Here he discovered other like-minded kids and started his first band, City Edition. Tokoroa’s Forest Hill High opened in 1974 and Armstrong was among the first intake. He was no longer a “Pom” – he was the guy who could play guitar and the bullying ceased. Now semi-proficient on the guitar and with an arsenal of hit songs at his fingertips (Armstrong had become an avid record buyer and learned the tunes by ear) his fortunes at intermediate school rapidly changed. He never quite grasped the musical method and through sheer hard work became a “hardcore” ear player. He had two teachers: one who taught intuitively and the other by theory.
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He proved to be an excellent teacher, mentor and inspiration for the ambitious young artist.Īrmstrong’s mother, appreciating her son’s affinity for music, was determined that he have as full a musical education as she could provide and pushed him to learn piano as well.
Winiata had turned to guitar because changing musical fashions had seen the popularity of the saxophone decline. Resident in Taupo in the 1970s, he became an itinerant music teacher in the district, including Tokoroa. His first guitar teacher (six string and bass) was Martin Winiata, a saxophone player with a musical career that extended back as far as the 1930s, much of it in Christchurch (his bands included Martin Winiata’s Moon Men, Martin Winiata’s Jazz Band and Martin Winiata’s Dance Band). With their support he procured an acoustic guitar and took to it like a duck to water. I discovered music by myself and once they realised I was keen they were encouraging.” “My parents were not musical they did not even own a record player. He was 10 years old when he saw The Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night at a local cinema and, inspired by the music, he decided to learn the guitar. His first few years in NZ were defined by the prejudice that faced “Pommy” migrants and he found often found himself the victim of bullying – a situation he often exacerbated because of his “loose mouth”. We would never have done such a thing back in England and it was such a shock that I cried.” I remember being told to take off my shoes for PE on my first day in a New Zealand school. “One minute you are living in this strict society and then suddenly you are in cruisy New Zealand,” says Armstrong. After some thought they realised that “home” was not as rosy as they had imagined and they soon returned to New Zealand for good, settling at first in the Taranaki town of Mania before moving to Tokoroa. Born in Birmingham, England, in 1961, as a baby Armstrong came to New Zealand with his parents. It was a tentative step and within a year the family were back in the UK.
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