HEAD LIKE A HOLE

Wellington is famous for its wind, and watching Wellington band Head Like A Hole live was like being hit by a 100k southerly.

Back in the early 90's I met a guy who was getting into mountain biking. He was 6'6" and covered in tatts which was much less common in those days. I later found out he was the bass player in a band called Head Like A Hole.

http://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/head-like-a-hole

They had just put out their first album - "13" and were getting a reputation round town for their wild concerts - not just because they kicked arse, but also because they played naked and covered in mud!

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http://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/head-like-a-hole

Fish across Face was one of my favourite early tracks. Holy crap, seeing this song live was like being slapped with a fish alright. The video was banned in NZ for promoting unhygienic practices.

When The Red Hot Chili Peppers were doing their NZ tour, Head Like A Hole was the opening act. I remember being in the huge audience and getting literally blown away by the sheer power of the performance.

When the Chili Peppers played their own set afterwards, they just sounded like a bunch of schoolboys trying to do Chili Peppers covers

“One reason we've got to this level is that we’re not afraid to go ape shit live; we don’t have inhibitions. With HLAH it’s this full-on energy thing live.” (Nigel Regan, 1995)

Later Head Like A Hole became widely known as HLAH but I never really liked that name much because Hallah sounded to me like an Egyptian stripper or some Jewish bread.

Right through the 90's they did so many epic songs and videos - their sound was really diverse.

Once they even did a cover of The Clean - Beatnik - the band I posted about yesterday!

These days they are best remembered for Wet Rubber, but they did a stack of amazing albums and were certainly not one hit wonders.

https://headlikeahole.co.nz/music

http://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/head-like-a-hole

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