Brett Adams


When Brett Adams of The Bads performs live it’s not too hard to spot the people who are seeing him play for the first time. Some are slightly stunned, with dropped jaws and matching raised eyebrows; they weren’t expecting to encounter bona fide guitar-hero virtuosity down at their local.

As well as the great songs and harmonised duet vocals from band leaders Dianne Swann and Brett Adams, the latter can play that guitar in a manner disarmingly free of the slick factor too often associated with the über-skilled. Instead there’s a fresh exuberance and joy that almost suggests he woke up this morning and discovered this ability anew. His infectious energy and inspired playing has seen Adams accompany artists as varied as Tim Finn, Rodriguez, Don Walker (ex-Cold Chisel), Graham Brazier, Dave McArtney, and Jan Hellriegel, as well as playing in original bands all over the world.

Brett Adams, Wayne Bell and Dianne Swann
Brett Adams at the Graham Brazier memorial at Auckland's Powerstation, Mt. Eden, September 2015
Photo credit: Photo by Michael Flynn
The Bads - Drop In The Ocean (Brett on vocal, from So Alive, 2009)
Damien Binder and Brett Adams, Queens Wharf Events Centre, Wellington, 15 May 2003
Photo credit: Photo by Mark Roach
The Bads - So Alive (2009)
Brett Adams
Photo credit: Photo by Michael Flynn
Recording awards for The Mockers in the mid 1980s: Tim Wedde, Andrew Fagan, Geoff Hayden, Steve Thorpe and Brett Adams
Brett Adams
Brett Adams 2015
Photo credit: Photo by Michael Flynn
The Bads - So Alive (live to air, Kiwi FM, 2009)
The Bads - Bit By Bit (from Earth From Space, 2005)
Tuning up in the ... Brett Adams and Damien Binder, Queens Wharf Events Centre, Wellington, 15 May 2003
Photo credit: Photo by Mark Roach
The Bads' 2017 album, Losing Heroes

A young Brett Adams with The Mockers in the mid-1980s
Brett Adams' guitar on the screen behind Tim Finn with The Bads
Brett Adams backing Tim Finn on Out Of This World (2009)
The Bads, 2017
Brett Adams and Graham Brazier in the late 1980s
Dianne Swann and Brett Adams