One for the birds… Knox sings for Hammond

One for the birds… Knox sings for Hammond
Jingle Jangle Late Night Session at City Gallery Wellington, Thursday 13 December

What better way to experience the passion of Bill Hammond’s paintings than to the sounds of one of his greatest fans - the legendary Chris Knox. Knox is performing at City Gallery Wellington’s special Christmas Late Night Session amid the sumptuous exhibition Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning, with local band Rosie Tin TeaCaddy.

Knox describes Hammond as a “reasonably obsessive music fan” and “some kind of a kindred spirit.” He questions whether any other New Zealand artist has named so many works after songs: Love Will Tear Us Apart, All Shook Up, Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right and The Look of Love Plus The Sound of Music are just a few of Hammond’s earlier works that Knox writes about in the book Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning, published earlier this year in line with the exhibition. Hammond is also a practicing musician, he plays the drums, and music has been a constant in his career. He speaks of his paintings being like instrumentals “laid out flat”.

Invercargill born Knox started Dunedin's first punk band, The Enemy, in 1977, and was lead singer in Toy Love and later Tall Dwarfs. In 1995, Knox toured Europe, USA and Australia, attracting widespread interest for his latest album 'Songs of You & Me'. The album reached the top of US college radio charts and Knox was mentioned on the cover of New York's Village Voice, with the byline "The 10th Beatle". This referred to a story that said "Paul, George and Ringo would be hard-pressed to find a better John stand-in than Chris Knox" . At the 2001 New Zealand Music Awards, Not Given Lightly, a love song written for his wife Barbara, was announced as New Zealand's thirteenth best song of all time. Recently, Knox has attracted attention for composing a rock ballad for the Labour Party “A Better Way With Labour”. He lives in Auckland where he also works as a film reviewer and columnist.

Rosie Tin TeaCaddy is made up of Billy Earl and Betty Grey. Their debut release, Blind Leading The Blind, was written and recorded as a five-day project in Betty’s cottage overlooking the sea. The band describes itself as “Cute, wholesome and cheeky – the RTT sound is filled with an infectious sense of fun”.

ENDS

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