Hoi Polloi – Only Flying / Demo

Hoi Polloi
Only Flying / Demo
1996 (no label)
Auckland, New Zealand

Jenny Gullen – Lead vocals
Troy Daugherty – Guitar
Andrew Horst – Bass
Matt McGuyer – Drums

1. Simply Super
2. Only Flying
3. If I Was Juliet

This was the final release by Hoi Polloi before they called it a day. After they successfully re-branded themselves as a loud guitar alternative rock juggernaut with Happily Ever After, the band recorded this demo in preparation for their next album (or so the rumor goes). They continue with the guitar-forward alt rock of their last album, with some saying this tape is proof their next album would have been even better. But it wasn’t meant to be it seems. There are actually two versions of this – one is simply a tape called Demo (see scan below) that has a longer version of “If I Was Juliet.” It seems that just some of the repeating parts of the song were trimmed. Also, “Only Flying” has a drumstick count in that is not on Only Flying. The officially released version as Only Flying appears to cut a good minute off of that track but is otherwise the same. Just not sure which one was released first. They came a long way from their start in 1990 with Satisfy.

Jamboree – Melt Down

Jamboree
Melt Down
1985 Jayrem Records
New Zealand

Brent Tasker – Vocals
David Ball – Guitar, keyboards
Dave Steunebrink – Guitar
Andrew Horst – Bass
Jozsef Fityus – Drums

Angela Tasker – Backing Vocals on “Spin Me”

Side One:

1. Melt Down
2. A Familiar Quietness
3. Cold

Side Two:

1. Out of Season
2. Spin Me

I have heard this one before but found out some more information about it so I thought I would cover this here (even though it is technically vinyl). Jamboree was an early version of Hoi Polloi before Jenny Gullen joined. Ball, Horst, and Fityus joined Gullen by the time they were Hoi Polloi and released Satisfy in 1990. Horst and Gullen were also married by the time they were in Hoi Polloi, but I don’t know if that was the case here. The sound here reminds you of an earlier version of their later sound. It was kind of in line with what many New Zealand alternative bands were doing at the time. This album also contains an early version of “Spin Me.” They also have a single from 1987 called Independence Day that will now go on my want list. Steunebrink didn’t seem to join Hoi Polloi, but he did go on to produce and/or manage many Christian bands and acts, including Hoi Polloi.

Hoi Polloi – Satisfy

Hoi Polloi
Satisfy
1990 (no label)
Auckland, New Zealand

Jenny Gullen – Lead vocals, acoustic guitar
David Ball – Lead guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards
Andrew Horst – Bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar
Jozsef Fityus – Drums

Jasmine Kemp – Background vocals on “Satisfy”
Dave Henderson – Background vocals on “Satisfy”
Youth Renewal Singers – Background vocals on “Rest Tonight”
Guy Wishart – Acoustic guitar on “Satisfy”
Jeff Tribe – Trumpet
Peter Slainey – Saxophone
Dave Parry – Keyboards on “Love Shine Down”

Side 1:

1. Rest Tonite
2. Rain
3. Love Shine Down

Side 2:

1. Satisfy
2. The Other Name
3. Come to Me

This is the debut demo by Hoi Polloi – probably the one that got them in to play Cornerstone, where they were signed back in the day. All of the songs on here were re-recorded for their 1992 Reunion Records self-titled debut except for “Love Shine Down.” Of course, that song was re-recorded for 1993’s Spin Me. I’ve read that the band thought their first two albums were too slick and overproduced – you can hear more of their true sound here it seems, as these tracks are more alternative sounding and less slick pop than the label release versions. I always liked those two albums for what they are, but listening to this demo you can really hear the label influence on their sound. This would be their only demo until after they were signed, when they recorded Only Flying in 1996. Also an interesting historical note – the members of this band minus Gullen were in a band called Jamboree that released an ep called Melt Down and a single called Independence Day in the 1980s.