Instigators Announce Their Reissue Album, Best of the Instigators
Instigators Announce Their Reissue Album, Best of the Instigators
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