Kiwi rock is a term used informally to describe New Zealand

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...

 rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 and the culture surrounding rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 in New Zealand

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...

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1950s

The first Rock'n'Roll record recorded outside the US was Johnny Cooper's recording of Rock Around The Clock

Rock Around the Clock

"Rock Around the Clock" is a 12-bar-blues-based song written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1954...

 for HMV in the mid 1950s. The first rock'n'roll hit by a New Zealand

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...

er was Johnny Devlin

Johnny Devlin

Johnny Devlin, born John Lockett Devlin , was an influential early New Zealand rock musician, sometimes called "New Zealand's answer to Elvis Presley"....

's hit Lawdy Miss Clawdy

Lawdy Miss Clawdy

"Lawdy Miss Clawdy" is a song by Lloyd Price. It was first recorded by Price at the New Orleans recording studio of Specialty Records in March 1952. It was released under the Specialty label in April and was number one on the Billboard rhythm and blues chart for seven weeks and stayed on the chart...

, which is reputed to have sold 100,000 copies for Phil Warren's Prestige label in 1959-60.

1960s

Throughout the 60s strong rock scenes developed throughout NZ and there were hundreds of bands playing and many NZ acts charted. Amongst the key acts were Max Merritt

Max Merritt

Max Merritt is a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter and guitarist who is renowned as an interpreter of soul music and R&B...

 & The Meteors, The La De Das

The La De Das

The La De Das were a leading New Zealand rock band of the 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in New Zealand in 1963 , they enjoyed considerable success in both New Zealand and Australia until their split in 1975....

, Ray Columbus & The Invaders

Ray Columbus & the Invaders

Ray Columbus & the Invaders were a rock group from New Zealand active from 1964 to 1966.The group was influenced by the early 1960s work of Cliff Richard and The Beatles. They scored a #1 hit in Australia and New Zealand with "She's a Mod" in 1964, a cover version of a song by The Senators. They...

, The Fourmyula

The Fourmyula

The Fourmyula were a New Zealand rock group formed in 1967. Ten of their fourteen singles reached the New Zealand Top 20.The group consisted of Martin Hope , Wayne Mason , Ali Richardson and Chris Parry...

, and Larry's Rebels.

1970s

Some of the more influential bands in the 1970s were Th'Dudes

Th'Dudes

Th' Dudes were a late 1970s / early 1980s pop/rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. Hits include "Walking in Light", "Right First Time", " Be Mine Tonight" and "Bliss".-Members:*Dave Dobbyn*Ian Morris *Peter Urlich...

 (whose guitarist Dave Dobbyn

Dave Dobbyn

Dave Dobbyn, ONZM is an award-winning New Zealand musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash...

 formed DD Smash

DD Smash

DD Smash was a New Zealand pop/rock band formed by Dave Dobbyn after the breakup of Th'Dudes.-Members:Members included Dave Dobbyn , Peter Warren , Rob Guy , both formerly of Lip Service , and Lisle Kinney , formerly of Hello Sailor.-Origin:Originally formed in New Zealand, the band was resident...

 in the 1980s), Dragon

Dragon (band)

Dragon is a popular New Zealand rock band, they were formed in Auckland, New Zealand in January 1972 and relocated to Sydney, Australia in May 1975. They were previously led by singer Marc Hunter and are currently led by his brother bass player Todd Hunter...

, Hello Sailor

Hello Sailor (band)

Hello Sailor was a New Zealand pop/rock band originally formed in 1975.- History :The band's history is long and complicated, with guitarist/vocalists Dave McArtney and Harry Lyon having first played together in the mid 1960s. After several lineup changes, the band released its first album, Hello...

 and Split Enz

Split Enz

Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...

, fronted by Tim Finn

Tim Finn

Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...

, and later, his brother Neil Finn

Neil Finn

Neil Mullane Finn, OBE is a New Zealand Pop recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House...

 who went on to form Crowded House

Crowded House

Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...

.

The global punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 movement had a huge impact in New Zealand in the late 1970s with the most important bands being The Suburban Reptiles

Suburban Reptiles

The Suburban Reptiles and The Scavengers were the first punk bands to form in New Zealand.- History :The Suburban Reptiles were first conceptualised by Auckland students Simon Grigg and Brett Salter in late 1976, with some encouragement from filmmaker David Blyth...

 and The Enemy

The Enemy (New Zealand band)

The Enemy were a band from Dunedin, New Zealand, that are often seen as the starting point of the Dunedin Sound rock movement.Though the band did not release any official recordings, some of their performances are available in bootleg form. They are seen as hugely influential on the development of...

.

1980s

The 1980s saw the emergence the indie labels led by Propeller Records

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 recording industry was largely moribund. The major record labels were either not recording or were confining themselves largely...

 and Flying Nun record label

Flying Nun Records

Flying Nun Records is an independent record label formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1981 by music-store proprietor Roger Shepherd.-History:The label was formed in the flurry of new punk rock-inspired labels forming in the early 1980s...

 in Dunedin

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

 who were highly influential in the development of modern indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

.

1990s and onward

Bands currently successful in New Zealand include Evermore, Elemeno P

Elemeno P

Elemeno P is a New Zealand rock band. The band's first album, Love & Disrespect was released on 4 July 2003, and reached number one on the RIANZ albums chart. Their second album, Trouble in Paradise was released on 24 November 2005 and includes the singles 11:57, Burn, One Left Standing and You Are...

, Phoenix Foundation, Fat Freddy's Drop

Fat Freddy's Drop

Fat Freddy’s Drop is a seven-piece band from Wellington, New Zealand, whose musical style has been characterised as any combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues, and techno. Originally a jam band formed in the late 1990s by musicians from other bands in Wellington, Fat Freddy’s Drop...

, Goldenhorse

Goldenhorse

-Studio albums:-Singles:-Charity singles:-External links:*...

, Shihad

Shihad

Shihad is a New Zealand hard/alternative rock band, currently based in Melbourne, Australia. During Shihad's recording career, they have produced four number-one studio albums and three top-ten singles in their home country of New Zealand....

 (aka Pacifier), The Datsuns

The Datsuns

The Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, formed in 2000. To date they have released four albums and several singles, most of which have charted in New Zealand and/or the United Kingdom...

, Luger Boa

Luger Boa

Luger Boa is a New Zealand rock band led by Jimmy Christmas, formerly of The D4. Christmas formed Luger Boa after The D4 decided to take an indefinite break. Christmas describes the band as "pop-oriented", but with the "intensity of The D4"...

, Steriogram

Steriogram

Steriogram is a rock band that formed in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1999. Their 2004 song "Walkie Talkie Man" was used in an advertisement for the iPod and a number of films and video games.-Formation and first album, 1999–2005:...

, The Feelers

The Feelers

The Feelers are a New Zealand rock band formed in the early 1990s in Christchurch by James Reid , Matthew Thomas and Hamish Gee .-History:...

, Flight of the Conchords

Flight of the Conchords

Flight of the Conchords are a New Zealand-based comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. The duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series and then an American television series, which premiered in 2007 on HBO, also called Flight of the Conchords.They were named...

, Goodnight Nurse

Goodnight Nurse

Goodnight Nurse was a pop punk band from New Zealand, formed in Auckland, in 2001. The group originally began as a trio, but later changed to a four-piece prior to the release of their second album...

, Blindspott

Blindspott

Blindspott is a nu metal/alternative rock band from Waitakere, New Zealand. They were formed in 1997, originally consisting of Damian Alexander , Marcus Powell , Shelton Woolright , Gareth Fleming and Karl Vilisini, also known as DJ Dlay .-Formation and debut album :Blindspott began in 1997 and...

, Black River Drive

Black River Drive

Black River Drive are a rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. Black River Drive consists of Sam Browne , Rusty McNaughton , Matt Stone and Mike Tan ....

, Zed

Zed (band)

Zed were a New Zealand pop/rock four-piece band formed in 1998.-History:Originally formed while still students at Christchurch's Cashmere High School, Zed is the dream child of Nathan King, Ben Campbell and Adrian Palmer, along with manager Ray Columbus.King felt the band needed a second guitarist...

, Midnight Youth

Midnight Youth

Midnight Youth are a New Zealand rock band formed in 2006. Their debut album, The Brave Don't Run, was released in 2009 in New Zealand and Australia. The band have subsequently toured and played festivals across Australasia, the United States and Asia...

 and Opshop

Opshop

Opshop is a New Zealand rock band formed in 2002. Their first album, You Are Here was released in 2004. Their second album, Second Hand Planet was released in 2007 and received Triple Platinum certification. It produced the successful single, One Day...

. However it can hardly be said that success has been sought by the great number of New Zealand groups that continue to work seriously within the general domain of rock. Among these number groups such as The Dead C

The Dead C

The Dead C are a New Zealand based noise rock trio made up of members Bruce Russell, Michael Morley and Robbie Yeats. Most often, Russell plays electric guitar, Morley sings and plays electric guitar or laptop, and Yeats plays drums....

, The Clean

The Clean

The Clean are an influential Indie rock band that formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1978. Led through a number of early rotating line-ups by brothers Hamish and David Kilgour, the band settled down to their well-known and current line-up with bassist Robert Scott...

, Tall Dwarfs

Tall Dwarfs

Tall Dwarfs are a New Zealand rock band formed in 1981 by Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate who, through their do-it-yourself ethic, helped pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music. The duo formed out of the ashes of Toy Love....

, The Bilders

The Bilders

The Bilders is the name for lineups of musicians led by a New Zealand singer-songwriter. The first Bilders sprang from the group Vacuum and is known under other names such as Kazaportico, Above Ground, Bilderbergers, Builders, Soluble Fish and Bilders Paris Sessions...

 and The Verlaines

The Verlaines

The Verlaines are a rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand. Formed in 1981 by Graeme Downes, Craig Easton, Anita Pillai, Phillip Higham and Greg Kerr, the band went through multiple line-ups before going on an extended hiatus after their 1997 album Over The Moon. In 2003 a career retrospective, You're...

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