Between 1980 and 1982 The Screaming Meemees were far and away New Zealand's biggest pop band, and, with DD Smash, one of the two biggest live acts in the country.

Tony Drumm (vocals), Yoh (drums), Peter van der Fluit (bass, keyboards) and Michael O'Neill (guitar) formed the band at school on Auckland's North Shore in 1980 and started practicing in the school's music room. By the middle of that year they were playing regularly in the city and were soon seen as the leaders of what was termed, the North Shore Invasion, when dozens of bands from across the bridge seemed to flood Auckland's multitude of venues (best documented by many of the tracks on the Class of 81 compilation). Playing with the crop of post punk heroes like The Features, The Clean and The Spelling Mistakes, in venues like The Windsor, XS, Reverb Room, The Rhumba Bar and many others, the Meemees' brand of rough derivative garage power-pop immediately won them a massive and loyal fan base and they released a one off single sided single (with the Newmatics on the other) "Can't Take it" on Ripper. This single entered the bottom rungs of the top 40 and sold about 2000 copies over the first few months of 1981.

Signing to Propeller, their first appearance for the label was a track on the "Class of 81" compilation.

By mid '81 The Meemees were the biggest thing in Auckland, with queues outside all their gigs and they headed off on the landmark Screaming Blamatic Roadshow with labelmates Blam Blam Blam and The Newmatics, doing the same sort damage throughout the rest of the country, with mini-riots in Wellington and Christchurch being par for the course.

The second single was the highly anticipated "See Me Go", released in a limited 12" edition (500 numbered copies) and deleted in all formats on the day of release. The single entered the chart at number one the next week, and, being unavailable, dropped off a couple of weeks later. "See Me Go" sold about 4000 copies in that one week and was the first New Zealand single to enter the NZ Singles chart at number one-doing so with no radio play whatsoever outside student radio. Remember kids, many of these execs now championing NZ music fought long and hard to keep local music off the airwaves....

The next single was "Sunday Boys", in December. Another record, another top twenty tune and the first release from the debut album. That album, the now acclaimed pop masterpiece "If This is Paradise.....I'll take the Bag" was begun in October 1981, with Ian Morris producing (it was his whiskey soaked production which helped make the record what it was...that and the ongoing parties that were part of the recording sessions) and was finally released in July 1982 and duly jumped into the top twenty. It showed the band, whilst still wearing their influences proudly were growing up-something that would become obvious on their next and final single.

By late 1982 the band were confusing many of the still huge crowds with the pre-show tapes of dub, New York dance and hip-hop that were being played regularly and the final single, "Stars in My Eyes", the only record produced by the band (with soundman Tom Sampson), was a result of these influences, especially with the 12" mixes...the first NZ record to have 12" club mixes. "Stars in My Eyes" sounded revolutionary for NZ at the time of its release, with Festival Records (the label's distributor) management being unsure if it should even get released. It can rightly be seen now as a crucial moment in early eighties NZ rock'n'roll.   Another hit and a great way to go out. After a headlining slot at the 1983 Sweetwaters Festival, The Screaming Meemees played their last gig at Auckland's Mainstreet Cabaret in April 1993, breaking the attendance record there held by Split Enz with over 2000 attending the final night and queues down Queen Street of those who couldn't get in.

In 2003 Mike and Peter bounced back into the NZ Top 3 as The Zephyrs, a band made for a TV ad.

The Screaming Meemees' album "If This is Paradise.....I'll take the Bag" will be remastered and re-issued in 2006

The Discography
See Me Go (track on Ripper Compilation "Hauraki Homegrown" RPR2, 1980)
Can't Take It (other side by The Newmatics "Judas") (Ripper 7" RIP013, Feb 1981)
All Dressed Up (track on Propeller Compilation "Class of 81" REV201, March 1981)
See Me Go/Till I Die (Propeller 7" REV8, July 1981)
See Me Go/Till I Die/Poison Boys/See Me Go (version) (Propeller 12" REV8x, July 1981)
Sunday Boys/At At (Propeller 7" REV15, November 1981)
Pointy Ears (track on BFM/Ripper compilation "Goats Milk Soap" RPR005, 1982)
"If this is Paradise, I'll Take the Bag" (Propeller lp/cass REV203, July 1982)
Your Accent/Days of Heaven/Days Goes By/Hardly Moved By It/What Do Eyes See/Sunday Boys/F is For Fear/Coloured Day/Orson Welles/Dalis Moustache/Miro Miro
F is For Fear/Orson Welles (Propeller 7" REV18, July 1982)
Till I Die (track on XSF Compilation "Hits & Myths 2" August 1982)
See Me Go/At At (tracks on Propeller compilation "Doobie Do Disc" REV206, November 1982)
Stars In My Eyes/Day Goes By (Propeller 7" REV22, December 1982)
Stars in My Eyes (Pt 1)/Stars in My Eyes (Pt 2)/Day Goes By (extended...) (Propeller 12" REV22X, December 1982)
See Me Go/Sunday Boys (tracks on US Readers Digest compilation 1984)
Stars in My Eyes (track on US Strange Weekend Compilation "Unexplored" CD044, 1986, lp)
See Me Go/Sunday Boys/Stars in My Eyes (tracks on Propeller compilation "Bigger Than Both of Us" 2REV210, August 1988, cd, cass, lp)
"Stars in My Eyes" (Propeller CD REV501, October 1992)
Can't Take it/All Dressed Up/Poison Boys/See Me Go(45 version)/Till I die/Pointy Ears/At At/Sunday Boys/Days of Heaven/Your Accent/Day Goes By/Hardly Moved by You/F is for Fear/Coloured Day/Miro Miro/Over the Hills (Unreleased)/All Dressed Up (live)/See Me Go(demo)/Stars in My Eyes
See Me Go (track on EMI compilation "Classic Kiwi Rock", 1994)
See Me Go/Sunday Boys (tracks on Festival compilation "Bliss 2", 1997)
Sunday Boys (on Propeller compilation "Give It a Whirl" 2003)
Days Goes By and Hardly moved by It were both renamed as Day Goes By and Hardly Moved By You on all releases subsequent to the "Paradise" album