SKAPA Debut Album Poster 1992

Capture the essence of SKAPA's groundbreaking debut with this exclusive promotional poster for 'Easy Street'. Featuring a striking design and vivid colors, this collectible poster highlights SKAPA's premiere album release along with their tour dates in Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga. Ideal for fans and collectors alike, this poster is a must-have piece of memorabilia. Get yours now and relive the beginning of an incredible musical journey!

In the late 80’s, NZ licensing laws prevented the sale of alcohol on Sundays except at restaurants and private clubs. The Londoners’ Club, one of these clubs, several of the original members (Chas Mannell, Hugh Costello, James Heffernan, Craig Chisholm and Matt Beauchamp) used to meet and get their compilation tapes of Ska music played. Someone then suggested that rather than just listening to the tapes, they should form a band and so SKAPA came into existence. At the same time, there was a burgeoning global ska scene with bands like the Busters, Mark Foggo and his Skasters and the Riffs were coming through and there was an influential Ska compilation, “Skank, License to Ska” was out.

A lot of the original members knew each other from Rongotai College and St Pats. James Hollings joined the others on trumpet and Mike de Young, friend of a friend came in on guitar. Someone knew Julian Treadwell, the first alto saxophone player. Howard Levarko, another Rongotai old boy, was briefly in the band and later acted as a road manager/sound engineer on some of the early tours.

The Londoners club was also host to their first gig and was the original rehearsal space. At the time it was located in the Star Boat club on Wellington’s harbour, before the whole building got moved, several years later. The band had a long association with Brooklyn Northern United Football Club (BNU) and rehearsed as well as playing several gigs there. They also played at National Mutual on the Terrace as Matt, the bass player, worked there. A couple of the BNU gigs of note, first alto saxophone player, Julian’s farewell and an early gig supported by a little known Wellington act, Shihad, who went on to achieve much greater things. The latter gig was a colourful night of mayhem alongside a great gig, sometimes SKAPA attracted an interesting audience. By this time (mid 1989) the band had been joined by Mike Polkinghorne, on alto and baritone saxophones, replacing Julian. Recently arrived from the UK, he had answered and advert in a Cuba Street music store and auditioned in the Star Boat club. 1989 saw the band starting to tour a bit outside their native Wellington. An early tour was to the South Island, visiting Sammy’s in Dunedin, a great venue now sadly not in use. This was a fun gig and the band stayed in Larnach’s castle, the backpacker lodge not the big house.

The band split in 1996 but in these few years had influenced a whole generation of Ska fans and new bands, including the Offbeats, Looney Tunes, Banana Revolution and many more.