The Pin Group

The Pin Group was a post-punk band formed in 1980 in Christchurch, New Zealand. They were the first band released on Flying Nun Records, and featured Roy Montgomery, Peter Stapleton, Ross Humphries, Mary Heney, and Peter Fryer.

The group were part of the first post-punk wave to emerge out of New Zealand in the early 1980s, and the influential Dunedin sound associated with Flying Nun. They released two singles and one EP on Flying Nun and played primarily in Christchurch and the South Island before disbanding in 1982. They reformed briefly for one release in 1992, and their discography has been re-issued twice in the years since.

Original formation
In November 1980, guitarist and vocalist Roy Montgomery, drummer and lyricist Peter Stapleton, and bassist and lyricist Desmond Brice formed the Pin Group. The band debuted live at the DB Gladstone Hotel in mid-1981, which was becoming a key venue in the Christchurch alternative scene.

Soon after their debut, Brice's inexperience with the bass led to him being replaced by bassist and vocalist Ross Humphries, but Brice let the group continue using his lyrics. Christchurch artist Ronnie van Hout became a close collaborator of the band, designing gig posters and all the band's covers. In 1981 he made a short film of Brice reciting poetry, then the band practicing in their Christchurch home. Montgomery, who managed an EMI record store in Christchurch at the time, came into work and found someone had spray painted "Roy Division" on the wall outside, a reference to the Pin Group's similarity to Joy Division.

Flying Nun releases
In July 1981, the band recorded two singles at Nightshift Studios in Woolston, "Ambivalence / Columbia" and "Coat / Jim". The sessions were engineered by Nightshift owner Arnie van Bussell, with the studio operating out of his home. The "Ambivalence" 7" was released in September as the first single on newly formed Flying Nun Records, a week before The Clean's "Tally Ho!". The single charted for a week in October, reaching #36 and achieving little radio play. The group was unhappy with the final result of "Ambivalence", disliking its lo-fi and distorted sound. The second single was pressed quieter as a result. "Coat" was released in November of the same year, with the initial run of 300 pressings for each single selling out quickly.

After the release of the two singles, the group discussed expanding their sound, recruiting Mary Heney on guitar and backup vocals from fellow Christchurch band 25 Cents, and Peter Fryer on viola. Montgomery contacted the EMI New Zealand head office through his record store job, and asked if it would be possible for him to book recording time at the EMI Studios outside of Wellington. He was able to, and in December 1981 the five-piece travelled to EMI Studios to record five songs. The session was engineered by Frank Douglas, an in-house engineer at EMI who had been working at the studio since the 1950s. The group recorded four new songs and re-recorded "Ambivalence", with all five songs being tracked and mixed within one working day. They played their last show in March 1982 at the Christchurch Arts Centre’s Jazz Cellar, as Montgomery departed for England soon after. The Pin Group Go to Town EP was released in May on Flying Nun.

Hiatus
Following the disbanding of the Pin Group, Humphries joined Clean offshoot group The Great Unwashed in 1982 before the group disbanded in 1984. Stapleton and Humphries would later start The Terminals in 1986, featuring Heney's sister Susan on bass. Montgomery and Stapleton would also play in Dadamah together in the early 1990s, an experimental rock group that released one album. Montgomery began releasing solo work in 1995 after leaving Dadamah in 1993.

Reunion and re-issues
In 1992, the band re-united to record a 7" single on Siltbreeze named 11 Years After, featuring a new version of "Coat" and their often-performed cover of "Hurricane Fighter Plane" by Red Krayola. In 1997, Siltbreeze issued a compilation album titled The Pin Group, featuring the band's three singles, the Go To Town EP, and a live cover of "Low Rider" by War.

In 2011, Flying Nun re-issued the band's discography in a remastered album titled Ambivalence, including a full live performance at the Gladstone Hotel from July 1981.

Peter Stapleton died in March 2020, and Mary Heney died in December 2020.