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"A rollercoaster yarn about Mike Chunn's years in the ground-breaking band Split Enz, but also the powerful story of how he dealt with a crippling mental health issue and went on to become one of our most influential music identities"--Dust jacket.
About the author
Mike Chunn is a music legend who has been involved at almost every level of the New Zealand music industry for decades. Along with Tim Finn and Phil Judd, he was a founding member of Split Enz, playing the bass on their first three albums. Though he loved the stage, he had to reluctantly leave the band after five years. Unbeknownst to the rest of the band, he suffered frequent panic attacks and debilitating anxiety, triggered every time he left Auckland. It was after eight years that he discovered what this illness was: the phobic disorder, agoraphobia.
He co-founded Citizen Band with his brother but left that band after three years for the same reason. He went on to be General Manager of Mushroom Records NZ, where he signed DD Smash and The Dance Exponents, and was the General Manager at Sony Music Publishing NZ. From 1991-2003, Mike was the Director of NZ Operations for the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), where he was instrumental in setting up NZ Music Month which was an integral factor in the increase of Kiwi music played on commercial radio.
In 2004, he co-founded Play it Strange, a highly respected and successful charitable trust which supports young New Zealanders in their songwriting ambitions. He is currently CEO of this trust.
Mike was awarded the Companion of NZ Order of Merit for services to NZ music and men's mental health in 2013. He is an observer trustee of the Sir John Kirwan Foundation. He lives in Auckland.
Summary
A roller-coaster yarn about being in the ground-breaking band Split Enz, but also the powerful story of how Mike Chunn dealt with a crippling mental health issue and went on to become one of our most influential music identities.
Foreword
A roller-coaster yarn about being in the ground-breaking band Split Enz, but also the powerful story of how Mike Chunn dealt with a crippling mental health issue and went on to become one of our most influential music identities.
