The Chills live

Martin Phillips sourced and selected 97 Chills songs - "rarities for the fans only", including demos, live takes, studio out-takes, radio sessions, jingles and soundtracks - and released them in 2000 as the Secret Box triple CD.

Phillips wrote notes for each song. Here are 3 of the live takes:



Declaration - Captain Cook, Dunedin, 5/5/84
There are those who have tried to re-write history so that The Chills were pop star wannabes and this annoys me because we consistently played at least as powerfully as most of our peers and our success was not due to selling out to the mainstream with obvious hits. There is no such thing. I have always written from the heart whether it's punk pop, novelty, dark atmosphere, or whatever.


Frozen Fountain - Captain Cook, Dunedin, 5/5/84
Sure, with hindsight, my little anti-deity rant seems immature, but on a good night this was a very powerful song and it's one of the main reasons this project came into being as it is fondly remembered by many of our earlier audiences. My voice seldom lasted until the end of this song and certainly not on this performance.


If This World Was Made For Me - Rumba Bar, Auckland, 25/2/82
Once again, this is the only available version and it has the earlier 'Martin's Paradise' lyrics. Terry Moore always thought that this indicated a new direction for the band and it features one of his first "bass breaks".