The Chills

Originally formed in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand in 1980, The Chills was founded by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Martin Phillipps, who remained the only constant member throughout their erratic 44 year career. Originally a member of pioneering New Zealand punk rock band The Same, Martin Phillips brought in several members including his sister Rachel on keyboards and Peter Gutteridge on guitar. However, the band went on brief hiatus in 1981 when Martin joined Peter Gutteridge’s band The Clean. Focusing his attention on The Chills in July 1981, Phillipps put together a new version of The Chills and recorded several songs for a compilation on the Flying Nun Records label. With constant changes in their line-up, Martin Phillipps continued to steer The Chills forward with the single “Rolling Moon.” However, the band went on hiatus again – which they would continue to do over the course of their career – before re-emerging with charting singles which are now considered extremely influential: “Pink Frost, “Doledrums,” “I’ll Only See You Along Again,” and “I Love My Leather Jacket,” which reached number 4 on the NZ chart. The group’s first album was Kaleidoscope World, which compiled previously released tracks on the Flying Nun label. Their popularity began to extend outside of New Zealand with the release of their first official studio album, Brave Words, in 1987. The band’s shambolic, rough, and melodic style personified the ‘Flying Nun sound’ and The Chills’ notoriety attracted and international audience. Signing with Slash Records/Warner Bros., their album Submarine Bells earned The Chills positive press outside of NZ and the album’s single “Heavenly Pop Hit” became an international hit. The album hit the top spot on the albums chart and the band toured many countries before recording their next album, Soft Bomb, which was released in 1992. While popular in NZ, the album wasn’t as successful as their previous album, and they lost commercial momentum. More line-up changes led to the band being listed as Martin Phillipps and The Chills on the album Sunburnt (1996). The Chills went on hiatus again while Martin Phillipps pursued other interests and dealt with health issues related to hepatitis C. The Stand By EP was released in 2004, but The Chills didn’t release a new full-length album until 2015’s Silver Bullets. That release was followed by Snow Bound (2018) and Scatterbrain (2021). Martin Phillipps died on July 18, 2024, at the age of 61.

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