Able Tasmans

Emerging among the notable acts in New Zealand's 1980s pop landscape, Able Tasmans came together in Auckland during 1984. The initial trio featured keyboardist Graeme Humphreys, bassist Dave Beniston, and drummer Craig Baxter, delivering an arch, '60s-tinged style evident in tracks such as "Nelson the Cat?!!". After joining the renowned Flying Nun imprint the following year for their first EP, The Tired Sun, the group shifted toward a more raucous and vibrant palette once singer Peter Keen and guitarist Anthony Nevison came aboard. The quirky single "Buffalos" appeared in 1986, and by 1987 the ensemble—now including Keen, Humphreys, Beniston, organist Leslie Jonkers, and drummer Stuart Greenway—delivered its first album, A Cuppa Tea and a Lie Down. A three-year break ensued while personnel shifts continued, until the core of Humphreys, Jonkers, and Keen resurfaced in 1990 with Hey Spinner!, a graceful chamber-pop set that drew support from ex-Verlaines bassist Jane Dodd, keyboardist Ron Young, and drummer Craig Mason. Retaining that same lineup, the 1992 follow-up Somebody Ate My Planet adopted a markedly thicker texture and centered thematically on environmental concerns.