outside of student radio. The single was the first New Zealand single to enter the charts at number one. This was followed by ''Sunday Boys'' in December, 1981, which was also a Top 20 single (without airplay). The band's final single was ''Stars in My Eyes'', released in 1982. By 1983, the band were making their last performances, including billing as the headlining act at the 1983

Sweetwaters Music Festival Sweetwaters Music Festival was a series of events held between 1980 and 1999, at venues such as a farm in Ngāruawāhia, then further north on a farm near Pukekawa, and finally at South Auckland, New Zealand. Events *1980 - Ngāruawāhia *1981 ...

. The band split in April 1983 but reformed in August 1983 for two shows. They have not played publicly since.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Propeller Records The Screaming Meemees biography
*
AudioCulture profile
Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 1982 New Zealand new wave musical groups New Zealand post-punk music groups {{NewZealand-band-stub