Stellar didn’t break into the charts until 1998, and yet here they are in a much earlier form. Boh Runga is yet to dye her hair red (because her younger sister isn’t famous yet, so she doesn’t feel a need to physically distinguish herself), her vocals are distorted, and the band has a much harder grungier sound. Yet the Garbage influence and grunge-pop sound is still in there, really to emerge fully formed a few years later.
“Ride” is from the soundtrack of New Zealand short film “Headlong”. It seems unusual to have a music video promoting a short film when the video is a quarter of the length of the film.
The video sees Boh and the early incarnation of her band performing the song in a warehouse. Everyone in the band has long hair, and Boh especially has so much hair in her face, it’s as if she was trying to protect her identity. The band parties like it’s 1993.
It’s a confident, energetic video, and it seems to capture an energy that didn’t come through in the later more sophisticated Stellar videos.
Best bit: the mysterious green hula hoop.
Next… sticky jelly party fun times.
This was prior to Chris Van de Geer and Kurt Shanks joining the band. In the video it is Joel Haines on guitar. The song was part of a mini soundtrack EP for the NZ film “Headlong”. Around this time 1994/1995 Bic Runga had Andrew (McLaren) playing drums in her band with myself on bass, after the departure of Earl Roberston to the Hit List. Conveniently Andrew and Boh shared a house at the time and Bic practices often took place there. This line up of Bic’s band recorded the demos pre-“Drive” album.
Directed & shot in Wellington by Simon Raby, after the song was used in his short Headlong.
I edited it at 601/Max TV.