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A Sharp Left Turn: Notes on a Life in Music, from Split Enz to Play to Strange
This is a gripping read that works on several levels. It's the sliding-door story of someone who might have become a world-famous pop star had he not suffered from a severe phobic disorder.It's the story of an assortment of young musicians trying to find their feet as bands in the late 70s and early 80s, and the associated euphoria and craziness of that life.It's Mike's personal story of struggling with agoraphobia and eventually finding a way through. Told in Mike's own words, this is also a loving evocation of a 50s and 60s New Zealand childhood, and a beautifully written memoir that will resonate with anyone who loves a well-told story.
- GenresMusic
390 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 1, 2019
When I was a gawky nerdy teen way back in the 1970s, the only poster I had on my bedroom wall was Split Enz, ripped from some magazine. Why? No idea because when I listen to their songs from that time I don't recognise a single one. Maybe it was how they reinvented themselves with mad makeup, hair and colour everywhere. Who knows. But they have always been and continue to be one of my favourite bands.
So a book comes out, written by one of those weirdos in that poster! Get my hands on this. So enjoyable, so readable, so interesting and a bit of a walk down memory lane with a potted history of how NZ music went from nothing to something, Mike Chunn being one of those who made it happen.
His parents must have been marvellous people - allowing their two sons to develop and hone their musical talents, always approving, giving support and guidance without it seems being pushy or overbearing. The boys' time at Sacred Heart College brought them into close contact with other musically inclined boys, who also went onto make names for themselves in music. The bonds these boys formed at school carried them through the next few years as they tried to become a world famous rock band.
Be careful what you wish for. Fame and relentless exposure does not suit everybody. Many tough times too, not just for the band as a whole, but for the players. I knew nothing about agoraphobia, which Mike suffered from starting at this time. His life only surviving due to all the pills he was taking, it was many years before he realised what the cause was, and then how he went about dealing with it, learning to live with it.
He has gone onto great things in NZ music, his love for playing with others resulting in the formation of Citizen Band. After flanneling his way through the excesses of the 1980s, I loved reading about his relentless campaigning to get more NZ music on the radio, encouraging young people in song writing, and possibly his greatest legacy the Play It Strange music trust. What a gift this man and his brother have been to the business of making music in NZ.
So a book comes out, written by one of those weirdos in that poster! Get my hands on this. So enjoyable, so readable, so interesting and a bit of a walk down memory lane with a potted history of how NZ music went from nothing to something, Mike Chunn being one of those who made it happen.
His parents must have been marvellous people - allowing their two sons to develop and hone their musical talents, always approving, giving support and guidance without it seems being pushy or overbearing. The boys' time at Sacred Heart College brought them into close contact with other musically inclined boys, who also went onto make names for themselves in music. The bonds these boys formed at school carried them through the next few years as they tried to become a world famous rock band.
Be careful what you wish for. Fame and relentless exposure does not suit everybody. Many tough times too, not just for the band as a whole, but for the players. I knew nothing about agoraphobia, which Mike suffered from starting at this time. His life only surviving due to all the pills he was taking, it was many years before he realised what the cause was, and then how he went about dealing with it, learning to live with it.
He has gone onto great things in NZ music, his love for playing with others resulting in the formation of Citizen Band. After flanneling his way through the excesses of the 1980s, I loved reading about his relentless campaigning to get more NZ music on the radio, encouraging young people in song writing, and possibly his greatest legacy the Play It Strange music trust. What a gift this man and his brother have been to the business of making music in NZ.
January 10, 2020
2.5 Stars!
“All five of us crammed into my father’s Morris 1800, and with my father’s cassette of Richard Burton reading Dylan Thomas’s “Under Milk Wood” playing extremely loudly.”
Now that has got to be one of the most white, middle class things I have read in a long time. This is Chunn’s description of driving to a recording studio to do Split Enz’s first single in Auckland back in the early 70s.
This reads like the autobiography of a protagonist you’d find in a (slightly too long) Julian Barnes novel. The only thing I find more tiresome than reading yet another bland and plodding book by another white middle class man, is listening to myself complain about it, so I will cut it short(ish) by saying I felt like Malcolm Tucker or his assistant in “In The Loop” as they battled against a litany of middle class clichés.
His description of boarding school made me wonder how could anyone who claims to love their children ship them off to awful, single sex institutions ruled by bullies and deviants, who delight in inventive acts of cruelty and hide it under the guise of educators and religion?...Made to play rugby and sleep in dorms with a group of equally frightened and confused strangers. And we wonder why society is as sick and troubled as it is. These are the same damaged and troubled youngsters who go onto rule countries and head up corporations and ensure that further generations are taught in the same archaic and bizarre way...and so it goes…
It’s at one of these awful places (pupils have to refer to teachers as Brother) where Chunn meets and befriends his future band mate, Tim Finn. They formed Split Enz (for those of you who aren’t familiar with the band, think early Genesis, Eno era Roxy Music with a bit of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band). Chunn only stuck with them for around three albums (Neil Finn later joined and they transformed into a fine band who went onto craft some great pop songs!).
Chunn seems like a mostly likeable chap in his way, but he is frustratingly vague on the details of the break-up of his first marriage, which led to a situation where he briefly fled and moved to the other side of the planet, leaving his son without his father?...I cannot understand the mind of someone who was capable of doing that and he clearly has no interest in explaining in this book either.
We get an overview of his (world famous in New Zealand) music career at one point he boasts that not one of the 20+ singles he played bass on ever reached the NZ Top 40. He moves into a band with his brother and then onto a sort of managerial career followed by a fulfilling role as a member of APRA. It was really interesting to learn of the inner workings of APRA and see how they measure and transfer funds to musicians and songwriters from radio stations, TV and shops and pubs around the world. Kudos to him and his huge impact in the role he played in trying to encourage and enforce the playing of more home brewed talent within NZ. There are many areas where NZ punches well above its weight and the creative arts are just one of them.
So this was an OK read, but it really really lacked a spark and just seemed to be so flat and toneless. That could be a reading challenge…see how long you can go without reading a book by another white middle class man?...In fact make it really interesting and add white middle class women to that too and just imagine what you could unearth?...
December 8, 2019
The question is... what would have the New Zealand music industry be like if we didn't have Mike Chunn championing it? A finger in every musical pie over the past forty years, an opportunity never missed to further the cause. It was great read and very personal.
November 13, 2019
If Mike Chunn had a different hat for all of his experiences in the world of music he would need a much larger wardrobe. A Sharp Left Turn is a very special book in which we can trace the history of New Zealand music over the last four decades, but, more than that in this very personal story we share Chunn's ongoing unique health issues which often influenced his ability to deliver the role that he was involved with. Hence the reference to his many hats.
Starting with his schooling at Auckland's Saint Joseph's primary, De La Salle College and Sacred Heart Mike Chunn was a very active scholar and budding sportsman, passionately supported by his parents Jerry and Von. He was not a passive passenger , especially at Sacred Heart, and his friendship with Tim Finn began a lifelong and musically critical relationship.
Mike's delivery is entertaining and self-deprecating as we witness the beginnings, trials and struggles as Split Enz is Mike Chunn's obsession. Trouble is, his problems with Agoraphobia kept on holding him back and he left Split Enz to head back home from their London base to escape. Just before they hit the big time with I Got You and the album True Colours going gang busters. Mike didn't waste any time , however, leaping straight into a new outfit he and brother Geoff called Citizen Band. They did OK, but Mike's mental health continued to be a problem, and he bailed from his new band as well.
Over the next few years Mike Chunn reinvented himself numerous times but it was always his passion for New Zealand music which drove him into roles that he was often a trailblazer for those who would follow. Without his vision and diligence the country would be so much poorer. Even better somehow he has conquered his agoraphobia and seems to now be at peace with himself, and so he should be.
Starting with his schooling at Auckland's Saint Joseph's primary, De La Salle College and Sacred Heart Mike Chunn was a very active scholar and budding sportsman, passionately supported by his parents Jerry and Von. He was not a passive passenger , especially at Sacred Heart, and his friendship with Tim Finn began a lifelong and musically critical relationship.
Mike's delivery is entertaining and self-deprecating as we witness the beginnings, trials and struggles as Split Enz is Mike Chunn's obsession. Trouble is, his problems with Agoraphobia kept on holding him back and he left Split Enz to head back home from their London base to escape. Just before they hit the big time with I Got You and the album True Colours going gang busters. Mike didn't waste any time , however, leaping straight into a new outfit he and brother Geoff called Citizen Band. They did OK, but Mike's mental health continued to be a problem, and he bailed from his new band as well.
Over the next few years Mike Chunn reinvented himself numerous times but it was always his passion for New Zealand music which drove him into roles that he was often a trailblazer for those who would follow. Without his vision and diligence the country would be so much poorer. Even better somehow he has conquered his agoraphobia and seems to now be at peace with himself, and so he should be.
November 8, 2019
This was one of the most riveting reads I've had for some time. I found it hard to put down but when I did, quickly found excuses to pick it up and keep going again.
It particularly appealed to me because I am also a bass player like Mike and every time he mentioned his flat-wound strings, it just cracked me up. He never said why he felt obliged to mention them so often and he just left you to wonder how much stick he got for using them - kind of like Wilson's complete face never showing in Tim Allen's Home Improvements sitcom.
This also set the tone for the way he writes. Wry humour all the way through yet complete honesty about how he felt about life, his parents, his family, fellow band members, friends and last but not least the challenges from his mental illness condition, agoraphobia.
Mike takes you on a life journey that makes you laugh, despair, cheer, cry and you can't help but feel yourself fitting completely into the scene he paints.
Thank you Mike for such a great book. You're a true entertainer, talented in so many ways and your intellect is inspiring. Good on you too for giving Mr Agoraphobia a kick in the pants on Military Highway.
It particularly appealed to me because I am also a bass player like Mike and every time he mentioned his flat-wound strings, it just cracked me up. He never said why he felt obliged to mention them so often and he just left you to wonder how much stick he got for using them - kind of like Wilson's complete face never showing in Tim Allen's Home Improvements sitcom.
This also set the tone for the way he writes. Wry humour all the way through yet complete honesty about how he felt about life, his parents, his family, fellow band members, friends and last but not least the challenges from his mental illness condition, agoraphobia.
Mike takes you on a life journey that makes you laugh, despair, cheer, cry and you can't help but feel yourself fitting completely into the scene he paints.
Thank you Mike for such a great book. You're a true entertainer, talented in so many ways and your intellect is inspiring. Good on you too for giving Mr Agoraphobia a kick in the pants on Military Highway.
March 6, 2021
Split Enz, Citizen Band, APRA New Zealand, Play It Strange, and all the wonderful musical adventures of a truly wonderful bass player who's done so much for New Zealand music.
Highly recommended for any music fan, particularly any Kiwi music fan.
Highly recommended for any music fan, particularly any Kiwi music fan.
December 23, 2019
Honest as.
Readable as.
Riveting as.
Mike's like the Selleys' of the Kiwi music world "no more gaps". Sharp left turns will do that!
Cheers for sharing.
Readable as.
Riveting as.
Mike's like the Selleys' of the Kiwi music world "no more gaps". Sharp left turns will do that!
Cheers for sharing.
April 15, 2020
A brilliant book that captures one man's passion for music
July 18, 2021
Absolutely fascinating book. The first quarter is great. The second quarter gets a wee bit boring(my opinion), because when mike explains things, he quite often writes poetry about it. Peculiar that I should say boring, because I love the bible, and that has a lot of poetry. The second half of mike's book, A Sharp Left Turn, is absolutely mind blowingly fascinating. Is there a New Zealand band member that Mike hasn't met ?Wow !
Highly, highly recommend reading. Just discovered Mike has written other books. Will have a look at those also
Highly, highly recommend reading. Just discovered Mike has written other books. Will have a look at those also
January 6, 2023
An interesting history of NZ (and especially Auckland) music.
The writing style is sometimes annoying: it seems to assume we know stuff we don’t, or makes leaps. I felt it should have been more heavily edited.
And the book is silent on his personal life. I guess that’s what he wants but it would have been a more interesting book with the home life in there. His kids seem to be musical and more on that would have been good.
The writing style is sometimes annoying: it seems to assume we know stuff we don’t, or makes leaps. I felt it should have been more heavily edited.
And the book is silent on his personal life. I guess that’s what he wants but it would have been a more interesting book with the home life in there. His kids seem to be musical and more on that would have been good.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews