Doublehappys - Nerves LP

Neon coral vinyl.
DoubleHappys’ newly touched up Nerves on vinyl LP for the first time — 30 years after its initial release, and many more after the original tracks were originally conceived. The master tapes, sourced from the Alexander Turnbull Library, were remastered by local stalwart Tex Houston — a name you’ll find among the credits on many of the notable records associated with Dunedin and Flying Nun.

Originally released on CD in 1992, as a compilation of DoubleHappys prior releases, Nerves has both sides of the Double B Side single, the full Cut It Down EP, two tracks from the live How Much Time Left, Please EP as well as two rare tracks from the Roslyn Mills practice rooms.

DoubleHappys first formed sometime in 1983 when former Bored Games vocalist, Shayne Carter, joined forces with The Stones' Wayne Elsey. They had a drum machine called “Herbie Fuckface”, who lived up to his name by sabotaging most of the duo's efforts onstage, thus quickly calling for human replacement in the form of another old Kaikorai High schoolmate, John Collie.

In 1984, the trio set about kicking up a storm, touring up north on the famous Looney Tour and recording the Double B Side seven inch while they were in Auckland. Then, early in 1985, the band recorded the Cut it Out EP and in June embarked on a short tour. Towards the end of the tour, the band were travelling south from Auckland by train and Wayne Elsey, in high spirits, climbed out of the carriage and was subsequently killed in a tragic collision with a bridge abutment.

Wayne was a well-loved member of the Dunedin community and his sudden death shocked many people. It was the end of the DoubleHappys, but Shayne Carter and John Collie eventually went on to form Straitjacket Fits. Before this transition, Shayne Carter and fellow musician, Peter Jefferies, also penned the extraordinary single, ‘Randolph’s Going Home’; a tribute to their friend and bandmate, Wayne.