Ask to use material, get more information or tell us about an item
Spectrum was a long-running weekly radio documentary series which captured the essence of New Zealand from 1972 to 2016. Alwyn Owen and Jack Perkins produced the series for many years, creating a valuable library of New Zealand oral history.
In this episode, Jack Perkins does the rounds of the clubs and strip-joints of Karangahape Road to gauge the state of Auckland's night life.
The programme opens with actuality of strip club performers getting ready to go on and an unidentified man giving a critical assessment of Auckland nightlife.
Jack speaks first to promoter Phil Warren about how times in the entertainment business have changed since the days of the public dances and 6 o'clock closing in hotels..
Then he visits Glen Tabuteau and Lew Pryme who run a talent agency and talks to them about auditioning performers who want to be the next "budding Ray Columbus". Phil Warren comments on the fees a good band can command.
Jack talks to entertainers John Sumner and Frankie Stevens (brother of John Stevens) about working as a musician around the city.
He then visits the Pink Pussycat Club and speaks with its owner Rainton Hastie, a patron and some of the strippers who work there. Rainton is heard interviewing a potential new performer. Belinda, Antoinette and Gina, the club's top three strippers, talk about their work. The need for liquor law reform is discussed.
He also visits Mojo's, a night-spot that stars the "Playgirls" all-male transsexual review and talks to some of the audience and performers. They compare the scene in Auckland to that in Sydney and the famous "Les Girls" show there. [There is some actuality of the show heard in the background.] Destiny-Jay, one of the performers, talks about her life and her plans to go to Australia for surgery.
Phil Warren is interviewed again on the future of Auckland night life and liquor laws.