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.
