Don't worry Russell, these days "Mellow" is my middle name. Or is that "Merlot". Come to that, I prefer "Pinot". But anyway, I like you too.

First (free) gig: Howard Morrison Quartet in a Sound Shell, possibly in Rotorua, or New Plymouth in the mid-'60s.
First rock gig: A "happening" on Sunday afternoon at the Lake in Hamilton featuring various hippy bands, including Ticket, around 1970.
First international gig: Daddy Cool, Founders Theatre, Hamilton, 1971.

Hi Simon,
Hate to be pedantic (oh, okay, I don't) but the Numan Majestic Theatre gig was 1980.
Hence: http://www.witchdoctor.co.nz/index.php/2011/05/barely-numan/

Just to set the record straight, I was the editor of RTR Countdown, while Finlay McDonald was at that time a Listener staff writer (later, he became Listener editor with Steve B as his Ass. Ed). During my trip to the US in Feb/March '88 (Michael Jackson at Madison Square Garden!) Finlay was acting editor for a month. The magazine published from October '87 to Dec 93. Steve Braunias was RTR's feature writer during (if I'm not mistaken) '90 and '91, with later feature writers being Stacy Gregg and Tim Wilson. What a cast list! I lost a big chunk of my RTR collection under someone's house at some point while moving from flat to flat. You know how it goes.