June 12, 2024 • 10 mins
It's been years since Jon Stevens performed in Wellington, but he's returning early next year to perform at Hutt Sounds, part of the Sounds Series concerts.
Born and bred in Upper Hutt, Jon had a career in Noiseworks and later as part of INXS, as well as a storied solo career.
He joined Nick Mills to talk about what he's up to, and his excitement for the Upper Hutt gig.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talks at b.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
AS.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I said, we normally do music once a week with
James Irwin, but he's recovering from donating one of his
kidneys to his cousin, which we think is an incredible
thing to do. But we have a very special guest
on the show this morning. John Stevens is going to
be part of the Sound Series twenty twenty five now,
it's just been announced. It's a big deal. It's a
(00:46):
whole lot of the eighties bands all lining up together.
And the amazing thing for me on this will be
John Stevens maybe the first time that he's played in
his hometown. Can you believe that? Where are you, Joe,
Good morning, John Stevens morning man.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, it's been Look, it's been forty five years, so
I suppose since Jezebel Montego Bay back in seventy nine eighty. Yeah,
it was the last time I played in Wellington or
apper half. So yeah, it's a little bit a long
time coming. And it's just great that you know, perhaps
actually has a venue that can accommodate you know, thousands
of people and that you know it's becoming quite the
(01:24):
quite the venue, the old don Loops Brucetown as it's
called down.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yeah. Have you seen it since? Have you ever bet
out and had a look at it? When resident?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah, I was home a few weeks ago actually, and
and yeah, no, I've I always come home and catch
up with family and friends. So you know, it's I
just never was. I think Noise rechimes with noise. It's
only played one one show in Auckland was with bon Jovi.
It was the only showing we ever do in New Zealand.
I think it sort of just stems from my you know,
(01:55):
when I left New Zealand, it was kind of one
of those things where you know, everyone was sick in me.
You know, it's such a small place and Montego Bay
and Jeerzabel would have just played so much. I was.
I was sick in there. I had to get out,
you know, so I was. It was good actually, because
you know, it's been an adventure ever since.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Where in the world are you right now? Can I
ask you there? Or was that private?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I'm actually in Hawaii. Yeah, I got here two days ago.
I just got I came off the road and I
got on a plane and I came to the sunshine,
and thank god I did, because you know, I live
in Melbourne and Melbourne has had the coldest week on
record in history. So I'm you know, I'm a sun
(02:39):
worshiper man. I love I love the surf and the
and the water and the sun. And what can I say.
You know, I've been working real hard and I've got
a couple of weeks off.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
And now I don't know whether you walked around I
didn't know whether you walked around Bruetown. But there's a
Hall of Fame, a Street of Fame where they've got
all the most famous people from Upper Heart down one street. Now,
I don't know whether you walked past it, but we
had our Christmas party there last year and I walked
past it. Oh he's one of my brother in law's.
Oh here's another one of my brother in law's. So
(03:12):
did you see it?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I know right, I have seen it, Yes, And I
wonder who wrote that because it's a bit, you know,
it's a bit funny.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
People will it's.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
A great honor, man, it's a great honor. I mean,
to be honored in your own hometown. It's a great
honor and to be there with my big brother Frankie,
who you know was the inspiration for me, you know,
doing what I do because he was always this guy
that was away on these adventures singing songs and a
great time. I thought, oh man, that looks like so
(03:41):
much fun. And you know, growing up in Davis Crescent
and the Heart when you know, the Formula before they
were called the Formula used to wear us on our
front lawn and you know I used to go to
their wressle. So from like when I was five five
years old, I was around musicians and loud noises and
drums and stuff, you know, so it was like it
was sort of in the blood, you know. And so
(04:02):
when when I started the music training, had been away
from any many years. And he left in ninety sixty seven,
I was just sixty years old. Well so he came
back in eighty one and that was a year or left.
So you know, we did have the opportunity to work
together on Jesus Christ super Soar back in nineteen ninety
four ninety five in Australia and we spent like a
(04:24):
year on the road together and we sort of you know,
rent some houses everywhere we went and we flatted together
pretty much everywhere we went. It was great because we
got to we really got to know each other after
all these years. It was great. I love him.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
He's awesome, fabulous, here's a fabulous guy. Let's talk about
the lineup the sound series, because you know, normally when
I've seen you, it's been with Rod Stewart, or it's
been with Big X. You like doing that stuff with
big stuff. I mean, what do you know about the
groups that you're with? The Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark.
(04:56):
I mean I remember them and got a couple of hits.
The Thompson Twins, we're huge.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
For a while they were, and well oem d I
she played with them back in the eighties first Hand
of Australia with Noiseworks. We toured together and so but
that was like nineteen eighty seven, nine eighty six, somewhere
like a long time ago. But they were, they were great.
So I'm looking forward to to seeing them again. And
obviously the Thompson Twins, you know, they had all those
(05:23):
amazing hits.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Doctor who can.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I know? So you know it's in Diesel. Of course,
he's an old mate and just an incredible talent, so
really looking forward to to hanging with him. He's always
fun and Ardija, you know, the great.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
The great key. We band at each other, great, awesome,
the great glove. Tell me about playing with a whole
lot of different bands. I mean, you've got three gigs,
You've got one Wellington, one christ Church and one Auckland.
Does does that become problematic for you?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
No, not at all. It's actually, look, it's it's when
you're on these festival things, it's you know, it's dare
I say, more fun because you're you're surrounded by your
peers and yeah, you know you and especially in around
while you kind of know everybody, so between the crews
and the promoters and the bands, it's kind of it's
(06:19):
it's a really fun thing backstage, you know, and obviously
you know, we want to see how everyone who, how
everyone's going and what they do, what they bring. You know,
do you.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Know do you know that group of people, that group
of acts that we're talking about that you're playing with.
Between you, you've got twenty three top twenty hits. Can
you believe that?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
All the moment? Goodness me, can you believe that?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
I mean to go to one gig and see a
group of group of groups that have twenty three hits.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yeah, mad and it's mad and it looks it is
more than you know, it's you know, we get out
our slots. So if we were playing at full gigs
two hours or an hour and a half or whatever,
you know, it'll be forty three, you know what I mean,
fifty three, But you know, to it's a festival. You
get your a lot of time. You go on, you
smash it out and there you go. You find this
(07:13):
carry on ticket.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Tickets go on sale next week early birds ticket sales.
It's for It's actually not till the summer next year,
second of March. Well we thought we thought that we
would get in first and announce it in Wellington and
and get some we get some family love and to
the show and get you on.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Look. You know, I'm very excited to get back to
Upper X to Wellington. And every time I go home,
everyone's always asking me like when are you going to
come and play Bruetown? When are you going to And
you know, it's just it's just one of those places
that you know, it seems like it's to go to place.
It's just commentating, you know, six eight thousand people to
(07:55):
put on a festival like this, it's going to be fantastic.
You know.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Great you're doing any recording at the moment, John, you're
doing anything new?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I am. Yeah. I've been working on a bit of stuff.
I'm all is writing, always tinkering away on something, and
I actually use a sense of obshuret tour. I got
together with a couple of his guys and we we
did some stuff in La end of last year, December
last year, and you know, I was back over there
in March and we did some more stuff. So yeah,
(08:25):
you know, it's one of those things where, you know,
I've been doing the Noise of SMSs collection. People just
want to hear it, right, So you're going to make
a new album knowing that ah, Noighby's going to buy it,
nobody's going to play it. But it's not you know
what I mean. It's one of those things where you
kind of the world is so different now everything's online.
These are one hundred thousand releases a day in the world,
(08:47):
you know. And but for me, being an old, older musician,
we just make music for ourselves and our fans. You
know that on our on our socials. So that's what
I'm doing. I'm three cooded the way through it and
I'm old it'll hopefully be up by the time I
get to New Zealand twenty five, you know, hopefully get
out before Christmas. John pretty excited about that too, mate.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, I'm good, Oh great. I'm glad to hear it.
And I'm glad you're on holiday. You need it, you
deserve it. And I'm glad you're soaking up the sun
and the wai. You're lucky bugger. I'm jealous. Hell, I'm
in Wellington and a Cole's. But no, it's actually not
a bad day. It's a little bit overcast, it's not
blowing and gale like it normally is at the time
of the year. So I'll take that. Thanks John, appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Thank you mate, all right, take care. I appreciate you too.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
John Stevens there, Oh gosh, good to catch up. First
time I talked to him for a while. So to
get a chance of talking to your brother in law
on at work. That concert is well a festival. It's
called Not a Concert Sound Series twenty twenty five and
it is in brew Town. What a gig what event venue,
second of March and tickets are going on sale very
(09:55):
shortly twenty when do they go on South eighteenth? So
it's you've got a week before you can buy tickets
and the lineup is Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark. Gosh
remember how big they were to Thompson Twins, John Stevens,
Norris working in excess collection, Diesel, Gosh do you remember Diesel?
I remember Diesel and Rdijar. What a lineup here at
(10:17):
Brutold in Wellington.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
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 Talks at b.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
AS.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I said, we normally do music once a week with
James Irwin, but he's recovering from donating one of his
kidneys to his cousin, which we think is an incredible
thing to do. But we have a very special guest
on the show this morning. John Stevens is going to
be part of the Sound Series twenty twenty five now,
it's just been announced. It's a big deal. It's a
(00:46):
whole lot of the eighties bands all lining up together.
And the amazing thing for me on this will be
John Stevens maybe the first time that he's played in
his hometown. Can you believe that? Where are you, Joe,
Good morning, John Stevens morning man.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, it's been Look, it's been forty five years, so
I suppose since Jezebel Montego Bay back in seventy nine eighty. Yeah,
it was the last time I played in Wellington or
apper half. So yeah, it's a little bit a long
time coming. And it's just great that you know, perhaps
actually has a venue that can accommodate you know, thousands
of people and that you know it's becoming quite the
(01:24):
quite the venue, the old don Loops Brucetown as it's
called down.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yeah. Have you seen it since? Have you ever bet
out and had a look at it? When resident?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah, I was home a few weeks ago actually, and
and yeah, no, I've I always come home and catch
up with family and friends. So you know, it's I
just never was. I think Noise rechimes with noise. It's
only played one one show in Auckland was with bon Jovi.
It was the only showing we ever do in New Zealand.
I think it sort of just stems from my you know,
(01:55):
when I left New Zealand, it was kind of one
of those things where you know, everyone was sick in me.
You know, it's such a small place and Montego Bay
and Jeerzabel would have just played so much. I was.
I was sick in there. I had to get out,
you know, so I was. It was good actually, because
you know, it's been an adventure ever since.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Where in the world are you right now? Can I
ask you there? Or was that private?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I'm actually in Hawaii. Yeah, I got here two days ago.
I just got I came off the road and I
got on a plane and I came to the sunshine,
and thank god I did, because you know, I live
in Melbourne and Melbourne has had the coldest week on
record in history. So I'm you know, I'm a sun
(02:39):
worshiper man. I love I love the surf and the
and the water and the sun. And what can I say.
You know, I've been working real hard and I've got
a couple of weeks off.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
And now I don't know whether you walked around I
didn't know whether you walked around Bruetown. But there's a
Hall of Fame, a Street of Fame where they've got
all the most famous people from Upper Heart down one street. Now,
I don't know whether you walked past it, but we
had our Christmas party there last year and I walked
past it. Oh he's one of my brother in law's.
Oh here's another one of my brother in law's. So
(03:12):
did you see it?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I know right, I have seen it, Yes, And I
wonder who wrote that because it's a bit, you know,
it's a bit funny.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
People will it's.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
A great honor, man, it's a great honor. I mean,
to be honored in your own hometown. It's a great
honor and to be there with my big brother Frankie,
who you know was the inspiration for me, you know,
doing what I do because he was always this guy
that was away on these adventures singing songs and a
great time. I thought, oh man, that looks like so
(03:41):
much fun. And you know, growing up in Davis Crescent
and the Heart when you know, the Formula before they
were called the Formula used to wear us on our
front lawn and you know I used to go to
their wressle. So from like when I was five five
years old, I was around musicians and loud noises and
drums and stuff, you know, so it was like it
was sort of in the blood, you know. And so
(04:02):
when when I started the music training, had been away
from any many years. And he left in ninety sixty seven,
I was just sixty years old. Well so he came
back in eighty one and that was a year or left.
So you know, we did have the opportunity to work
together on Jesus Christ super Soar back in nineteen ninety
four ninety five in Australia and we spent like a
(04:24):
year on the road together and we sort of you know,
rent some houses everywhere we went and we flatted together
pretty much everywhere we went. It was great because we
got to we really got to know each other after
all these years. It was great. I love him.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
He's awesome, fabulous, here's a fabulous guy. Let's talk about
the lineup the sound series, because you know, normally when
I've seen you, it's been with Rod Stewart, or it's
been with Big X. You like doing that stuff with
big stuff. I mean, what do you know about the
groups that you're with? The Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark.
(04:56):
I mean I remember them and got a couple of hits.
The Thompson Twins, we're huge.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
For a while they were, and well oem d I
she played with them back in the eighties first Hand
of Australia with Noiseworks. We toured together and so but
that was like nineteen eighty seven, nine eighty six, somewhere
like a long time ago. But they were, they were great.
So I'm looking forward to to seeing them again. And
obviously the Thompson Twins, you know, they had all those
(05:23):
amazing hits.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Doctor who can.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I know? So you know it's in Diesel. Of course,
he's an old mate and just an incredible talent, so
really looking forward to to hanging with him. He's always
fun and Ardija, you know, the great.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
The great key. We band at each other, great, awesome,
the great glove. Tell me about playing with a whole
lot of different bands. I mean, you've got three gigs,
You've got one Wellington, one christ Church and one Auckland.
Does does that become problematic for you?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
No, not at all. It's actually, look, it's it's when
you're on these festival things, it's you know, it's dare
I say, more fun because you're you're surrounded by your
peers and yeah, you know you and especially in around
while you kind of know everybody, so between the crews
and the promoters and the bands, it's kind of it's
(06:19):
it's a really fun thing backstage, you know, and obviously
you know, we want to see how everyone who, how
everyone's going and what they do, what they bring. You know,
do you.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Know do you know that group of people, that group
of acts that we're talking about that you're playing with.
Between you, you've got twenty three top twenty hits. Can
you believe that?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
All the moment? Goodness me, can you believe that?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
I mean to go to one gig and see a
group of group of groups that have twenty three hits.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yeah, mad and it's mad and it looks it is
more than you know, it's you know, we get out
our slots. So if we were playing at full gigs
two hours or an hour and a half or whatever,
you know, it'll be forty three, you know what I mean,
fifty three, But you know, to it's a festival. You
get your a lot of time. You go on, you
smash it out and there you go. You find this
(07:13):
carry on ticket.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Tickets go on sale next week early birds ticket sales.
It's for It's actually not till the summer next year,
second of March. Well we thought we thought that we
would get in first and announce it in Wellington and
and get some we get some family love and to
the show and get you on.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Look. You know, I'm very excited to get back to
Upper X to Wellington. And every time I go home,
everyone's always asking me like when are you going to
come and play Bruetown? When are you going to And
you know, it's just it's just one of those places
that you know, it seems like it's to go to place.
It's just commentating, you know, six eight thousand people to
(07:55):
put on a festival like this, it's going to be fantastic.
You know.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Great you're doing any recording at the moment, John, you're
doing anything new?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I am. Yeah. I've been working on a bit of stuff.
I'm all is writing, always tinkering away on something, and
I actually use a sense of obshuret tour. I got
together with a couple of his guys and we we
did some stuff in La end of last year, December
last year, and you know, I was back over there
in March and we did some more stuff. So yeah,
(08:25):
you know, it's one of those things where, you know,
I've been doing the Noise of SMSs collection. People just
want to hear it, right, So you're going to make
a new album knowing that ah, Noighby's going to buy it,
nobody's going to play it. But it's not you know
what I mean. It's one of those things where you
kind of the world is so different now everything's online.
These are one hundred thousand releases a day in the world,
(08:47):
you know. And but for me, being an old, older musician,
we just make music for ourselves and our fans. You
know that on our on our socials. So that's what
I'm doing. I'm three cooded the way through it and
I'm old it'll hopefully be up by the time I
get to New Zealand twenty five, you know, hopefully get
out before Christmas. John pretty excited about that too, mate.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, I'm good, Oh great. I'm glad to hear it.
And I'm glad you're on holiday. You need it, you
deserve it. And I'm glad you're soaking up the sun
and the wai. You're lucky bugger. I'm jealous. Hell, I'm
in Wellington and a Cole's. But no, it's actually not
a bad day. It's a little bit overcast, it's not
blowing and gale like it normally is at the time
of the year. So I'll take that. Thanks John, appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Thank you mate, all right, take care. I appreciate you too.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
John Stevens there, Oh gosh, good to catch up. First
time I talked to him for a while. So to
get a chance of talking to your brother in law
on at work. That concert is well a festival. It's
called Not a Concert Sound Series twenty twenty five and
it is in brew Town. What a gig what event venue,
second of March and tickets are going on sale very
(09:55):
shortly twenty when do they go on South eighteenth? So
it's you've got a week before you can buy tickets
and the lineup is Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark. Gosh
remember how big they were to Thompson Twins, John Stevens,
Norris working in excess collection, Diesel, Gosh do you remember Diesel?
I remember Diesel and Rdijar. What a lineup here at
(10:17):
Brutold in Wellington.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
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
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