Explores the career and one-album output of Space Waltz, a short-lived New Zealand glam rock band with a #1 hit song that was a vehicle for singer-songwriter Alastair Riddell.

Alastair Riddell’s band Space Waltz was a short-lived one-album New Zealand rock act who hit gold with a #1 hit single in October 1974 with the song ‘Out On The Street’ but thereafter failed to achieve anything even close to that feat. While relegated to one-hit-wonder status in the eyes of many, to this day Riddell and Space Waltz epitomize the mid-1970s heyday of glam rock in New Zealand. But in truth their impact went far beyond this. Their generationally divisive nation-wide debut on the hugely popular MOR television talent quest Studio One/New Faces demonstrated the power of mass media exposure – they were instantly signed to a record deal with industry giant EMI – while Riddell’s controversial gender-bending image provided a cultural crossroads that greatly impacted the wider youth culture of Aotearoa New Zealand. In addition, while the album’s most famous track, ‘Out On The Street,’ is rightly regarded as New Zealand’s glam rock anthem, the wider album demonstrates a compositional and musical depth that goes far beyond glam rock and into the realm of sophisticated progressive rock, ultimately providing an unlikely and highly unique musical amalgam.

"A fun and detailed account of an ambitious album and band." - Christchurch City Libraries Nga Kete Wananga o Otautahi

"A book that firmly places [Space Waltz] in the canon." - Witchdoctor

"Ian Chapman ... is a talented writer who knows and loves his topic – all this shines through in this wonderful book – a must for anybody interested in New Zealand music." - DustyShelves Book Reviews and BookBits