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The Clean

The Clean's pre-eminent place in Flying Nun lore comes down to two factors - their unchallengeable position as The Band That Started It All 21 years ago, and the group's absolute dedication to free-flowing chemistry and musical experimentation in the pursuit of creating incredible records.

The importance of the former and the influence of the latter over a huge stream of musicians in New Zealand and around the world ever since cannot be under-estimated.

Plus there's the small fact that no other Flying Nun band has thrown so much variety at a tape recorder and seen it all stick.

Hamish and David Kilgour formed The Clean back in 1978. Hamish played drums, David picked up a guitar and figured out how to play it as he went along.
Various other folk passed through the Kilgour brothers' band through the first two years or so before Robert Scott joined on bass. Hamish, David and Robert all wrote songs and they all sang. The Clean made their first recordings for Flying Nun in 1981.

The Clean had broken up around 1983 (for about the tenth time, some say) with David particularly tired of the pressure of their relative success. The band wasn't back together again until they met up and played a show in London in the late 'eighties.

In between time, Robert Scott had started The Bats, David and Hamish Kilgour played in the Great Unwashed with The Clean's original bassist, Peter Gutteridge, before Hamish headed to New York (where he still resides) with Bailterspace and David started a band called Stephen.

That London reunion show led to a New Zealand tour and then The Clean's first world tour. Back in London in 1989, they recorded their first full-length album for UK label Rough Trade and Flying Nun back home. Vehicle was made in three days and engineered by Alan Moulder (later to become one of the top producers of the alternative era, recording the Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and My Bloody Valentine).