ARTIST: SAM V. PHOTO: SAMUEL BERNARD
February 23rd, 2024
Leather Jacket Records, in association with Ripper Records are proud to present Instigators, Best of The Instigators – the band’s singles, live tracks, remixes remastered and collected on vinyl for the first time in 40 years. Best of The Instigators will be released on March 29th, 2024 — and available at all good record stores!
Instigators won Auckland’s Battle of the Bands in 1981 and released two seminal ska/punk singles on Ripper Records — ‘Not Really Bad’ with producer Don McGlashan, and ‘Hope She’s Alright’ with producer Steve Kennedy. Then they piled into a Bedford truck and toured all over NZ.
Pre-order the album at Flying Nun here.
“In the cities we played to big crowds at rock venues where everyone was jumping up and down and connected with our anti-government message. The rural pubs were a different story, they didn’t want to hear our songs about real life, gang warfare, and a missing prostitute. In Blackball they tried to beat us up and chased us down the street!” — Sonya Waters
“The Instigators’ two singles on Ripper have reached almost mythical status in 2024 and, aside from a track on Bigger Than Both of Us, have been unavailable in any form for 22 years, hence the prices they fetch. One of the reasons I bought Ripper from Bryan Staff was to see records like these classic 45s reissued and here they are, coupled with a side of live tracks that illustrate rather well why the band was so popular back in the day and why their legacy has lasted and grown. Extreme Ripper pride!” — Simon Grigg