Gig Guide
Invercargill's That 80s Band is back — hairspray, shoulder pads, and all — with a show at the Corinthians Centre on Saturday November 14 that promises a full night of 1980s hits played live.
The band, 14 years old in various forms, will perform at the Invercargill Workingmen's Club's upstairs venue, running through a set built entirely from the decade that gave the world Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, George Michael, Dire Straits, and Blondie. The current lineup — founding members Chris Chilton on bass, Bonnie Turner on vocals, and Scott Calvert on keyboards and vocals, joined by guitarist and singer Simon Kairau and drummer Aaron Ives — is the third iteration of the group since its inception.
Chilton says the music holds up for a reason.
"We respect the era," he said. "Songs from that decade still feature massively in everyday commercial radio 40 years later. The music just doesn't quit. I don't think anybody who grew up in that era realised at the time how influential that music would be for generations to come."
It's a fair point. The 80s canon has had more staying power than most decades dare to dream of, and a band built entirely around it draws on a catalogue that most audiences — regardless of age — know by heart.
Turner says the experience of performing it live goes both ways.
"Every time we've done a show like this the audience has been right there with us, dressed up to the max in the brightest 80s kit they can find, and loving every minute of the music," she said. "It's a chance to relive a moment in time when having fun was a lifestyle choice."
Audience members are strongly encouraged to dig out — or improvise — colourful 1980s outfits for the night.
The revival of That 80s Band started with a question from a local music fan. Chilton says Shane Pleasance asked him where people could go to hear great songs from the 1980s played live in Invercargill. The answer, apparently, was nowhere. So Chilton fixed that.
"Shane got me thinking maybe it's time. So, yeah, let's do this," Chilton said. "If people want it perhaps this could become an annual event. I'm always keen to put on a show."
Kairau and Ives are experienced players who've moved through plenty of bands and shows between them — the kind of musicians who know when to serve the song rather than themselves, which is exactly what a tribute night like this calls for.
Tickets are available through Eventbrite. The show is at the Corinthians Centre, upstairs at the Invercargill Workingmen's Club, on Saturday November 14.
