Instigators won Auckland’s Battle of the Bands in 1981 and released two seminal ska/punk singles on Ripper Records — Not Really Bad with producer Don McGlashan, and Hope She’s Alright with producer Steve Kennedy. Then they piled into a Bedford truck and toured all over NZ:
"The Instigators' two singles on Ripper have reached almost mythical status in 2024 and, aside from a track on Bigger Than Both of Us, have been unavailable in any form for 22 years, hence the prices they fetch. One of the reasons I bought Ripper from Bryan Staff was to see records like these classic 45s reissued and here they are, coupled with a side of live tracks that illustrate rather well why the band was so popular back in the day and why their legacy has lasted and grown. Extreme Ripper pride!" — Simon Grigg
“In the cities we played to big crowds at rock venues where everyone was jumping up and down and connected with our anti-government message. The rural pubs were a different story, they didn’t want to hear our songs about real life, gang warfare, and a missing prostitute. In Blackball they tried to beat us up and chased us down the street!” — Sonya Waters
Track List:
STUDIO INSTIGATORS
A1 Hope She’s Alright
A2 In Line
A3 Not Really Bad
A4 No Problems
A5 The Israelites
LIVE INSTIGATORS
B1 The Boys
B2 CCU
B3 No Evidence
B4 You Don’t Matter
B5 Don’t Work
DUB INSTIGATORS
B6 No Problems
