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Vinyl Release Date — Friday March 29th.
Leather Jacket Records and Ripper Records are proud to present The Best of The Instigators — Auckland Ska Punk 1981-1982. Instigators singles and live tracks remastered and back on vinyl for the first time in 40 years!

Auckland Record Release Party!
Wednesday March 27th, 6pm to 9pm
at Flying Nun Auckland, 202 K Road.
You are invited!

Instigators won Auckland’s Battle of the Bands in 1981 and released two seminal ska/punk singles on Ripper Records — Not Really Bad with producer Don McGlashan, and Hope She’s Alright with producer Steve Kennedy. Then they piled into a Bedford truck and toured all over NZ:

“In the cities we played to big crowds at rock venues where everyone was jumping up and down and connected with our anti-government message. The rural pubs were a different story, they didn’t want to hear our songs about real life, gang warfare, and a missing prostitute. In Blackball they tried to beat us up and chased us down the street!” — Sonya Waters

"The Instigators' two singles on Ripper have reached almost mythical status in 2024 and, aside from a track on Bigger Than Both of Us, have been unavailable in any form for 22 years, hence the prices they fetch. One of the reasons I bought Ripper from Bryan Staff was to see records like these classic 45s reissued and here they are, coupled with a side of live tracks that illustrate rather well why the band was so popular back in the day and why their legacy has lasted and grown. Extreme Ripper pride!" — Simon Grigg

Instigators on Audioculture — https://www.audioculture.co.nz/profile/instigators

Instigators won Auckland’s Battle of the Bands in 1981 and released two seminal ska/punk singles on Ripper Records.

Auckland Record Release Party! — Wednesday March 27th, 6pm to 9pm.
Flying Nun Auckland, 202 K Road
You are invited!