Bio

Born out of the frustration of life in the family sweatshop, Tim (bass) formed Last Orders with the nucleus of slick office worker Phil (guitar), and ex-school friend Greg, AKA Spiro, (drums), around the early to mid 1980's.

Paul (vocals) was a friend of a friend and joined soon after it became apparent that no one else could sing. Early practices and occasional gigs were held in friend's lounges, carports, school halls and a small factory workshop belonging to Tim's Dad (hence the early 'Factory Song'). With the exception of a few favourite covers, Phil and Tim either wrote their own music or combined their riffs. Lyrics were split between Tim and Paul, as both fancied themselves as punk poets. Cover songs included those from Joy Division, The Cure as well as The Dead Kennedys, and reflected the diverse personalities of the band members.

Phil came up with Last Orders as the band name after pinching it from a song of the same name by The Fall. Other band members thought it funny because it made reference to the last call before closing time at the pub.

The aim was always to create an original brand of music, rather than stick to one genre, although punk rock was represented strongly in the song writing. This was illustrated in two different sides of the first demo-cassette (1986-unnamed); recorded on a shoe string budget in a Te Atatu South studio deep in the heart of West Auckland at the hands of an Engineer who knew nothing about punk music, but lots about Country and Western. The popular 'dirge' sound of the early 1980's was represented on the 'any sorts of shit' side, while the fast or 'get off your arse and grapple' side was 1980's punk all the way.

Dizzy with confidence and expectation of great things to come, the band moved up-market to the Last Laugh Studio in Central Auckland for their second demo recording of 1987 (retrospectively called 'Nightmare EP' for no other reason than the cover illustration). Again money was an issue so there was no time for anything other than a couple of takes and a rough mix. 'Iran Vs World' was hastily thrown together in the studio as space filler and the lyrics inspired by a newspaper borrowed from the studio lunchroom. The 'Nightmare EP' leaned heavily on the punk side with only one dirge track ('Drug Song'). But as the songs got heavier (e.g. 'Radio', 'Nightmare') they also got sillier ('Sesame Street', 'Anna's B.J's'). Two songs from the first cassette ('Cover Up' & 'Underage Drinker') were re-recorded and appeared on this self promoted release.

After a couple of gigs at the City Hotel and Performance Cafe to support the 'Nightmare EP' release, members Paul and Phil left for greener pastures. Phil went to Australia in the hope of making it big with his alter ego band The Doubting Thomas's and Paul returned to Mother England to pursue his ambition of becoming a professional football hooligan. Neither was heard from again. Not wanting to be a band-less no one again, Tim recruited partner in crime Eric as fill in guitarist and gothic ladies man Marcus. The unhappy union resulting in a one off benefit gig at The Ponsonby Community Centre in Auckland 1989 before everyone went their separate ways and Eric went to jail.

In 2000 Tim was once again feeling the effects of being a no one and decided reforming the band was the path to spiritual fulfilment. After a break of about fourteen years the songs hadn't improved with age, but they seemed like a good place to start anyway. Greg was talked into it dusting off his drum kit with the promise of free beer and brown M&M's if the band ever got its own rider. Long time friend and fellow punker Bryce was keen to join and fitted in rehearsals between commitments with his long time band Cardiac Arrest. New kid Steve (Doorboy) was not too proud to join after being rejected by numerous boy bands for having two left feet and a drinking problem.

Lack of interest from a guitarist meant Tim switched and became a six-string man, even taking his old demo tapes to guitar teachers to learn the solos. The result was the 2002 re-recording of the second demo tape, with the addition of two new tracks that were still being knocked into shape and the inclusion of 'Geek' from the original recording.

These days see the band back in the lounge room, still kicking back on a comfy sofa but the Elephant Beer consumed in youth has been replaced with the low alcohol variety, and the stereo is kept to a sensible volume. New material is written at a less energetic pace, but after fourteen years there's no real hurry eh? If, as the saying goes, everyone has fifteen minutes of stardom in them, then Last Orders' clock must surely be broken.

In a cruel twist of fate, Tim still works in the same workshop where he once hoped punk rock would propel him to stardom and save him from a life of the ordinary. It is a place where the memories of his giddy punk rock salad days continue to haunt him on a daily basis. So please, if only out off pity, buy a CD or two and help keep the dream alive...

Band Members:
Tim (bass)
Phil (guitar)
Greg 'Spiro' (drums)
Paul (vocals)