The Powerstation
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| Former names | Galaxy, Bar Retro |
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| Address | 33 Mount Eden Road, Eden Terrace, 1023 Auckland New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 36°51′58″S 174°45′40″E / 36.8662441094°S 174.7611817411°E |
| Capacity | 1000 |
| Opened | 1950s |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Powerstation is a music venue in Eden Terrace, Auckland, it is one of the few remaining small music venues in New Zealand.[1][2] The building has been used as multiple different music venues since the 1950s.
History[edit]
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First opened in the 1950s as a hotel lobby, the Powerstation soon become a "dine-and-dance" venue. The space later became the Galaxy venue.
In 1986, Simon Grigg, Roger Perry, and Tom Sampson opened the house music club 'Asylum' within the Galaxy venue.[3][4] Whilst initially starting as a club playing hip hop, soul, and pop music, it soon gained a reputation for playing house music, making it the first house music club in Australasia.[4] Grigg described Asylum as "one of the first clubs that had no colour or race barriers, so the crowd came from south, west, north, east, and central Auckland and mostly happily mixed."[5]
In 1989, Galaxy started to host five bands for five dollars glam metal shows - sparking a renewed interest in the genre in Auckland.[6][7]
By 2008, Galaxy had turned into an 80s-themed bar called Bar Retro. In 2009, Bar Retro went into receivership and Peter Campbell bought the venue, branding it as the Powerstation.[1]
Notable performances[edit]
The Pixies performed their first show in New Zealand in 2010 at the Powerstation.[8]
Lorde's 2017 show had to be urgently rescheduled from the Powerstation to the Bruce Mason Centre as there were liquor-licensing issues for an all-ages gig.[9]
In 2018, the Powerstation agreed to host - then cancelled - an event hosted by far-right speakers Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux, generating controversy first for agreeing to host it, and then for cancelling it.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Schulz, Chris (2019-11-30). "Are New Zealand's small live music venues dying out?". Stuff. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ "Sound in the city: Taking stock of Auckland's music venues". RNZ. 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
- ^ "Calibre - Article | AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ a b "Simon Grigg Part 2 – the Club Scene and the OMC Scene - Article | AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ Marriott, Ian; Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Asylum, 1980s". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ Shute, Gareth (2020-09-08). "All of the glitz and none of the glamour: Mapping Auckland's venues of the 1980s". The Spinoff. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ "Mapping Auckland's venues: the 1980s - Article | AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ Schulz, Chris (2021-04-24). "Big acts, small shows: When stadiums just won't work". The Spinoff. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
- ^ McConnell, Glenn (2017-11-10). "Sudden change to Lorde's Auckland shows after licensing issues". Stuff. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ Spinoff, The (2018-08-03). "Powerstation owner defends, then cancels hosting Southern-Molyneux show (updated)". The Spinoff. Retrieved 2022-09-03.