November 10, 2025 • 10 mins
Murray Burns songwriter, and keyboardist of kiwi new wave band Mi-Sex joins Nick Millson Wellington Mornings.
They talk about the old days of the band, and what the future holds. Including Mi-Sex's upcoming performance in Upper Hutt next year.
Mi-sex joins Tony Hadley, When the Cats Away and other acts at Hutt Sounds Sunday March 8 at Brewton Upper Hutt.
Buy tickets here: Hutt Sounds 2026
Are they still a kiwi band? How was the hit computer games written? Are they ready for the energy of the Hutt crowd this summer?
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talk sed B.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
We're lucky enough to speak to somebody that has a
lot of connection to Wellington. Murray Burns is with a
founding member of my Sex that coming to the fourth
Hut Sounds in twenty twenty six. Oh amazing, Murray.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Good morning, Yeah, Hi, good morning to you as well.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Thank you for having me our pleasure. I've got to
start by asking you about a great Walentonian Steve Gilpin.
I can remember the band rehearsing at one of my
clubs before you went down and did a month or
so in christ Yech before you went to Australia, the
start of it all. And Steve Gilpin is one of
(00:57):
the greatest musos that you could ever possibly meet.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah, oh well, I was playing a Doctor John's on
a evening with Colin Bailey and they have been Red
Rose and Don and Steve and Kevin Stanton came in and
sat down on the back of the at the back
of the club and I'm not sure one of the
masters that you want to come and day high and
(01:23):
they said, listen, we're listening to your playing and we're
going to go to Australia and are you interested? I said,
I mean and so, and then we changed and we
changed the name to My Sex And as you said,
we did a month in christ Church and he worked
away out all of them and took off.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Well what did Colin Base say when you said you're
leaving red Rose?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Yeah, Colin, great, look.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Because you were great mates. YouTube were great mates.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
He's going out to play with us on and christ
Is because I told Cold joined the band later on.
So Cole came over and I picked I picked him
up at the airport and we did a song. We
put a song of Colin's on the first album called
I Want to Be with You, and I picked up
(02:16):
picked up Angel Colin. They moved, they moved to Sydney
and we're driving driving down and that parade and that
song came up. It wasn't a single and it came
on the radio. I mean far Colin. Colin couldn't believe
he had never heard of himself and one of his
songs on the radio before. It was a really, really
(02:36):
great moment. We're talking nineteen eighty here.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Yeah, I remember this is going to be weird to you,
but I've been talking about the Red Rose days. I mean,
you were kind of like this, kind of got on
a TV show close to how and one of those
sort of I don't know what it was, but you
guys became quite big very quickly, didn't you before, you know,
in the early days when you were kids.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah, you know, we were, we were doing pretty well.
I remember the moment Dad coming and stay with me
from down south, and Dad said, because they were watching
us something close to home, and they knew I was
getting pretty good money as doctor John's and counting around
the other club and I think I said, Dad, we're
(03:18):
making I think we're making like six hundred dollars a
week because we had to join Actors Equity and Dad
nell he chose. He said, that's more than your mother
and I made together, you know moment and Dad had
always gone, oh, you know, you have to get a
real job. You can't make a living out.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Of music, you know, for sure, for sure. How's the
reactions when you come back to New Zealand. I mean,
do people still think in New Zealand that you are
a key we band because you're not really are you?
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Well? I would like to think we are, but now
we're not. Because most of the guys are up in heaven,
you know, Kevin's and Heaven, Don's and Heaven. Steve's in
heaven and so. But you know, before Don died, there
was four of us, was Colin, myself, Paul Dummingham and
(04:12):
Dot you Don me and Colin Balley and so I
felt like we were still, you know, a band. And
when COVID happened, Paul and Paul and Cole moved back
to New Zealand and then poor Don, you know, we
lost them. And Steve said, do you want to keep
(04:33):
doing this? You know, how do you feel about it?
It's just just you, You're the last man Fanning. I said, look,
as long as it's fun, I'm going to keep doing it.
And I've had really I'm having fun. And I love
being on stage with Steve Welby and he brings a
lot of color to Kevin Sandon's lyrics, be love colors
(04:55):
to the songs and we actually a really good time.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Is he the guy that played in Noise Works? Is
that the same guy or is that have you changed?
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yeah? He still does playing Noiseworks right, Yeah, we're all
in bed with each other.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
How amazing? Is it? A song? About computers when computer
you the song actually came out before computers were a
big thing. I mean, you know, computers were in banks
and they were in government departments, but they weren't in
everyone's handbag. And you brought out a song they.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Were running with tapes, fooling you know.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
So, I mean it's it's a pretty incredible story and
it's probably one of the biggest Australasian songs ever.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Yeah, it is. And you know, I mean Kevin and
I put it together on a rainy Sunday morning. It
took about ten minutes to write it, but Kevin had
the lyric Idea in his head and came into my
bedroom and we just worked. It was so quick and
Kevin's lyrics are so fortuitous. They were so on the
(05:55):
money of where we are today.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
You know, I heard the story and it might be falsity,
but I'll tell it to you. I heard the story
that you were going on your keyboard and then he
put the guitar but on top of it and said, okay,
let's go. Is that and it was in your bedroom
of a flat because you flatted together? Is that a
true story?
Speaker 3 (06:14):
No? Well, we didn't flat. We were lucky enough to
fluke an incredible house the whole band lived in in
the Eastern Southers and it was it was just were
just lucked out and it actually had a piano in it,
so no the way they haven't. I actually had had
the clevernet by my bed and Kevin. Kevin came up
(06:39):
with the rhythm idea and then I came up with
a bar of boobam b b bomb, which was from
a scale that a friend of mine who was a
jazz guitarist taught me, and I used that and then
then we put it on. Then we let's put it
on guitar and keyboard and yeah, well then we had
(07:02):
to go out and buy the right equipment to play
the said the sequence, so you know your physically couldn't
play that with my hands myself. Yeah, And we went ship,
what have we made? We were We went, wow, this
is really something we knew, We knew what we were created.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
What do you know about Brutown This amazing institution that's
been built in Upper Hut. Now, when you were living
in Wellington, Upper Hut was a suburb out in the
middle of nowhere. Now we've got this amazing facility. Well,
I went and watched John Stevens play there last year.
He was one of the acts on it last year
at Hut Sounds, and I wasn't blown away. It's like
(07:43):
an amazing outdoor facility and you're playing with people like
Tony Hadley from Spandal, Ballet, the Cats, Away, Fun Loving Criminals.
You've got a lineup from Hell out there this next year.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Yeah. Well, we played there a couple of years ago
and you know, it is an incredible venue. You know.
I walked out of Fun after we played and met
my cousin and we walked around the whole place and yeah,
it's something else. You know. It really is an asset
(08:16):
to Wellington or Lower Heart Upperhart.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
So will you be playing the old classics?
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Yeah, look, that's a lot of people want here. We
might chuck it, maybe one new song in, but you know,
we've actually written a lot of great songs. But we
know that people come to hear you know. Yeah, the
classics fantastic.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
We're looking forward to playing host to you again in Wellington.
I hope you enjoyed. I hope the city's better than
when you were here in the eighties. Looking forward to
having you and and I one as one Wellington fan,
always think of you and Steve Gilben as my Sex.
Obviously Steve's not with us any longer, so having you
(09:02):
there on keyboard still gives me the feeling that it's
all my six.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Oh. I really appreciate that. It's a big one, big
one doing it. So and listen, come and say hi
if you come down.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Definitely, will definitely will take take care and all the best.
Appreciate you taking time to talk to us.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Absolute pleasure.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Murray Burns there, founding member of My Sex, wrote co
wrote computer games. Oh gosh, how good is that? And
I remember them from Red Rose. They were a very
funky cool band, very funky cool band.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Yeah, well we worked all too good to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Take care.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
They got a great chat. You don't get interviews like
that very often.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Thank you, appreciate you, Take care all right. Murray Burns.
My Sex coming to Hot Sounds Sunday the eighth to
March at Brewtown Upper Hut. Tickets are on sale now.
Don't miss out on that. Tony Hadley, the Cat's Away,
Fun Loving Criminals and My six pretty big gig.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news talks It'd be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talk sed B.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
We're lucky enough to speak to somebody that has a
lot of connection to Wellington. Murray Burns is with a
founding member of my Sex that coming to the fourth
Hut Sounds in twenty twenty six. Oh amazing, Murray.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Good morning, Yeah, Hi, good morning to you as well.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Thank you for having me our pleasure. I've got to
start by asking you about a great Walentonian Steve Gilpin.
I can remember the band rehearsing at one of my
clubs before you went down and did a month or
so in christ Yech before you went to Australia, the
start of it all. And Steve Gilpin is one of
(00:57):
the greatest musos that you could ever possibly meet.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah, oh well, I was playing a Doctor John's on
a evening with Colin Bailey and they have been Red
Rose and Don and Steve and Kevin Stanton came in and
sat down on the back of the at the back
of the club and I'm not sure one of the
masters that you want to come and day high and
(01:23):
they said, listen, we're listening to your playing and we're
going to go to Australia and are you interested? I said,
I mean and so, and then we changed and we
changed the name to My Sex And as you said,
we did a month in christ Church and he worked
away out all of them and took off.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Well what did Colin Base say when you said you're
leaving red Rose?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Yeah, Colin, great, look.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Because you were great mates. YouTube were great mates.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
He's going out to play with us on and christ
Is because I told Cold joined the band later on.
So Cole came over and I picked I picked him
up at the airport and we did a song. We
put a song of Colin's on the first album called
I Want to Be with You, and I picked up
(02:16):
picked up Angel Colin. They moved, they moved to Sydney
and we're driving driving down and that parade and that
song came up. It wasn't a single and it came
on the radio. I mean far Colin. Colin couldn't believe
he had never heard of himself and one of his
songs on the radio before. It was a really, really
(02:36):
great moment. We're talking nineteen eighty here.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Yeah, I remember this is going to be weird to you,
but I've been talking about the Red Rose days. I mean,
you were kind of like this, kind of got on
a TV show close to how and one of those
sort of I don't know what it was, but you
guys became quite big very quickly, didn't you before, you know,
in the early days when you were kids.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah, you know, we were, we were doing pretty well.
I remember the moment Dad coming and stay with me
from down south, and Dad said, because they were watching
us something close to home, and they knew I was
getting pretty good money as doctor John's and counting around
the other club and I think I said, Dad, we're
(03:18):
making I think we're making like six hundred dollars a
week because we had to join Actors Equity and Dad
nell he chose. He said, that's more than your mother
and I made together, you know moment and Dad had
always gone, oh, you know, you have to get a
real job. You can't make a living out.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Of music, you know, for sure, for sure. How's the
reactions when you come back to New Zealand. I mean,
do people still think in New Zealand that you are
a key we band because you're not really are you?
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Well? I would like to think we are, but now
we're not. Because most of the guys are up in heaven,
you know, Kevin's and Heaven, Don's and Heaven. Steve's in
heaven and so. But you know, before Don died, there
was four of us, was Colin, myself, Paul Dummingham and
(04:12):
Dot you Don me and Colin Balley and so I
felt like we were still, you know, a band. And
when COVID happened, Paul and Paul and Cole moved back
to New Zealand and then poor Don, you know, we
lost them. And Steve said, do you want to keep
(04:33):
doing this? You know, how do you feel about it?
It's just just you, You're the last man Fanning. I said, look,
as long as it's fun, I'm going to keep doing it.
And I've had really I'm having fun. And I love
being on stage with Steve Welby and he brings a
lot of color to Kevin Sandon's lyrics, be love colors
(04:55):
to the songs and we actually a really good time.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Is he the guy that played in Noise Works? Is
that the same guy or is that have you changed?
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yeah? He still does playing Noiseworks right, Yeah, we're all
in bed with each other.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
How amazing? Is it? A song? About computers when computer
you the song actually came out before computers were a
big thing. I mean, you know, computers were in banks
and they were in government departments, but they weren't in
everyone's handbag. And you brought out a song they.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Were running with tapes, fooling you know.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
So, I mean it's it's a pretty incredible story and
it's probably one of the biggest Australasian songs ever.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Yeah, it is. And you know, I mean Kevin and
I put it together on a rainy Sunday morning. It
took about ten minutes to write it, but Kevin had
the lyric Idea in his head and came into my
bedroom and we just worked. It was so quick and
Kevin's lyrics are so fortuitous. They were so on the
(05:55):
money of where we are today.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
You know, I heard the story and it might be falsity,
but I'll tell it to you. I heard the story
that you were going on your keyboard and then he
put the guitar but on top of it and said, okay,
let's go. Is that and it was in your bedroom
of a flat because you flatted together? Is that a
true story?
Speaker 3 (06:14):
No? Well, we didn't flat. We were lucky enough to
fluke an incredible house the whole band lived in in
the Eastern Southers and it was it was just were
just lucked out and it actually had a piano in it,
so no the way they haven't. I actually had had
the clevernet by my bed and Kevin. Kevin came up
(06:39):
with the rhythm idea and then I came up with
a bar of boobam b b bomb, which was from
a scale that a friend of mine who was a
jazz guitarist taught me, and I used that and then
then we put it on. Then we let's put it
on guitar and keyboard and yeah, well then we had
(07:02):
to go out and buy the right equipment to play
the said the sequence, so you know your physically couldn't
play that with my hands myself. Yeah, And we went ship,
what have we made? We were We went, wow, this
is really something we knew, We knew what we were created.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
What do you know about Brutown This amazing institution that's
been built in Upper Hut. Now, when you were living
in Wellington, Upper Hut was a suburb out in the
middle of nowhere. Now we've got this amazing facility. Well,
I went and watched John Stevens play there last year.
He was one of the acts on it last year
at Hut Sounds, and I wasn't blown away. It's like
(07:43):
an amazing outdoor facility and you're playing with people like
Tony Hadley from Spandal, Ballet, the Cats, Away, Fun Loving Criminals.
You've got a lineup from Hell out there this next year.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Yeah. Well, we played there a couple of years ago
and you know, it is an incredible venue. You know.
I walked out of Fun after we played and met
my cousin and we walked around the whole place and yeah,
it's something else. You know. It really is an asset
(08:16):
to Wellington or Lower Heart Upperhart.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
So will you be playing the old classics?
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Yeah, look, that's a lot of people want here. We
might chuck it, maybe one new song in, but you know,
we've actually written a lot of great songs. But we
know that people come to hear you know. Yeah, the
classics fantastic.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
We're looking forward to playing host to you again in Wellington.
I hope you enjoyed. I hope the city's better than
when you were here in the eighties. Looking forward to
having you and and I one as one Wellington fan,
always think of you and Steve Gilben as my Sex.
Obviously Steve's not with us any longer, so having you
(09:02):
there on keyboard still gives me the feeling that it's
all my six.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Oh. I really appreciate that. It's a big one, big
one doing it. So and listen, come and say hi
if you come down.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Definitely, will definitely will take take care and all the best.
Appreciate you taking time to talk to us.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Absolute pleasure.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Murray Burns there, founding member of My Sex, wrote co
wrote computer games. Oh gosh, how good is that? And
I remember them from Red Rose. They were a very
funky cool band, very funky cool band.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Yeah, well we worked all too good to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Take care.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
They got a great chat. You don't get interviews like
that very often.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Thank you, appreciate you, Take care all right. Murray Burns.
My Sex coming to Hot Sounds Sunday the eighth to
March at Brewtown Upper Hut. Tickets are on sale now.
Don't miss out on that. Tony Hadley, the Cat's Away,
Fun Loving Criminals and My six pretty big gig.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news talks It'd be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com