Look Blue Go Purple - Cactus Cat
1986



In 1993, I cut out a review of a Tiger Trap album which I still have today. The review was noteworthy, if only for the role call of comparable bands. They all had such wonderful names and I had never heard a single one: the Shop Assistants, the Flatmates, Girls at Our Best, and Look Blue Go Purple (many of the same bands name-checked when the Vivian Girls started getting press). I did end up checking out all the bands, but I have a particular fondness for Look Blue Go Purple.

Look Blue Go Purple originally formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1983. Initially, the five girls in the band didn't really know how to play and rehearsed on borrowed instruments. However, the quintet made good on their potential and by 1985 were able to achieve recognition in the largely male-dominated New Zealand musical community. Influenced by peers like the Clean, Look Blue Go Purple played straight ahead pop with harmonies and an insistent beat.  Their first EP, Bewitched, was solid, but it was their second EP that captivated a wider audience. With the inclusion of the lovable "Cactus Cat," the economically titled LBGPEP2 was able to crack the top 20 in New Zealand.

Look Blue Go Purple broke up in 1987, but some of the members went on to other bands like the 3D's and Cyclops.  What do you say ladies, time for a reunion? Please?