2>25 November 1992 Steve Gilpin
dies at the age of 41
MI-SEX . 122K
RA.
Rock singer
Steve Gilpin, formerly of the chart topping New Zealand band Mi-Sex,
died in the Gold Coast Hospital in Queensland .Steve, aged 41,
had been in a coma since a car accident near his home in Mullumbimby,
In New South Wales Australia.
Steve Gilpin
was born 28 April1950, in Wellington New Zealand. A manufacturing
jeweler by trade, he has been a professional singer for five years,
doing mainly concert or television work rather than recording.
He was getting pretty discouraged singing solo, and about this
time kept running into Father Time which happened to be playing
the same towns as he. In Palmerston North he met F.Time bass guitarist
Don Martin. The band was breaking up in two weeks time, and the
pair decided to form a group. Fragments of Time was the name,
until the change to MI-SEX. Why New Wave? "It's got balls," says Steve. Steve did lead vocals, bass guitar occasionally and
keyboards.
Fragments of
Time was just another rock band, sort of indiscriminate 1970's
style, nothing particularly different. The group members had come
together seeking a new direction, and they found it in New Wave.
Off came the long hair; muscle shirts, shades and sneakers replaced
the every-day gear, and their music took on a New Wave urgency.
The first result of that change was "Straight Laddie." Steve Gilpin wrote the lyrics as a poem, a lament to a punk rocker.
By co-incidence Kevin Stanton had written some music which fitted
nicely. Then the group changed its' name to MI-SEX and a new group
was born.
MI-SEX have
got the records in many New Zealand Hotels for the largest audiences
in the history or their entertainment clubs .
From there the
band went to Sydney Australia and was soon voted the band of the
year.
In 1980 the
Kiwi band arrived in Los Angeles. Their hit Computer Games had
already charted in six countries. Despite six weeks hard promotional
work by the band, the record never got past being a club favorite.
MI-SEX had a
string of hits in the 80,s, Graffiti Crimes, But You Don't Care,Castaway,
Falling In And Out, People, Shanghaied, Computer Games, Space
Race, Blue Day to name a few.
This very gentle
and talented man is sorely missed by thousands of fans from Down
under.
