Sex And Agriculture

Very smart clean vinyl with a good cover.

The Exponents is a New Zealand rock group led by vocalist and songwriter Jordan Luck.^[2]

Their major hits, including "Why Does Love Do This To Me", "Who Loves Who The Most", "Victoria", "I'll Say Goodbye (Even Though I'm Blue)" and "Whatever Happened To Tracey" have been taken up by successive generations of younger New Zealanders, with social commentators going so far as to say that an Exponents concert forms a rite of passage for New Zealand youth.

The group formed in 1981 after vocalist Jordan Luck and guitarist Brian Jones disbanded their first group, Basement, and relocated from the South Canterbury town of Timaru to Christchurch with their ex-Splash Alley friend, Steve "Fingers" Cowan. Searching for a drummer in Christchurch, the trio met David Gent (bass) and Michael "Harry" Harallambi (drums) from punk band Channel 4. Cowan moved from bass to keyboards and guitar and the five piece became the Dance Exponents. Their first gig was at the Hillsborough Tavern on Luck's 20th birthday and Cowan's 22nd - 15 October 1981. A residency at Christchurch's Aranui Tavern quickly earned them a strong live reputation, and on the recommendation of Jim Wilson they were signed by Mushroom Records by Mike Chunn in 1982.

The band's debut single "Victoria" was a top ten hit and was the start of a remarkable run of hit songs by Luck. Steve Cowan left the group after the release of "Victoria" and was replaced by Martin Morris who only spent six months with the band and left before they began recording their debut album. Cowan died in 1986. "Airway Spies" and "All I Can Do" followed as singles two and three.

With their popularity growing nationally from extensive touring, TVNZ recorded them live at Mainstreet cabaret in Auckland. The show was simulcast on television and FM radio and the companion album released in June 1983 called Live At Mainstreet saw six songs from the Dance Exponents on one side of the album with four songs from the Legionnaires on the other side.

In December 1983 the group's debut album Prayers Be Answered was released. The album featured re-recordings of "Victoria", "Your Best Friend Loves Me Too", "Poland" and "All I Can Do" and two further singles, "Know Your Own Heart", and "I'll Say Goodbye (Even Though I'm Blue)". Prayers Be Answered stayed in the NZ Album chart for nearly a year, selling double platinum in the process - a rare feat for a new New Zealand act at the time. Luck's songs, their exuberant live shows and the group's broad appeal made them one of the most popular new bands in New Zealand in the early 80s.

Chris Sheehan joined the Dance Exponents on guitar in late 1983, just before the release of Prayers Be Answered. Sheehan brought a new edge to the group, best heard on his first recording with them; the Julian Mendlesohn produced single "Sex & Agriculture". In late 1984 Harry left the group and moved to Auckland where he drummed for Grey Parade. He was replaced for a short while by Christchurch drummer Steve Birss, who played only a handful of shows.

As Birss had not had time to settle with the band before they recorded their second album, Vince Ely from the Psychedelic Furs was hired by producer Ian (Fab) Taylor^[3] to drum on the album. The album was called Expectations and featured the singles "My Love For You", "Christchurch (In Cashel St. I Wait)" and the Australian only single "Greater Hopes. Greater Expectations" . It was released in New Zealand in May 1985, and shortly before that Eddie Olson joined the band on drums for the nationwide "Expectations" tour.

The band's third album Amplifier was co produced by John Jansen and Doug Rogers^[4] and released on Roger's Zulu label in 1986. Amplifier featured the single "Caroline Skies" and re-recordings of "Sex and Agriculture" and "Only I Could Die (And Love You Still)", the latter becoming the second single from the album. Without the band's approval, Zulu released a recording of "Brand New Doll" as single. It was not featured on the original Amplifier album but was included on the CD when it was released in 1999 along with a re-recording of "Victoria" made during the original album sessions. After only a moderate response to the album, Eddie Olson left the group and the band moved to Britain in 1987. There, they were a popular draw for expatriate New Zealanders (and sometimes Australians and South Africans) and attracted A&R interest, but did not gain a record contract. During their four year hiatus in the UK, Luck continued to write and accumulated a number of strong songs which were demoed by the band.