The Life and Times of Peter Green
updated 7 September 2025
 Spring has arrived in Australia. |
August 11thI’m getting good at dressing the mannequin for the daily photo shoot. There really is an art around arms being attached and added again on, costume tops, and one leg that comes off and zippers- like a faux human jigsaw. Seventies zippers are nightmare, so fragile after fifty years. I’m getting way too intimate with Richard the mannequin. He tells me how handsome I am, or is that just wishful thinking?August 12thI feel like I am finally catching up at charity. The donations have been out of control and I have been drowning. Even to the point of thinking maybe I should stop volunteering just to reclaim my sanity. I think I still enjoy helping them but it feels like we are being swamped and it is out of control.My Mum is back home and she seems to be dealing with it quite well but Sis and myself are really concerned that she hasn’t had enough rehab on her legs. But saying that, being in her own little home is wonders for her mental health, no one likes hospitals. She is 87, I do need to keep reminding myself that we are so fortunate she is still here. August 13thWe have started watching "The Family Next Door" on ABC streaming and really enjoying it. A six part series and we are only half way. Trying to work out what the surprise is and why enigmatic Isabelle has really moved into this seaside cul-de-sac. It’s based on Sally Hepworth’s novel, she’s a pretty decent writer. She’s had 7 books , most notably "The Good Sister" which won the 2021 adult crime novel Davitt Award. So glad we ditched Foxtel, we should have done it a decade ago, the SBS/ABC streaming service is amazing , such variety and of course there is Number 96 on Brollie which we love.Markys Youtube Wednesday. Two cool audio tracks from Split Enz in 1981. Recorded on our dodgy cassette from Adelaide "Outback Tour". Mark has worked the sound, and it is brilliant , thankfully Not brick walled like some (cough). You can enjoy the mighty Split Enz here. Midnight the cat sleeps in Marks room tonight, a rare night where I don't have to get top at 4.00 am and feed her…but he does. It’s like having a baby in the house. August 14thMy sister organises a phone link between her, my Mum and myself, which was nice. Mum sounds tired but very happy to be home.Happy 74th Birthday to Chris O’Doherty (Reg Mombassa) from Dog Trumpet & Mental As Anything. We love his art. Bongo Skyhooks Gold baby jumpsuit from 1975 arrives for our archives. Bongo adds another surprise, his hangman’s hood (has silver sequins around the eyes) from the "Party to end all Parties" video. So another addition to our Skyhooks archives, fantastic. August 15thSo some images are sneaking out around the upcoming Enz reissues. We sent them bits and pieces , hopefully it helped. What’s the bet when the stock arrives they "forget' to send us a copy. No wonder I am saying "No" more than "Yes" these days to band stuff. They always get in contact when they need stuff."Alien :Earth" looks good but Mark points out that so few people actually watched it. The Xenomorphs still scare the fuck out of me , plus hey Timothy Olyphant, what’s not to like. Love all the Peter Pan references , and a decent running time too. Australias Meth, Cocaine, MDMA and heroin consumption up by 34%. 22.2 tonnes of drugs in one year- I always wonder how do they know this? Cannabis as always is the most consumed illicit drug, time it was made legal. Rain sets in… the mountain gets a solid drenching. August 16thCold, grey, foggy, Polar air doing its thing, some snow nearby. Lots of black ice on the roads up here. No one at the bakery, it’s even too cold for me outside, I head in and warm my fingers on their pie oven.Do you get the feeling Putin has totally suckered Trump? Anniversary of my dad’s death, he’s been gone almost 40 years now. That seems such a long time. August 17thI chat over coffee with my new friend Sue..and her big fluffy dog is rubbing my foot. It has a foot fetish. The dog not Sue.We start watching the UFO documentary "UFO’s Investigating the Unknown" , really great and really current which is fantastic. Some of the people being interviewed around the political side have some amazing comments. After the UFO doco we watch the Midnight Oil documentary again. "The Hardest Line" is fantastic. Really well done. I shed a few tears when I saw Bones Hillman, what a lovely guy he was. The documentary is even better the second time around. August 18thSo very sad to read about the death of actor Terence Stamp. So many good roles but brilliant as transgender Bernadette from Priscilla Queen of the Desert.Happy Birthday to Enz bassist Nigel Griggs., I get side tracked and don't call till much later on, but I did launch off an email from Burkes Lookout while I was picking up micro plastics wishing Nigel all the best. We are rather stoked-the HESSIE (A Tribute To Paul Hester) clicks over with its 41,000th view. People keep going back to this one. So many amazing comments. Thanks diary people, we glad so many of you enjoyed it. I get a call from Greg Macainsh of Skyhooks and we catch up in the afternoon at the chocolate shop at Montrose. Great to see him as always. He gives me a pile of rare Skyhook T-shirts for the Archives which is wonderful. He’s a very private man, I like that he is our friend, Bongo and Greg always been like older brothers to both Mark and myself. I arrive home and Mum tells me she backed a horse called "Skyhooks" today and it won. She quadrupled her money, good tho see the Skyhooks brand still paying out. LOL. August 19thI score a free coffee at the Garden Cafe. My last as they have stopped with the coffee cards. Oh well, nice while it lasted.A busy day at charity, the donations flooded us again today. I just couldn’t keep up, so surrendered to it. The Book Cave is looking mighty. I hope our sales in the Book Cave help a lot of people. August 20thI chat to Sis for awhile which was really nice. We haven’t had a deep and meaningful for awhile. Both of us concerned about Mum.We go grocery shopping and I grab a $100 HER voucher for my sister for her birthday. Another year flies by, she’ll always be that little kid to Mark and myself. She gets along so perfectly with my better half. I start getting items up into the photographic room . Skyhooks are first cab off the rank, Crowded House will be next and after that Enz. Snap snap snap. Fans should be able to enjoy all of the images on the internet. August 21stI’m feeling a bit "iffy" today , no real focus, I almost didn’t go into charity. It slowly improves but takes till 3.00 PM before I feel like my old self. No idea what is causing this today. But I just roll with it, all very odd. I guess everyone has days like this, I usually don’t so maybe that’s why it feels so odd.August 22ndGood grief what is it with the Victorian Liberal party, dropping even further in the Polls. I think Battin's the wrong person for the job, he’s not Premier material. I wonder if he will get axed before the next state election.I mail Sis her birthday card and voucher. That's one off the list. Wow big crowds, 100,000 Pro Palestine support in Melbourne. Sorry Israel, genocide is wrong, no excuses it’s just fucked. We continue photographing our band T-shirts, so many to do, it takes time but we are making a dent. August 23rdOur brilliant Split Enz "Murder" video clip hit’s 13,000 views. I keep going back to this one, it just makes me smile so much. Having a bad day, get a bit of "Murder" into your life, it will make you smile. How cool is that 100+ year old B/W footage that we used mid-clip. Tim Finn told me that is his favourite part. It seems like everyone has Covid again, work friends, and even a few people at the Food Bank. So far I am ok, still Covid Free after all of these years, it’s a miracle. I head off to the neighbours place to let them know that one of their work colleagues has Covid. They are older so I was rather concerned.August 24thA nice email from Neil Finn. I try to explain to him why I am avoiding being part of the Crowded House documentary and the Split Enz "movie". Sometimes you just gotta say "no" and the other reality is that with both bands I figure my good will quota is full. Even after I have retired there hasn't been a day when I haven’t had to do something for them. I love em to death but I have this other life too, and need to reclaim it a bit. Neil probably doesn’t understand but hopefully he will be respectful to my decision. The fans probably think it’s all weird. Hell ,saying that - we HAVE given both projects bits ’n’ pieces.August 25thThe sales of PHEV’s (Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicle) are through the roof here in Oz. Only a year back people ranting they would not be popular and now showrooms sell out. The shorter electric and switch over to petrol for longer is so very popular,especially with a country as large as ours. The BYD Shark 6 Ute is So popular manufacturers can’t keep up.We are really enjoying "The Gods Of Wheat Street", a drama on the ABC. We somehow missed this one, it’s from 11 years ago. Sucks there wasn’t a Season Two, certainly unfinished business. Great cast and yeah Mark Coles Smith- what a handsome bloke. August 26thI drop some cans into the recycle, $3.00, hey big spender. It’s good though, I like how Victorians have embraced the governments recycling scheme , the auto drop in I go to is always busy. Plus you can just print out the receipt, walk across to Woolworths and it comes off your groceries.West Coast Eagles alum Mitch Brown has come out as Bisexual. The first ever male player in the Australian Football league to do so. 30 years now since Rugby player Ian Roberts had the balls to do so. I think Mitch is awesome, brave as all fuck and it’s nice to see so many people stand top and support him on line. August 27thOff to the Free Food Program to volunteer and I call into the Olinda bakery for a coffee. Quite a lot of people hanging around out front, most of the older ones.I could tell something is going down. I hear from one of the girls that there has been a mass sighting of several UFO’s last night. Some very strange rumour that I chased one wth my car and almost ended up up going over the edge of the mountain, which isn’t true. It’s great that many of these people are older and more serious, I can tell that this latest UAP bunch of sightings has rattled some of them chatting out front.August 28thI’m driving to work and have the car radio on. "We are One" , my disco moment with Paulini. She’s this Fijian/Aussie singer. I really need a disco ball in my car for such moments. I have no idea why I like this song, maybe it’s that disco heart beat. I’ve fallen for it, damn it.At lunch time I write my media press release for tomorrow. It’s 24 years since our Skyhooks lead singer died in the helicopter crash. We are putting up some music that Skyhook fans have never heard before plus some great photos of Shirl. Mark has worked the sound on a song called "I’m Normal" all the way from USA 1976 with the band rehearsing in the studio at Sausalito . A bit cheeky, a lot like Shirl himself. Anyway I put together a small presser so let’s see what media areas stand up and salute. August 29thHappy Birthday' to my awesome sister Jennifer. She’s been through a lot of the last year and she is amazing.At lunchtime the Shirley tribute goes up on our Youtube page and the two major music papers -NOISE 11 AND THE MUSIC both run articles and links. Within an hour it becomes the most read , most trending music story in Australia, bumping off Taylor Swifts engagement (Sorry Taylor…HA!). Facebook likes tick over, emails arrive, messages, and now radio is running with it. Shirls up (or is it down?) in Rock N Roll heaven with his thumb up chuckling at all the fuss. Yet again Marky has created some good that music fans are loving. You can check out "I’m Normal" here, pay special attention to the lyrics. August 30thHuge winds last night. They scared the hell out of Midnight, she climbed down under the blankets with me. I almost climbed into bed with Marky. For awhile it was like the big disaster storm. I worried about the car being out, especially after multiple LOUD tree crashes. So at 2.30 am I headed out to move it. Lucky I waited as huge tree had come crashing down in the "safe car parking" space. Not so safe. So I scurried back inside pissed off that one of our trees had come down and how many more to follow?. No real sleep.At 7.00 am I’m up and I have to say I did the happy dance, the tree wasn’t from our place but our friends across the road. Nothing down at ours, so relieved. I head for a coffee, I call the SES as our chainsaw couldn’t handle this one. By the time I am home the brilliant SES have chainsawed it and moved it to the side. I visit the neighbours and tell them the bad news. An hour late I clear some of it , just to do our bit. Apparently 10,000 houses with no power and 1100 SES call outs. We were lucky, and our power is still on. Day #2 and we are still the #1 trending music article in Australia. How freaky weird is that. Tonight it is so peaceful outside, incredible how different it can be. I call our Mum and her leg is playing up, she doesn’t sound good. My Sister is away for a 2 day birthday break. I think Mums faking it and it is worse than I thought, she worries me so much. We are watching "Wakefield" on ABC streaming, set in the Blue Mountains. A psychiatric hospital and its oddball patients and even stranger staff. The hidden world of mental illness. It's pretty good. We are also enjoying "Little Fires Everywhere" with Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. August 31stThe last day of Winter but we don’t believe that for a second. The wind has bite to it this morning and it starts raining. I’m ok about the rain, give the stupid racists at the Immigration March a good soaking. The march is a massive flop in Victoria , so few people they could take an Uber home. Made even more repugnant when they have a Nazi take over the microphone. So racists and Nazi’s , such quality people. NOT.Wow day #3 and the Shirley article is still the #1 trending music story. How cool. A call comes in from a family friend who dropped in to see Mum and called an ambulance, yes my diary finishes with the shitty news that Mum is back in hospital, so I am either flight hopping or driving up to NSW soon. We’ll deal with it, it’s just she’s only been home for two weeks. I’m more worried about my sister as she is worn out. Marky as always is my rock. On that note, stay happy and if your parents are still around give em a hug. PG |
archives * images * merchandise
| brought to you by frenz.com, the springboard for all that is frenz of the enz |