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Able Tasmans

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This Auckland-based group has gone through a number of line-up and mood changes since they first surfaced in 1984 as a trio whammying things up for the kids on the dancefloor with a very ’60s fun organ-bass-drums sound and songs with titles like ‘Nelson the Cat?!!’.

For over a decade, the Able Tasmans were one of the most-loved New Zealand bands around. While that love never translated into the commercial success sometimes associated with this level of adoration, their fans knew why they made music and responded accordingly.

‘Nelson’ was one of six songs which appeared on the Ables’ 1985 debut EP for Flying Nun, ‘The Tired Sun’. Recorded with thanks to “the marvels of modern steam recording” at Auckland’s Progressive Studio over Easter, 1985, ‘The Tired Sun’ was a lively psych-out, admired for its strong singing and punchy upbeat feel

The Ables released their first full-length album in 1987, ‘A Cuppa Tea And A Lie Down’, which remains their most eclectic recording to date.

It was three years until a new Able Tasmans recording appeared on Flying Nun. Released in 1990, ‘Hey Spinner!’ was a denser album, with tunes that continued the Ables’ curious line in lyrical kiwiana - a trend begun on the previous album, which had built local geography and custom into songs.

1992 saw the Able Tasmans entering the eighth year of their musical career and releasing their third full album for Flying Nun, ‘Somebody Ate My Planet’. Their final album, ‘Store in a Cool Place’ was released in 1995.

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Tagged as:

new zealand, flying nun, kiwi, 80s, alternative
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Somebody Ate My Planet
Able Tasmans
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Songs from the Departure Loung
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Top Tracks

1	What Was That Thing	13
2	Hold Me I	11
3	little hearts	9
4	Inside The Modern	7
4	and relax	7
6	rainbow	5
6	Klingon National Anthem	5
8	and we swam the magic bay	4
8	Sour Queen	4
8	patrick's mother	4
8	Angry Martyr	4
12	fa fa fa fa	3
12	The Theory Of Continual Disappointment	3
12	My Name Is Peter Keen	3
12	Simple	3

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AbleBluenote wrote:
December 2009

fantastic band ++++

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a_motif wrote:
September 2009

Good band :)

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GREENMANPOP wrote:
July 2009

good grief, this was worth joining (last.fm) for the recommendation of Able Tasmans

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TMaltheus wrote:
May 2009

one of the many new zealand groups now disappeared from the earth. new zealand should utilize a strand of their incredible economy to reissue the entire flying nun catalog.

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JoeGazer wrote:
February 2009

Hold me is just wonderful....one of my alltime favorites.....

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wattleblossom wrote:
February 2009

My kids just love Evil BBQ. I bought 'A cuppa Tea and a Lie Down' so I could listen to Sour Queen over and over again. Absolutely wonderful CD. I could listen to it forever and already have for years.

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flashbleu wrote:
April 2008

Play Evil Barbecue and watch beachboy14's icon - the pig moves in time to the music... (have to type quickly before the Night Nurse wears off...)

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DoodleSnip wrote:
July 2007

The second track under Listen Now should be Hold Me I.

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skinnypies wrote:
August 2006

No sam, that was your dads penis

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skinnypies wrote:
May 2006

haha my mum played flute on sour queen

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Recent Activity

jackelde, MiataRoadster, venusinfurs999 and 14 other people added Able Tasmans to their libraries. Sunday evening
CaemlynOfAndor tagged Able Tasmans with ‘kiwi’. October 2009
hellynmaki, PaulKneejie, mjblitz and 8 other people added Able Tasmans to their libraries. October 2009
IndraAntiChrist tagged Able Tasmans with ‘80s’. September 2009
Tkeen88 and cyrilw added Able Tasmans to their libraries. September 2009
kathereibe tagged Able Tasmans with ‘new zealand’. August 2009
A deleted user added Able Tasmans to their library. August 2009
AbleBluenote linked Able Tasmans to abletasm. August 2009
AbleBluenote linked Able Tasmans to tasmans02. August 2009
AbleBluenote uploaded abletasm to Able Tasmans’s images. August 2009