CITIZEN BAND

Biography

There is more than one artist with this name, including: 1) Citizen Band was a late 70s/early 80s New Zealand new wave band led by Mike Chunn (ex-Split Enz. 2) Citizen Band was an Austrian funk-rock band from Vienna active for a short time at the end of the 1970s. 3) Citizen Band was the name used for a one-off performance by members from the recently disband chart band C/O/R/D just prior to them deciding to use the name Tin Man. 1) Citizen Band was a late 70s/early 80s New Zealand new wave...

There is more than one artist with this name, including:
1) Citizen Band was a late 70s/early 80s New Zealand new wave band led by Mike Chunn (ex-Split Enz.
2) Citizen Band was an Austrian funk-rock band from Vienna active for a short time at the end of the 1970s.
3) Citizen Band was the name used for a one-off performance by members from the recently disband chart band C/O/R/D just prior to them deciding to use the name Tin Man.

1) Citizen Band was a late 70s/early 80s New Zealand new wave band led by Mike Chunn (ex-Split Enz. In 1977, brothers Mike and Geoff Chunn decided to form a band around Geoff's compositions. Both had previously been members of notable New Zealand groups such as Split Enz and Stillwater, with Mike also being a former member of Space Waltz and Moses and Geoff being part of Dragon and Rosewood.
Originally named CB (short for Chunn Brothers), there was some confusion with some believing it was an abbreviation of Citizen Band, so they adopted this as their new name. Record companies showed no interest, but they were given some studio time at Mandrill Studios in Auckland to record a single. Geoff took lead vocals and guitar, Mike on bass and vocals, while Brent Eccles was recruited on drums, Greg Clark on guitar and Warren Sly on piano. Eccles and Clark has both been previous members of Space Waltz. The single "In a Lifetime/Good Morning Citizen" was released in September 1977, at which point the members showed interest in turning the outfit into a full time band. Sly was the only member that did not stay on, instead playing as an occasional session musician when the band recorded in the studio.
The band made appearances at the Nambassa and Great Western festivals in NZ and released another single - a cover of Larry's Rebels "I Feel Good" with "My Pohutukawa" as b-side in May 1978. As the band reached a greater audience, Glyn Tucker Jr of Mandrill Studios suggested the band record an LP. Citizen Band was released in September and made it to #27 on the national charts. This was followed by the singles "The Ladder Song/Martian Spaceman" and "Somebody Else/Holy Felule" from the Mandrill sessions.
Later that year the band signed to CBS Records and re-released "The Ladder Song" with "I Feel Good" as b-side in August. A second single "Julia/Blue Lagoon" followed in 1979. In August that year, their second LP Just Drove Thru Town was released, produced by American Jay Lewis at Mandrill Studios. The band embarked on a national tour to promote the album, with the LP reaching #18 on the national charts. The final show of the tour at the Auckland Town Hall was so rowdy that the venue banned any future rock concerts. The album produced two singles - "Rust in My Car/Dig That Tex" and "No Stereo/SOS".
The band flew to Australia in 1980 to play some dates, but the tour was unsuccessful and Mike Chunn left the band. He was replaced by Roland Killeen and a third album was released called CB Bootleg. A final single was released, "Home Tonight/Pyjamas" before Brent Eccles left to join Australian band The Angels in 1981. The band folded soon after.
Mike Chunn went on to become General Manager of Mushroom Records NZ for a short time as well as becoming GM of Publishing at Sony Records until 1992. He wrote a book "Stranger Than Fiction" about former bandmates Split Enz while General Manager of the Australasian Performing Rights Association. In 2003 he founded the Play it Strange Trust which promotes interest and skills in songwriting and performance amongst young New Zealanders.

2) Citizen Band was an Austrian funk-rock band from Vienna active for a short time at the end of the 1970s.

3) Citizen Band was the name used for a one-off performance by members from the recently disband chart band C/O/R/D just prior to them deciding to use the name Tin Man. All members were from Norwich, and comprised James Leeds (vocals, keys, guitar), Andrew Walsh (bass), Mike Jackson (guitar, keys, vocals), and Phil Davison (drums, vocals).
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