Overview
In 1981 Christchurch, New Zealand record shop manager and music fan Roger Shepherd decided that someone should be recording the bands he loved to watch each weekend.
Armed with this idea and a mere $50, Flying Nun Records went on to document one of the most diverse and interesting bodies of music in New Zealand - and, some would argue, the world.
Flying Nun Records covers the label's evolution from an independent co-operative of musicians and supporters working for free to get the music out there, charts diverging ambitions as some bands find audiences overseas, and the company and artists deal with the dichotomy of creating music and doing business in New Zealand and beyond.
It's one of the great rock 'n' roll stories, full of big personalities, high ideals, opportunities both seized and lost, and a soundtrack to die for because, in the end, (as in the beginning) Flying Nun is all about the music.
Presented by former Radio With Pictures host Karyn Hay; drawn from over 100 hours of new and archival interviews by researcher/ producer Liisa McMillan, Flying Nun Records was first made for and broadcast by National Radio in December 2002.
In December 2006 the story of Flying Nun Records, 1980-2002, was made available as audio-on-demand for the first time, to celebrate Flying Nun’s 25th Birthday.
To celebrate Flying Nun’s 30th Anniversary in November 2011, Flying Nun Records, 1980-2002 and other, related audio is available via download / podcast for the very first time from Radio New Zealand National, with thanks to Mushroom Music Publishing, Native Tongue and Mana Music Publishing, and of course… Flying Nun Records.