The following was taken from Kiwi Rock (Tim Davey & Horst Puschmann, Kiwi Rock Publications, 1996):

Formed in late 1980 by Graeme Downes, The Verlaines were originally a five-piece; Graeme Downes and Craig Easton both on guitar and vocals, Anita Pillai (keyboards), Phillip Higham (bass) and Greg Kerr (drums). In 1981 Easton and Pillai had left, leaving the band as a 3-piece which it was to remain as for over ten years. In 1982 Jane Dodd replaced Higham on bass. Downes was responsible for all the songwriting and their vinyl debut came with three songs on the infamous Dunedin Double EP in 1982. Alan Haig took over the position of drummer and shortly afterwards they recorded the "Death and the Maiden" single which established itself as a Verlaines anthem. The release of the single was delayed, coming out in June 1983, and soon after Haig was replaced by Wellingtonian Caroline Easther. Four months later the drummer was changed yet again with Robbie Yeats joining the band, a line-up that was to be more permanent.

In April 1984 they recorded the six song EP 10 O'clock in the Afternoon which received a deservedly enthusiastic response from the public. "The quality's as good as ever but there's none of that easy user-friendly swirl about these songs. It's a spartan-sounding record--the songs are cast in quite harsh relief...The increased introduction of Jane Dodd's airy voice is very welcome--it's an ideal foil to Downes' melodic shout." (Rip It Up, August '84). In 1993 American musican Barbara Manning recorded a brilliant folk-rock cover version of "Joed Out" from the EP.

In 1985 they had their first album with Hallelujah All the Way Home, which Downes submitted as part of a composition paper for his Honours Degree in Music, gaining an A pass. The studio sound is rather different from that of their live performances which were often fast and loud, whereas in the studio the songs were much more refined. "You put a lot more energy and enthusiasm into it rather than a controlled getting the notes right," says Downes. (Rip It Up interview, December '85).

Downes' classical training had an influence on preciseness of the compositions as well as the instrumental arrangements -- Hallelujah... features a cello, clarinet and French horn. Downes is very interested in lyrics and can spend months perfecting the words of a song, "As has always been the case with the Verlaines, the lyrics generally read well on their own...The preparation before the recording of this album was comprehensive and shows...If the band lost anything in spontaneity, they more than made up for it in simply getting their ideas across so bloody well." (Rip It Up, December '85) His devotion to his studies meant less time was spent on band activities but had the effect of increasing the complexity and structure of the songs--"You see a lot of the differences in terms of structure and things are apparent in earlier songs and I didn't really know a hell of a lot then...I don't think I'd be able to write "Noryb" and "Burlesque" and "It Was Raining" without training." (Rip It Up interview, December '85).

Further releases were the "Doomsday" single in 1986 and the excellent album Bird-Dog in 1987 which was an advancement on the previous album with superior production and Downes' lyrics and singing even better. Orchestration was even more obvious and was well implemented. A reviewer aptly described the album as "A blurred juxtaposition of moods and speeds, styles and emotions; from the subdued climaxes of "Makes No Difference" to the lovely lilting melody of "Just Mum", to the high-speed drama which finishes "Slow Sad Love Song", an urgent reminder of the Verlaines as a terrific live band." (Rip It Up, June '89).

A compilation album entitled Juvenilia was released in 1988 containing the EP 10 O'clock in the Afternoon, classic "Death And The Maiden" and Dunedin Double tracks "Angela" and "You Cheat Yourself Of Everything That Moves."

Jane Dodd was replaced by Mike Stoodley prior to their next release in 1990 of Some Disenchanted Evening. The album marked a change for the band with a lot less orchestration and the critical response was good: "Downes sets his lyrics against the band's mood and the three-piece play harder, more stripped down like they ain't since pre-Hallelujah times. Like Randy Newman, the album's prime influence, Downes is now playing the stylist looking for the authentic touch...emotions are cleverly balanced and characters elaborately delineated" (Rip It Up, June '90). Says Stoodley, "The production was kept small which is sort of preference of mine but it also suited the way things were going. Most of the songs suit feelings which are fairly intimate." (Rip It Up interview, May '90). This more intimate approach was summed up well by the interviewer: "There's a lot more human content on this album. The songs don't have the distancing effect of Bird-Dog. It's earthy, a bit more distressing at times. Yet there's still a feeling of optimism emanating from somewhere in there." (Rip It Up, May '90).

Following the recording and just a month before an American tour ex-Alpaca Brothers Steve Cournane replaced Robbie Yeats on drums but fitted in quickly. As in earlier years the changing of drummer plagued them and Gregg Cairns replaced Cournane for the recording of their next release Ready To Fly in 1991. This was their first album with American label Slash and was also self-produced. Downes had largely finished his doctorate (he now has a PhD in music specialising in Mahler), so had more time to concentrate on reading and words thus making it easier to fit lyrics to the music. The album marked a move back to the use of strings, horns and brass and also had the slickest production to date, containing some gems such as the luminous "Tremble" and the surprisingly mellow "Moonlight On Snow." Although being a carefully-crafted and smooth-sounding album it was criticised for being maybe just too precise and coming out as more of the same: "He hasn't lost the ability to turn out a hook...but it's his musicologist's perspective which lets him down sometimes...he has probably, as far as he's concerned, got every detail of the form right--but the occasional listener will probably just hear another Verlaines song." (Rip It Up, February '92).

In mid-1992 Paul Winders joined as a new member on guitar to make The Verlaines a four-piece, a press release stating that this addition "probably stems from a megalomaniacal urge just to create a bigger racket." The decision to add another guitar to the band when it had existed as a 3-piece for so long was partly as a result of the changing nature of the songs and also the desire to put less stress on everybody in the band. About the same time Darren Stedman took over from Cairns on drums and in late 1993 the band recorded a new album Way Out Where.

Way Out Where was recorded in Los Angeles, produced by music veteran Joe Chiccurelli, and definitely sounds different from the other Verlaines albums. The band had never used a producer in the past, worried by other band's horror stories, but Chiccurelli was quite compatible with them and the band was thoroughly pleased with the result. The album was received well after the poor response to their previous album, "From the opening chords of the frenetic "Mission Of Love" this record has a rare intensity provided by the usual guitar-bass-drums combination which at times seems to play at a million miles an hour. This mood continues through "I Stare Out", "Blanket Over The Sky" and the title track...Downes shows his usual ability to move with ease into quieter territory with "This Valentine" or "Lucky In My Dreams", both of which are fine pop songs...The Verlaines have shown a remarkable ability to bounce back and produce their finest and most complete work to date." (Rip It Up, November '93)

During 1993 the compilation album Juvenilia was re-released along with some additional tracks including the EP Doomsday as well as the b-side to the "Death And The Maiden" single, a very young and rough-sounding "C.D. Jimmy Jazz And Me" (which later appeared on Bird-Dog as a much cleaner and produced version with orchestral accompaniment). The band toured to promote the re-release of Juvenilia and treated audiences to a number of crowd favourites from their back-catalogue.

Mike Stoodley left in March 1994 to be replaced by ex-Freud Squad and ex-Borgus Weems member Russell Fleming on bass. The next two years were quiet for the band as they worked on becoming integrated and only a small number of gigs were played, including a national orientation tour in March 1995.

Their contribution to an AIDS-benefit album, Red Hot and Bothered, was the Wayne Elsey song "Some Fantasy", recorded with Shayne Carter on guitar and back vocals.

In early 1996 final preparations were being made for the recording of a new album. Although Downes moved to Auckland in January to take up a teaching position at the Auckland Institute Of Technology, the band intended to continue as normal.

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Text transcribed by doledrummer and formatted by me, opiate_smile/message board admin.