Headless Chickens
5820423
221776675
2008-06-26T01:31:59Z
Stormie
20772
/* Singles */ disambig [[Soulcatcher]]
{{for|the [[Radiohead]] precursor band of the same name|Headless Chickens (UK band)}}
{{Infobox musical artist 2
|Name = Headless Chickens
|Img =
|Img_capt =
|Background = group_or_band
|Birth_name =
|Alias =
|Born =
|Died =
|Origin = [[New Zealand]]
|Instrument =
|Genre = [[Rock music|Rock]]
|Occupation =
|Years_active = 1985-1998
|Label = Flying Nun
|Associated_acts = [[Fiona McDonald]]
|URL =
|Current_members =
|Past_members =[[Chris Matthews (musician)|Chris Matthews]]<br>[[Fiona McDonald]]<br>[[Johnny Pierce]]<br>[[Michael Lawry]]<br>[[Grant Fell]]<br>[[Bevan Sweeney]]<br>[[Anthony Nevison]]<br>[[Rupert E. Taylor]]<br>[[Bevan Larsen]]<br>[[Simon Claridge|Flex]]<br>[[Angus McNaughton]]<br>John McDermott
}}
The '''Headless Chickens''' were a [[New Zealand]] band. Going against the grain of the [[Dunedin sound]] that dominated the [[Flying Nun Records]] roster at the time, the Headless Chickens made extensive use of electronic instruments (or in their own words, "abused technology" {{Fact|date=November 2007}}) in their music.
==History==
The '''Headless Chickens''' recorded three albums, ''Stunt Clown'' (1988), ''Body Blow'' (1991), and ''Greedy'' (1997), plus various [[extended play|EP's]] for Flying Nun Records in the 1980s and 1990s.
The band first became known in New Zealand when they won the 1987 [[Rheineck]] Beer Rock award. The prizemoney from the award went into the funding for their innovative (for its use of sampling) 1988 debut album ''Stunt Clown''.
The 1988 CD release of ''Stunt Clown'' compiled the vinyl release of this name with the 1986 ''Headless Chickens'' EP.
A second album, ''Body Blow'', appeared in 1991 which featured singer [[Fiona McDonald]]. It was during this time with McDonald that the Headless Chickens would attract their widest audience.
Two versions of ''Body Blow'' were released with the revised and expanded 1993 version going double platinum in [[New Zealand]].
This album spawned the single "[[Cruise Control (song)|Cruise Control]]" which became a hit in [[New Zealand]] and (in a remixed form) [[Australia]]. "Cruise Control" was notable for its sampling, particularly for elements of [[Shona Laing]]'s 1973 single "1905" and [[The Crocodiles]]'s 1980 single "Tears".
At the time, the band's use of electronic elements and sampling in a "rock" setting was out of the ordinary and probably had an influence that outweighed the band's modest sales success; certainly the band [[Garbage (band)|Garbage]] credit the Headless Chickens as a major influence and they were sampled on that band's debut album.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
The followup 1997 ''Greedy'' album took several years to complete, and during that time several band members left, including singer McDonald. ''Greedy'' contained the track "George" which became a No. 1 hit single in their home country; "George" was the first (and so far, only) track from the [[Flying Nun Records]] label to achieve No. 1 status.
The Headless Chickens split up soon after ''Greedy'''s release.
In 2002 [[Flying Nun Records]] released a 2CD best-of compilation named ''ChickensHits''.
==Discography==
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|-
!align="center" valign="top"|Date of Release
!align="center" valign="top"|Title
!align="center" valign="top"|Label
!align="center" valign="top"|Charted
!align="center" valign="top"|Certification
!align="center" valign="top"|Catalog Number
|-
|- bgcolor="#DDDDDD"
| colspan=7 align=center | '''Albums'''
|-
|[[1988 in music|1988]]
|''[[Stunt Clown]]''
|[[Flying Nun Records]]
| -
| -
| FN100
|-
|[[1991 in music|1991]]
|''[[Body Blow]]''
|[[Flying Nun Records]]
| -
| -
| FN206
|-
|[[1993 in music|1993]]
|''[[Body Blow]]''
|[[Flying Nun Records]]
|
| Platinum x2 (NZ)
|
|-
|[[1997 in music|1997]]
|''[[Greedy (album)|Greedy]]''
|[[Flying Nun Records]]/[[Festival Music]]
| -
| -
| FN320
|-
|[[2002 in music|2002]]
|''[[ChickensHits]]''
|[[Flying Nun Records]]
| -
| -
|
|-
|}
===Featured appearances===
The group have appeared on many compilations and soundtracks since 1990 in both [[New Zealand]] and [[Australia]]. The following is a list of these albums that have featured tracks by the '''Headless Chickens'''.
*(1990]) - '''[[In Love With These Times]]''' <small>([[Flying Nun Records]])</small> - ''Donca''
* (1991) - '''[[Aotearoa: Stand Strong|Aotearoa: Stand Strong '91]]''' <small>([[Festival Music|Festival]])</small> - ''Cruise Control''
*(1991) - '''[[Getting Older 1981-1991]]''' <small>([[Flying Nun Records]])</small> - ''Totalling Dad's Car''
*(1991) - '''[[Pink Flying Saucers Over the Southern Alps]]''' <small>([[Flying Nun Records]])</small> - ''Railway Surfing''
*(1993) - '''[[Collision (N.Z. compilation album)|Collision]]''' <small>([[White Music|White]])</small> - ''Cruise Control''
*(1994) - '''[[Abbasalutely]]''' <small>([[Flying Nun Records]])</small> - ''[[Super Trouper (song)|Super Trouper]]'' ([[ABBA]] cover)
*(1996) - '''[[In The Neighbourhood (album)|In The Neighbourhood]]''' <small>([[Warner Music]])</small> - ''Cruise Control''
*(1996) - '''[[Popeyed]]''' <small>([[Flying Nun Records]])</small> - ''George''
*(1999) - '''[[Scarfies (soundtrack)|Scarfies]]''' <small>([[Flying Nun Records]])</small> - ''George''
*(2002) - '''[[Absolute Bliss]]''' <small>([[Festival Music|Festival]])</small> - ''Cruise Control''
*(2003) - '''[[Give It A Whirl (soundtrack)|Give It A Whirl]]''' <small>([[Propeller Records]])</small> - ''Gaskrankinstation''
*(2003) - '''[[Natures Best 3]]''' <small>([[Sony Music|Sony Music Entertainment]])</small> - ''Cruise Control''
*(2005) - '''[[V8 Supercars Australia: A Full Tank Of Rock]]''' <small>([[Festival Mushroom Records]])</small> - ''Cruise Control''
===Singles===
{| class="wikitable"|width=100%
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
!align="left" valign="bottom"|Year
!align="left" valign="bottom" width="225"|Single
!align="left" valign="bottom" width="130"|Album
!align="center" valign="top"|NZ Singles Chart
!align="center" valign="bottom" width="50"|Certification
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align="left" valign="top"|'''1988'''
|align="left" valign="top"|"[[Soulcatcher (Headless Chickens song)|Soulcatcher]]"/ "[[Donka]]"
|align="left" valign="top"|''Stunt Clown''
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|-
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
|align="left" valign="top"|'''1989'''
|align="left" valign="top"|"[[Expecting To Fly (Headless Chickens song)|Expecting To Fly]]"
|align="left" valign="top"|''Stunt Clown''
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align="left" valign="top"|'''1990'''
|align="left" valign="top"|"[[Gaskrankinstation]]"/"[[Crash Hot]]"
|align="left" valign="top"|''Body Blow''
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|-
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
|align="left" valign="top"|'''1991'''
|align="left" valign="top"|"[[Cruise Control (song)|Cruise Control]]"
|align="left" valign="top"|''Body Blow''
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align="left" valign="top"|'''1992'''
|align="left" valign="top"|"[[Donde Esta La Pollo]]"
|align="left" valign="top"|''Body Blow''
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|-
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
|align="left" valign="top"|'''1992'''
|align="left" valign="top"|"[[Juice (Headless Chickens song)|Juice]]"
|align="left" valign="top"|''Body Blow''
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align="left" valign="top"|'''1993'''
|align="left" valign="top"|"[[Mr. Moon]]"
|align="left" valign="top"|''Body Blow''
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|-
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
|align="left" valign="top"|'''1994'''
|align="left" valign="top"|"[[George (song)|George]]"
|align="left" valign="top"| ''Greedy''
|align="center" valign="top"| <small>#1 (NZ)
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|-
|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align="left" valign="top"|'''1997'''
|align="left" valign="top"|"[[Magnet (song)|Magnet]]"
|align="left" valign="top"| ''Greedy''
|align="center" valign="top"| <small>
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|-|-
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
|align="left" valign="top"|'''1997'''
|align="left" valign="top"|"[[Dark Angel (song)|Dark Angel]]"
|align="left" valign="top"| ''Greedy''
|align="center" valign="top"| <small>
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|-|-
|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF"
|align="left" valign="top"|'''1998'''
|align="left" valign="top"|"[[Secondtime Virgin]]"
|align="left" valign="top"| ''Greedy''
|align="center" valign="top"| <small>
|align="center" valign="top"| -
|-|-
|}
==External links==
*[http://www.flyingnun.co.nz/archive_site/bands/chickens/chooks_greedy.html Headless Chickens on Flying Nun]
[[Category:New Zealand musical groups]]
[[Category:Flying Nun artists]]