Gary SteelGary Steel

Gary Steel has been writing about music since 1978, and is the former editor of seminal publications In Touch, Tom, and RTR Countdown. He also owned the Beautiful Music CD store. Gary was was born in Auckland in 1959 but fortunately grew up in Hamilton.

Rave under Takaka stars: Remembering the trip that was The Gathering

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Before Splore, there was a South Island music festival that celebrated ‘unity through diversity’ in the final years of the 20th century. In this piece originally published on AudioCulture, Gary Steel tells the tale of The Gathering. To paraphrase a famous hippie festival homily, if you can remember it you probably weren’t there. Despite its … Read more

Endless Summer: Brian Wilson vs Mike Love in the battle for the Beach Boys’ soul

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Gary Steel surveys two new biographies by two old foes from the Beach Boys – Brian Wilson (genius) and Mike Love (asshole), and finds the asshole’s book is better. In the left corner, the drug-fucked genius, the Bach of modern pop: BRIAN WILSON! In the right corner, the craven villain that everyone loves to hate, the … Read more

Flying Nun: In love with the sound of their own voice, more like

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An essay by Gary Steel on the hits and myths of Flying Nun, as chronicled by the record company’s founder Roger Shepherd in his new best-selling memoir. Flying Nun. Was there ever a record label that was more famous than any of its acts? It’s the home of the “Dunedin sound”, The Clean, The Chills, … Read more