The Feelers - Reimagined - Saturday on East FM, from midday

Phil from Farm Cove

The Feelers are to Auckland’s east what Cold Chisel is to heartland Australia. Beloved. It’s fair to say The Feelers is one of this patch’s favourite bands, having played to big crowds out here down the years, and with their chart-topping anthems getting a 2023 revival with the new album Reimagined – the Greatest Hits, out today, they feature on tomorrow’s EARLIER She’ll Be Right on Saturdays Show with PJ Taylor, midday to 4pm (NZ time, July 8) on East FM.
We’ll be talking live at 1pm with The Feelers’ drummer Hamish Gee about the Reimagined project and how it feels 25 years after debut album Supersystem landed and connected with Kiwi rock music fans.

Blackout Music tells their story: ‘The Feelers are a household name, creating a musical legacy that has captivated generations.
The quartet, featuring James Reid (vocals, guitar), Hamish Gee (drums), Andy Lynch (guitar) and Clint Harris (bass), are renowned far and wide for their rock sound and exhilarating live shows.
The Feelers have released five LPs, as well as playing countless shows across New Zealand and on the international stage.
The band has also been awarded numerous accolades, including five NZ Music Awards, and three APRA awards for achieving the most played song of the year for Supersystem (1998), Venus (1999), and Stand Up (2003).
Perhaps most impressively, The Feelers also continue to hold the record for the highest number of physical album sales in NZ, and for their label Warner Music NZ.
Formed in Christchurch in 1993 by schoolmates Reid and Gee, The Feelers began their career playing gigs in iconic local venues such as the Dux de Lux and Warners.
In 1998, they released Supersystem, which rapidly ascended to top the NZ music charts, becoming certified five times platinum. Receiving rave reviews upon release, the album features several of the band’s biggest hits, including their debut single Pressure Man, Satellite, Venus and Supersystem.
A period of intense and widespread touring locally and internationally ensued, before the band reconvened to record their second album Communicate in 2000.
Recorded at York Street Studios in Auckland and Church Studios in London, the double platinum LP features a number of fan favourites, including As Good As It Gets, Fishing For Lisa, Astronaut and Anniversary.
The Feelers’ third album Playground Battle dropped in 2003, featuring three of their biggest hits to date, Larger Than Life, The Fear and Stand Up. This was followed by One World in 2006, which included singles Nothing’s More Real, Never Get Me Down, as the title track. After the release of a greatest hits compilation in 2008 to mark the 10th anniversary of Supersystem, The Feelers returned with their fifth LP Hope Nature Forgives in August 2011.
The Feelers played sixteen shows across the country last year to mark the 21st anniversary of the release of Communicate; an opportunity to play many of the tracks from the album live again, and to treat their legion of fans with a set exploding with all of their hits. With many dates selling out, the tour was a resounding success.
With the band’s first quarter-century punctuated with an abundance of career-defining highlights, there is plenty more yet to come from The Feelers.
Bringing a long-held idea of Reid and Gee’s to life, recording a carefully curated collection of new arrangements of some of their most recognisable and loved tracks from their first five albums.
Featuring 11 tracks, the collection also features the band’s new track, Dear Anxiety. First played live at Rock the Bay in Havelock North in November, the song was written by Reid as “a closer look at the human soul and fragility”.
“Anxiety hits me in different ways, which I’m sure many others feel as well. Regrets of the past, trying to be mindful and staying in the moment and not stress about the future. Not so easy sometimes,” Reid says.
Having produced their own material for a number of years, Reimagined sees the band once again teaming up with super-producer Greg Haver, who last worked with the band on Playground Battle.
Hamish Gee says: “On Reimagined quite a few of the songs have string arrangements.
Some of the arrangements are grandiose, but we also have more stripped back tracks, including one more delicate track that has only James’ vocal, the tiniest bit of acoustic guitar and piano.
It’s really pared back; it’s really lovely. Anyone who knows the songs will be able to recognise the songs.”
The release of Reimagined will also see The Feelers hitting the road once again for shows across the entire country, Hamish enthusing: “I’m really looking forward to touring this album and venturing into a number of towns and venues not played before, as well as our favourite summer venues.” – Blackout Music Management NZ

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She’ll Be Right - it’s all about the vibe; it’s all about the groove. And tomorrow we’re getting a 2023 feel for The Feelers, reimagined. – PJ