L-R: Mandela, McCabe, 1991
At this time, New Zealand was a rugby-crazed nation, and South Africa a divided country still under the bonds of apartheid. Incredulous political analysts were left gaping and the left wing demanded something be done to stop the travesty, but Prime Minister Rob Muldoon was adamant that no political intervention would be fothcoming on this matter. The scene was set for a political battle that would divide families and friends, and forever change the small backwater of New Zealand.
The fledgling Axemen took up the mantle and proceeded to spearhead the protest movement, writing and performing protest songs which resounded through the city of Christchurch from the back of flatbed trucks and culminating in the "CAT (Coalition Against the Tour") in the Cathedral" gig in Christchurch cathedral.
At this time, the Axemen were performing as a 6-piece with a motley rabble of horn-players known as "The Eastern Bloc", due to their political leanings. The Eastern Bloc are credited with sharpening the Axemen's developing political awareness in the heady days of '80's Muldoonism, and during this period a breakaway marching band was formed which performed, un-amplified, in Christchurch's Cashel Street Mall over a period of months. The valuable busking experience attained at this time was to improve the Axemen's stagecraft and presence, and both McCabe and Brannigan took busking to new levels of creativity (and volume). Ultimately, McCabe was banned from using his converted tape-recorder amp and settled for performing acoustic sets outside bookstores, while Brannigan strived for even more minimalist ideals by performing without any instruments at all, or with whatever was available at the time, whether it be an instrument or not. We was po'!