‘With his gratifying archive, Matt Goody details one of the most successful eras in the history of rock music – Flying Nun Records, formed in 1981 by Roger Shepherd in a Christchurch record shop. Shepherd and his brilliant cohorts served up the legendary output of not only kingpins like The Clean, The Chills and Tall Dwarfs, but also captured the best from favourites of mine like Able Tasmans, Bird Nest Roys, Look Blue Go Purple and The Verlaines. Goody provides the most comprehensive presentation yet of Flying Nun’s rise from Shepherd’s notepad to international underground rock sovereignty – and a vital part of one nation’s collective art history.’ — Bob Nastanovich, Pavement ‘This is so thoroughly and lovingly researched and written, it reads with the narrative drive and immediacy of a first-hand account. This from a writer and fan who came to the Flying Nun story two decades later and from half a world away. It is a remarkable achievement, and another bizarre twist in the Flying Nun story that its first meticulously written history should be produced in such circumstances.’ — Richard Langston, Garage ‘A fascinating and edifying book that is drenched in a wealth of fabulous photographs and illustrations throughout. And Matthew Goody really gets it: rather than simply expressing exasperation at the idiosyncrasies of the label in its early incarnation, he determines to untangle conundrums presented by them. His inspired methodology and meticulous research have resulted in this marvellous story – told as a series of stories – that is absorbing from go to woah.’ — Denise Roughan, Look Blue Go Purple and The 3Ds ‘There have been insider accounts of the Flying Nun story: how this ramshackle indie changed the game with a do-it-yourself alternative New Zealand music. Yet it is a Canadian record collector rather than an insider who has written the most detailed and palpable account of those reverberant early years, by using the records themselves as portals to the stories in this energetic, exhaustive review of the label’s Christchurch years.’ — Nick Bollinger

Matthew Goody is a Canadian editor and publisher who has worked in the book industry for over a decade. A fanatical record collector and researcher, he has spent years combing through the archives and record stacks to compile this comprehensive discographic history of Flying Nun’s early years. He currently lives in Vancouver, Canada.