Adam Holt and I go a long way back: 43 years, in fact.

Early in 1982, a young Dance Exponents had just started playing gigs around Christchurch when we met The Screaming Meemees. My memory suggests they were performing some nights at The Gladstone pub during the Class of 81 tour, and after a show, they came to watch us play at PJ’s nightclub. We got along exceedingly well, especially with guitarist Michael O’Neill. This connection led, later in 1982, to the Dance Exponents being asked (or rather told) to support the Meemees on their nationwide tour to promote their album, If This is Paradise I’ll Take the Bag.

Later that year, the Dancies travelled to Auckland to start the tour, and Michael O’Neill thought we should have a night together to properly meet and greet the touring party before we hit the road. We all gathered at the Mon Desir Hotel in Takapuna, where I met Michael’s best friend, Adam Holt.

By signing the Dance Exponents to PolyGram, Adam went out on a limb: others were not so confident

Michael and Adam were the pretty boys of the Auckland pop scene, much like our own George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. Adam and I became close friends, and I would often watch him and his band Sons in Jeopardy perform around Auckland. I used to joke, “If only they sounded as good as they looked.”

Three years later, after I was kicked out of the Dance Exponents for insubordination, I moved into a flat with Adam on the North Shore. We listened to The Smiths and watched The Young Ones as if it were a rite of passage, and on weekends, we played social soccer with a rag-tag collection of musicians and nightclub owners.

During my period of persona non grata with the Dance Exponents, while still knocking around the club scene in Auckland with Adam, he received a tape from England that would become quite famous. The Dance Exponents were struggling to make inroads with their music in London. They were on the verge of giving up and turning to gardening, but as a last resort, they decided to record some demos of new songs Jordan had written at Picnic Studios in West Peckham (kind of between London and Brighton).

On Waitangi Day 1990, guitarist Brian Jones mailed a final cassette tape of these demos to Adam, who was then at PolyGram Records. Adam absolutely loved the songs and convinced his boss, Grenville Turner, to sign the band and have them return to New Zealand to record an album. This is when Adam strongly suggested that I should rejoin the band. I did, and I’ve been counting to four ever since.

By signing us to PolyGram, Adam went out on a limb – others were not so confident. The Dance Exponents had had their day, it was thought, but he believed wholeheartedly that these new songs could become hits and rejuvenate the band’s career. How right he was. We were still in our mid-to-late twenties. Adam rallied the entire PolyGram team, including Grenville Turner, which led to a fantastic working relationship with everyone at the label. It was all thanks to Adam.

The Exponents signing to PolyGram in 1990. From left: Rodney Hewson (PolyGram), Adam Holt, Michael Harallambi, Grenville Turner, Jordan Luck, Brian Jones and Dave Gent - Adam Holt collection

Our wonderful relationship with PolyGram came crashing down a couple of years later. Adam was offered a fantastic job as head of international repertoire with Polydor Australia. Around the same time, Grenville Turner also left, and the more abrasive Victor Stent filled his position. We had a history with Victor dating back to our time at Festival Records, and Adam knew – just as we did – that under Victor, our days with PolyGram NZ were likely numbered. I know he felt guilty about leaving, but what could he do? He had been given an opportunity to advance his career, and it was the best decision he ever made. We toured Australia and recorded another album with PolyGram in Sydney. Still, there was no appetite from the label to promote a band from New Zealand, particularly given Jordan’s alcohol issues, which were so damaging. Even if Adam tried to go into bat for us, I doubt he would have received much support.

You cannot overstate how important Adam has been to the Exponents’ career. From PolyGram to Universal, he has served as an outstanding ambassador for our endeavours. Among his many contributions, his efforts to produce the Exponents documentary and the Dance Exponents movie while leading Universal had a significant impact. They resulted in us being deeply ingrained in Aotearoa’s cultural consciousness forever.

I know how much the band means to Adam, and I’m sure he would view his success with us as one of the highlights of his career. However, first and foremost, Adam has always been a friend. From when he looked after us at PolyGram to being our label boss at Universal, we considered ourselves mates. We were part of his career trajectory, from selling records in a downtown store to becoming the head of Universal.

We never had any disagreements. He may have thought we could be dicks at times, and he’d be right, but there was no squabbling over anything. Without Adam Holt, you would never have heard the lines … “Why does love do this to me?”.

He genuinely feels like a member of the band.

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