The Avengers were a popular band in New Zealand in the mid to late 1960s. Wellington promoter Ken Cooper formed the band to play at his new club, The Place, and selected the musicians from other active bands - Clive Cockburn (last name pronounced "Co-burn") of The Mustangs, Dave Brown of The Wanderers, Eddie McDonald of The Strangers, all three of which were Wellington bands, and Hank Davis of Napier's The Epics. The band began their career performing Beatles covers, but soon branched out into other territory. They had a string of top ten hits in their homeland; their biggest hit was a cover of Episode Six's "Love Hate Revenge", which charted at number 2 in August 1968.
The band failed to achieve prominence overseas, touring only twice outside New Zealand, both times in Australia. On the second tour, they took the name New Zealand Avengers to distinguish themselves from a Brisbane band that shared their name. In July 1969, the group disbanded; Clive Cockburn pursued a career in television while Hank Davis and Eddie McDonald remained active in music, relocating to Perth, Western Australia to be founding members of Bakery. Although The Avengers failed to achieve international fame, they established a lasting legacy in New Zealand, and in 1994, their debut single "Everyone's Gonna Wonder" was covered by The Pop Art Toasters, a supergroup of "Dunedin Sound" artists including Martin Phillipps of The Chills and David Kilgour of The Clean.
Formed - June 1966, Wellington, New Zealand; Disbanded - July 1969
Members: Clive Cockburn (lead guitar, organ), Dave Brown (rhythm guitar), Eddie McDonald (bass), Ian "Hank" Davis (drums)
Related Artists: Bakery, The Mustangs, The Wanderers, The Epics, The Strangers
Also Known As: New Zealand Avengers, NZ Avengers
Genres: Psychedelic Pop
This 2 in one album combines their self titled "The Avengers" from 1967 and "Medallion" from 1968.
