Bike finally cheer up and have a bit of fun in one of their music videos. “Welcome to my World” is based around a Kiwi caravan holiday, set some time in the late 1970s.
There’s Dad, played by Ian Hughes, wearing walk socks, Stubbies and a towelling hat for period authenticity. He’s joined by Mum and their son, and with a caravan in tow they head off to a seaside motorcamp.
But it turns out there are three stowaways on board. We discover Bike inside the caravan, playing the song as they’re tossed about with Dad’s distracted driving. A policeman notices and pulls the car over, where we discover – gasp – the cop is played by Shayne Carter!
Jonathan King has directed other videos for Bike, and his treatment for this video works well. It manages to add humour to the video, cleverly letting the band be the straight men in a world of comedic chaos.
The happy campers eventually arrive at Sunnyglade Camping Ground but – uh oh – there’s a gas leak in the caravan. Oh guys, always disconnect the gas bottle when in transit. And always check your caravan for stowaway indie bands, especially ones who like to smoke. Kaboom!
Best bit: Dad’s messy attempt at eating his ice cream. Hey, we’ve all been there.
Director: Jonathan King
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
Next… the Flowers hit London town.
We meet Bic Runga in an empty white room. She’s just hanging out, playing her guitar, singing a song. It’s all very ordinary, but suddenly the camera zooms out and – whoa – Bic’s white room is an open-sided cube inside a supermarket. That’s, like, suddenly strange.
The Narcs, now looking like a bunch of dads, have an enjoyable road trip. Starting off in Raglan, the two main Narcs jump in a vintage car and head north. Heading past the Meremere power station (back when it was a power station), they stop off for some petrol, taking the opportunity lark about on the forecourt. This seems appropriate behaviour for middle-aged men on a road trip.
The second track of the Exponents’ final studio album, “Close” is an uplifting love song, but the video takes an interesting approach. The video has a dark, blue-grey palette, going for a gloomy look in a bleak warehouse setting. It’s a styley look, but it seems at odds with the lyrics.
Four years after the last JPS Experience video, Dave Yetton returns with a new band, and curiously enough, the video for “Don’t Open Your Eyes” feels like an old JPS Experience vid.
Because it’s the 1997, Loves Ugly Children get cinematic in the form of a fake trailer for an exploitation flick also named “Voodoo Girl”. Directed by Peter Bannan, the video opens with a warning – “the film this trailer advertises contains adult concepts”. What, like getting a mortgage or caring foran aging parent? No, like a scantily-clad young woman suggestively playing with a model aeroplane.
The Headless Chickens returned with another single off their final album, “Greedy”. “Second Time Virgin” is a filthy, dark song, far removed from the sweet edges of Fiona-era Chickens.
Outside a Masonic lodge, a man stands with his arms around a power pole. He looks downcast, as if the old wooden pole is the one remaining thing in the world he can turn to. Meanwhile, inside the lodge, Greg Johnson and band play the song in a large empty, carpeted room, as if offering commentary on the fellow outside.
Che Fu teams up with Dam Native and they all look good in sharp menswear. The song combines Dam Native’s beats and rhymes with Che’s smooth vocals, and the video directed by Steve Morrison picks up on this. 
The star of the “Dome” video is “Miyata Jiro”, a performance art robotic businessman – a “corporation solider” – that crawls along the ground in his nice suit. It’s the work of New York-based Japanese performance artist Momoyo Torimitsu, who also appears in the video as the businessman’s nurse/technician.