Blerta
Encyclopedia
Blerta was a New Zealand
musical and theatrical co-operative active in the 1970s.
It was the idea of Bruno Lawrence
to arrange a group of musicians, actors and friends, who would travel around New Zealand on a tour to get away from the pressure of the music and movie scene. He organised the travelling group, and in October 1971, they departed on their tour. The group travelled around New Zealand in a very distinctive red bus. Blerta also traveled up the eastern seaboard of Australia performing at the 1973 Aquarius Festival
at the Northern Rivers NSW hippie
town of Nimbin
.
The group lived in a commune for many years. Three families, including Bruno Lawrence's and Geoff Murphy's, lived together. The group came to the attention of those in the New Zealand film industry and were at times employed to create work for TVNZ. The group were labeled as hippies during this time and were looked down upon by some in the industry despite the quality and nature of their work.
Throughout the years that Blerta traveled the line up changed, over time members included Lawrence, Fane Flaws
, Beaver
, Geoff Murphy
, Tony Barry
, Mick Liber as well as many others, of which some had previously worked with Bruno in bands and others joined along the way. The original line up was Bruno Lawrence, Corben Simpson, Kemp Turirangi, Geoff Murphy, Alan Moon, Tony Littlejohn, Beaver, Eric Foley and Chris Seresin. The great adventure and experience of Blerta finished in 1975 when the troupe went out with one last tour.
Although Bruno Lawrence and Geoff Murphy were friends for many years the two had a falling out five years prior to Bruno Lawrence's death. The two never reconciled and Murphy was absent at Lawrence's funeral.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
musical and theatrical co-operative active in the 1970s.
It was the idea of Bruno Lawrence
Bruno Lawrence
Bruno Lawrence was a New Zealand musician and actor.Initially notable as founder of 1970s musical and theatrical "Blerta", he had well-regarded roles in several major films, and starred on the 1990s Australian satirical TV series Frontline.-Biography:Born David Charles Lawrence in Worthing, West...
to arrange a group of musicians, actors and friends, who would travel around New Zealand on a tour to get away from the pressure of the music and movie scene. He organised the travelling group, and in October 1971, they departed on their tour. The group travelled around New Zealand in a very distinctive red bus. Blerta also traveled up the eastern seaboard of Australia performing at the 1973 Aquarius Festival
Aquarius Festival
The Aquarius Festival was a counter-cultural arts and music festival organised by the Australian Union of Students and sponsored by Peter Stuyvesant and held at Nimbin...
at the Northern Rivers NSW hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
town of Nimbin
Nimbin, New South Wales
Nimbin is a village in the Northern Rivers area of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately 30 km north of Lismore, 33 km southeast of Kyogle, and 70 km west of Byron Bay....
.
The group lived in a commune for many years. Three families, including Bruno Lawrence's and Geoff Murphy's, lived together. The group came to the attention of those in the New Zealand film industry and were at times employed to create work for TVNZ. The group were labeled as hippies during this time and were looked down upon by some in the industry despite the quality and nature of their work.
Throughout the years that Blerta traveled the line up changed, over time members included Lawrence, Fane Flaws
Fane Flaws
Fane Flaws is a New Zealand musician, songwriter, and artist. He was a member of bands including Blerta, Spats and The Crocodiles.He wrote many of the songs used in the film Meet the Feebles....
, Beaver
Beaver (singer)
Beverley Jean Morrison, better known as Beaver , was a New Zealand singer.She was a long running member of the ground-breaking Blerta musical and theatrical co-operative, and later of the similar troupe Red Mole. She played a small role in the 1985 movie Should I be Good, a New Zealand film based...
, Geoff Murphy
Geoff Murphy
Geoff Murphy is a successful New Zealand filmmaker best known for his work during the renaissance of New Zealand cinema that began in the last half of the 1970s....
, Tony Barry
Tony Barry
Tony Barry is an Australian actor who has performed in 55 feature films and 45 television series, across a four-decade career.-Filmography:He is known for his roles in the 2008 film Australia, Return to Snowy River, Never Say Die, the 1988 film Surfer and The Coca-Cola Kid.After acting in...
, Mick Liber as well as many others, of which some had previously worked with Bruno in bands and others joined along the way. The original line up was Bruno Lawrence, Corben Simpson, Kemp Turirangi, Geoff Murphy, Alan Moon, Tony Littlejohn, Beaver, Eric Foley and Chris Seresin. The great adventure and experience of Blerta finished in 1975 when the troupe went out with one last tour.
Although Bruno Lawrence and Geoff Murphy were friends for many years the two had a falling out five years prior to Bruno Lawrence's death. The two never reconciled and Murphy was absent at Lawrence's funeral.
External links
- Bruce Sergent's Blerta page
- Radio New Zealand documentary on Blerta (4 x 20 minute parts)
- Entry at muzic.net.nz
Discography
| Date of Release | Title | Label | Charted | Country | Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 1972 in music -Events:*January 17 – Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed "Elvis Presley Boulevard"*January 20 – The début of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical difficulties,... |
Joy Joy | - | - | - | - |
| 1974 1974 in music -January–April:*January 3 – Bob Dylan and The Band kick off their 40-date concert tour at Chicago Stadium. It's Dylan's first time on the road since 1966.*January 17... |
This Is The Life | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
- | - | - |
| 1976 1976 in music -January–February:*January 5 – Former Beatles road manager Mal Evans is shot dead by Los Angeles police after refusing to drop what police only later determine is an air rifle.... |
Wild Man | - | - | - | |
| 2001 2001 in music See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band.... |
The Return Trip.. The Return Trip.. "The Return Trip.." is a retrospective compilation album by New Zealand group Blerta, released in 2001.-Track listing:#"Hullo Hullo"#"Dance All Around the World"#"Freedom St... |
EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
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