Mockers "Caught in the Act" Live 1984

...More cool indie pop singles would emanate out of Wellington – ‘Trendy Lefties’ on the CBS distributed Bunk label (1981) and ‘Woke Up Today’ on their own Morocat label (July 1982). Both records put the band in stores natiowide and sold respectable numbers. Tired of the indie-life, the band headed for Auckland late 1982 and in April 1983 they recorded ‘My Girl Thinks She’s Cleopatra’ at Mandrill Studios, for Glyn Tucker Jnr's Reaction label after Trevor Reekie had signed the band to the imprint. It was released mid-June and was the first of a string of Mockers hit singles that coincided with endless national tours promoted by new manager Ian Kingsford...
...Fagan looked back in Shake! magazine (July/August 1986), “It was sensible to move to Auckland. You have bands like the Meemees really growing huge over the same period of time that we were sitting in Wellington just treading water. Auckland is where the record companies are, it’s where Rip It Up is, everything like that.”
In between the 1983 tours the band recorded songs such as ‘Alvison Park’ and ‘Swear It’s True’ and re-recorded early songs like ‘Woke Up Today’ and the ‘The Good Old Days’ at Mandrill’s 24-track studio, in pursuit of “international recording quality". Behind the desk on all of these were producer Trevor Reekie and producer/engineer Glyn Tucker Jnr.
1984 started with the band’s fourth appearance at the Sweetwaters Festival on Saturday February 4 and by mid-March their sixth single ‘Swear It’s True’ was released and peaked at No.19. The album Swear It’s True followed in May and entered the NZ Album chart at No.10, peaking at No.4 and staying in the Top 5 for five weeks.
Auckland saw a lineup chanage as Fagan and Kingsford effectively fired the earlier Wellington band replacing them in late 1983 with Geoff Hayden (bass), Dean Heazlewood (guitar), Steve Thorpe (drums) and Tim Wedde (keyboards). A month after the release of their debut album, the band recorded a live television special (and album) at Auckland’s Mainstreet venue. The live album Caught In The Act was released in July and peaked on the NZ Album chart at No.12...to be continued... - Murray Cammick & audioculture
trax:
01 Casualty 02 Saga Of Strombal 3 My Girl Thinks She's Cleopatra 04 Trendy Lefties 05 Won't Stop Coming 06 Alvison Park 07 Murder On Manners Street 08 Friend Of A Stranger 09 Good Old Days
…served by Gaius…