Weekend Rewind: The great NZ day of the week songs

The Mockers - Forever Tuesday Morning. Photo / NZ on Screen

Opinion

From Monday Monday to Ruby Tuesday and Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting, the world is full of songs that name check days of the week. And New Zealand has its own share of day of the week classics. NZ On Screen’s Nicky Harrop rounds them up.

Inspiration can come in many forms. While song lyrics generally tend to mine the big issues (love, death, etc), even the simplest of routines can prompt the striking of creative gold. Evidence suggests more than a few Kiwi musos have found hits hidden amongst the days of the week.

Greg Johnson - Looking Out on Monday

Taken from the appropriately named album Seven Day Cure, Greg Johnson kicks us off with Looking Out on Monday. On ode to the early week skive (and the complexities of relationships) the song sees Johnson in LA, opting to remain housebound while taking a self-made long weekend. After all, "Friday seems a lifetime away when you're Looking Out on Monday."

The Mockers - Forever Tuesday Morning

The Mockers earned their biggest hit with Forever Tuesday Morning, accompanied by an 80s-tastic video, shot in the hallways of TVNZ. Andrew Fagan does a great job of setting Tuesdays as the benchmark for how bad things can get, but we'd be more worried about the white leotard he's wearing if we were him. Eagle eyed viewers may also spot a cameo from Fagan's future wife, broadcaster Karyn Hay.

DD Smash - Outlook for Thursday

While Wednesday seems to present something of a creative blind spot, DD Smash come up trumps on Outlook for Thursday. Dave Dobbyn and co's meteorological hit spent an impressive 23 weeks in the charts on release, and is now firmly established as a Kiwi classic. The actual outlook for Thursday? More rain-meets-brain-numbing-humidity than "otherwise it's dandy" if forecasts are to be believed.

The Mockers - One Black Friday

It's a double whammy from The Mockers, who deliver again with One Black Friday. The song originated when Andrew Fagan's Wellington based co-writer Gary Curtis heard reports of Auckland's 1984 Queen St Riots (The Mockers had performed earlier that day at the outdoor concert where the trouble had started). There's more of a circus theme to the video however, and this time Fagan swaps his leotard for a frock coat, lace cuffs and black choker ensemble.

The Suburban Reptiles - Saturday Night Stay at Home

Auckland punk pioneers The Suburban Reptiles take us to the weekend, with the still-brilliant Saturday Night Stay at Home. Nearly 40 years on, and who can't still relate to the plea "just give me one free night a week, that's all I really need."

• You can see more NZ days of the week songs here.