Riot 111 was born from the 1981 anti-apartheid Springbok tour protest on Mollett St, Wellington when police broke up a peaceful protest by savagely beating protestors with batons. Shocked by the violence they had witnessed, protest organisers Void and Roger Riot formed Riot 111. Were gonna record a protest song, well be New Zealands Sex Pistols! said Void, Roger, play a tribal drum beat that sounds like a haka!

Riot 111 self-released two seminal 45s, staged their own anarchist punk festival called Golden Showers, and played with The Fall on their New Zealand tour. Banned by TVNZ for their depictions of police violence, Riot 111 found a home on underground punk compilations and zines, and were championed in the USA by Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys.

40 years lat