The Knobz were 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...

 pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 band, originally based 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...

, but not considered part of that city's main wave of "Dunedin Sound

Dunedin Sound

The Dunedin sound was a style of indie pop music created in the southern New Zealand university city of Dunedin in the early 1980s.-Characteristics:...

" bands. They became famous in 1980 with their political song "Culture?" criticising Robert Muldoon

Robert Muldoon

Sir Robert David "Rob" Muldoon, GCMG, CH served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1975 to 1984, as leader of the governing National Party. Muldoon had been a prominent member of the National party and MP for the Tamaki electorate for some years prior to becoming leader of the party...

, who was Prime Minister

Prime Minister of New Zealand

The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

 at the time and had stated that New Zealand's pop music was not culture. Muldoon had made the remarks in the context of refusing to lift a 40% tax

Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

 on sales of music.

The Knobz were fairly typical of the New Zealand pop scene in the 1980s; they were described in an article of the time as "XTC

XTC

XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...

 meets The Knack

The Knack

The Knack was an American New Wave rock quartet based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", an international number one hit in 1979.-Founding :...

". However, several things set them apart from their contemporaries. They were the first band to have a self-funded single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 hit the top 5 in New Zealand, released on Wellngton Independent Label Bunk Records owned and run by Michael Alexander. They also managed themselves and toured extensively following chart success with two further singles - "Liverpool to America" (an opportune song about John Lennon

John Lennon

John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

) and "K.G.B." - and, later, an album, Sudden Exposure. They were considered to be an accomplished live act.

The band toured New Zealand before leaving for Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 in 1980, where they played with other acts of the period such as Divinyls

Divinyls

Divinyls were an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980 and featuring vocalist Christina Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. As the focal point, Amphlett performed on stage wearing a school uniform and fishnet stockings, often using an illuminated neon tube as a prop and displaying...

, Men at Work

Men at Work

Men at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...

, Mi-Sex

Mi-Sex

Mi-Sex was a New Zealand new wave rock band active from 1978 to 1984. Led by Steve Gilpin as vocalist, they were best known for their singles "Computer Games" in 1979 and "People" in 1980.-History:...

, Swanee

Swanee

Swanee may refer to:* "Swanee", a song by George Gershwin and Irving Caesar; made popular by Al Jolson* Suwanee River, misspelled by Stephen Foster in writing "Old Folks at Home".* Swanee , an Australian rock singer...

 and Moving Pictures

Moving Pictures (band)

Moving Pictures was a rock music band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1980. They are best known for their hit single, "What About Me" and multi-platinum album Days of Innocence, both of which topped the charts in Australia.-Biography:...

. The Knobz dispersed at the end of 1981, with some of the members moving on to other projects; most notably, drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 Bob Reid

Bob Reid

Robert "Bob" Reid was a former professional footballer, who played for Burnley, Huddersfield Town and Southend United.-References:*99 Years & Counting - Stats & Stories - Huddersfield Town History...

 went on to play for the powerhouse Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 band The Sharks

The Sharks

The Sharks are a new wave band founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1979, by Doug Phillips , Steve Zero , Sam Lugar , and Dave Schaeffer.-History:...

.

The Knobz later reformed with songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 Kevin Fogarty for one more trip around New Zealand and to promote the album Roads to Rome. The new album had been written by former band members, but these were replaced with drummer Tim Powles

Tim Powles

Tim Powles is a music producer and artist originally from New Zealand, and though now an Australian resident, he is of English/Irish descent. Also known as timEbandit Powles, his main instrument and first love was the drum kit and tuned percussion. In the 70's he won a scholarship to join the New...

 and bassist

Bassist

A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

 Warwick Keay, both formerly of Flight X-7.Carey Peterson from Auckland walk and The Visitors also joined the band as vocalist to tour with the band in 1982.

In their heyday, The Knobz can be said to have epitomised the early 80s period when punk still held a slender audience and New Romantic

New Romantic

New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...

 music was starting to make an impact.

Discography

Date of Release	Title	Label	Charted	Certification	Catalog Number
Albums
	Sudden Exposure	Bunk Records	-	-

Singles

Year	Single	Album	NZ Singles Chart	Certification
1980	"Culture?"	Sudden Exposure	-	-
	"Liverpool to America"	Sudden Exposure	-	-
	"K.G.B."	Sudden Exposure	-	-
	"Big Brother"	Sudden Exposure	-	-
	"Casualties"	Sudden Exposure	-	-
	"Closer tonight"	Sudden Exposure	-	-
	"Coastal Hostesses"	Sudden Exposure	-	-
	"Cyborg Sally"	Sudden Exposure	-	-
	"Gettin' outa here"	Sudden Exposure	-	-
	"Laser"	Sudden Exposure	-	-
	"What's it worth?"	Sudden Exposure	-	-