The Lonesome Buckwhips - Aftermath

The finale of our multi-part series

We hear live recordings from the Lonesome Buckwhips' astoundingly successful world tour - a tour that should have seen them set for life, but their journey was less a highway and more a game of snakes and ladders. So what went wrong?

Produced and directed by Adam Macaulay. Presented by Justin Gregory.

All music composed arranged and performed by The Lonesome Buckwhips (Arthur Meek, Miriama Ketu, Ben Hutchison and Gareth Williams) under special commission from RNZ. Originally broadcast in July 2009

The Lonesome Buckwhips are what know-nothing city snobs think rural dwellers are all about… turned up to 11.

They live in a family caravan high on the hills of Corstorphine, Dunedin. They all suck at the government teat. They smoke, gamble, drink and drive. They root their relatives. They poach shellfish. They’re essential workers who do the bare essential, grudgingly, and get paid in cash so it doesn’t affect their welfare entitlements. They’re also a damned fine country band who express the joys and sufferings of their rich lives of poverty.

We wrote songs, staged shows and toured NZ for 5 years. Radio New Zealand put a lot of love and production into a 4-part series. It guest stars my country music hero, Barry Saunders of the Warratahs. It stands up well and gets replayed most years around Christmas/New Year when everyone at RNZ who should know better is on holiday.

The pre-abortion scan of Arty Buckwhip Jr. The story ends happily as the appeals court ruled AB to be the product of consensual incest. He celebrated his 13th birthday in Juvenile Detention this year.