In 2001, the Fourmyula’s 1969 New Zealand hit Nature was voted the country’s best pop song of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association. The poppsychedelic band beat Crowded House, Split Enz and indie legends The Chills.
Inside The Hutt: New Zealand’s Pop-Psych Kingpins 1968–1969 compiles the best from this legendary band, an outfit that were in the top ten from moments after they formed. It’s the first time they have been anthologised beyond New Zealand.
The Fourmyula formed in 1967 in Upper Hutt, a short distance from New Zealand’s capital Wellington. In New Zealand, they actually were as big as The Beatles and had sessions in London at Abbey Road, encountering the Fabs while there: even recording with the Mellotron used on Strawberry Fields Forever – their complete Abbey Road recordings are included on Inside The Hutt: New Zealand’s Pop-Psych Kingpins 1968–1969.
The Fourmyula's poppy take on psychedelia was infectious. Yet they had their own sound, with hints of soul and Americana. They were one of New Zealand’s most influential bands.
During the punk and new wave era, when living in the UK, their drummer Chris Parry went on to work with The Jam and The Cure. This is where he began. The definitive liner notes tell his and the Fourmyula’s story