Meltdown Records

Meltdown Records was a small independent label in Palmerston North, New Zealand, active from 1985 to 1989. It was owned by Massey University student Peter Shepherd, later a professor and Callaghan Medal winner, and partly funded by the university’s students association. The label was guided by campus bands Dosage B, the Mannequins, and the Remarkables, and released ten records. Its first release was by Dosage B, whose leader Jeremy Corbett became a well-known radio host. In 1986, Meltdown appeared on the TV show Video Dispatch, and in March 1987 it organised the Rheineck Rock Festival with Radio 92.2XS. The label’s end came after EMI closed in New Zealand, making pressing costs $20 per record while they sold for only $8. Meltdown stopped production in 1989 after releasing Melter Smelter.