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How it all started
theband.jpg The Dabs started in the dressing room of XS cafe at an Ainsworths gig in mid 1981. Rowan was playing for The Ainsworths, Geoff for The Regulators and Steve was in Small Torque, they got together in the cramped room and decided they had each had enough of their own bands and so The Dabs were formed. After the gig the three went to Progressive Music Studios where they played all through the night, assisted by little blue pills, rehearsing some of the first songs The Dabs were to play. Rowan moved into Ariki Street in Grey Lynn and Steve stayed over most of the time so now all the band and its roadies were under the same roof. The two roadies were Geoff's younger brother, Neil Hayden, and his friend Sandy Fielding. Just to keep it all in the family Geoff's sister, Jane, had a boyfriend, later to become her husband, who did the sound. After working up enough songs for two sets, around 45 minutes of material, The Dabs were ready to hit the stage. The influences on the band were The Who, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Small Faces and The Jam.
How The Dabs got their name

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The Dabs took their name from the slang term for fingerprints. All the members of the band, and their entourage, were great fans of the "Minder" TV series and when they were casting around looking for a name for the band were watching this episode of Minder (season 2 episode 12 "Caught In The Act, Fact"). As soon as they saw the clip on the left the name was adopted. It was Steve who leapt up and suggested this be the band name and all agreed.
Gigging and Touring
Sweetwaters%20Backstage%20Pass_thumb.jpg The first gig was in September 1981 as support act for The Screaming Meemees at The Reverb Room, a notorious boot boy hangout, for which they received $50.00. From there The Dabs played all around Auckland at such venues as The Windsor Castle, Main Street, The Reverb Room, The New Station Hotel, The Globe, The Rumba Bar, and gradually gained exposure and performing experience. Then followed small forays into the North Island as support act for Blam Blam Blam and The Meemees, followed by recording a track, "Remember When", for a compilation on Furtive records. The Furtive "3 Piece Pack" tour of the North and South Islands of NZ was their first major tour and saw them travelling and playng the length of the country with The Bongos , The Prime Movers and The Skeptics. Around September of 1982 they released their EP "Love The Army" which contained four tracks - "Love The Army", "Remember When", "B Of D" and "The Wager" . The record charted at 23 and got some airplay on Radio B and a video clip of the title song was shown on "Radio With Pictures". Sweetwaters music festival in the summer of 1982/3 saw The Dabs play to large crowds as part of the Propeller Records contingent, even though they were not that welcome parking next to the Propeller caravan. Apparently, their reputation for drinking and partying all night had made Simon Grigg nervous enough to shoo them away from his quiet retreat at the festival.
How it all ended
psychodelic.jpg After Sweetwaters, The Dabs went back into the studio to record a single "Just Another Day" b/w "Night & Day" produced by Mike Caen which was recorded at Harlequin studios. When it was completed Propeller Records decided not to release it, as they were having financial troubles due to their other acts blowing small fortunes on recording albums. However, a major tour had already been put together with The Mockers. This tour was to promote both the bands latest releases but The Dabs now did not have one. The tour was supposed to be equal billing but in actual fact The Dabs were relegated to support status and the Tour Manager, Ian the hippie, had his hand in the till on more than one occasion. See some of the tour stories for the antics on this tour! The Mockers were having internal troubles with both the guitarist Barry Cutcheon and the bass player Murray Costello causing disruption. At the end of the tour Barry left the band and The Mockers fired the bass player and drummer, Brendan Fitzgerald. They were replaced by Geoff and Steve who had been unscrupulously recruited by Ian the hippie whilst on the tour, which left Rowan without a band ... and so The Dabs were no more.