Split Enz - One Step Ahead (1980)

What this video is

Released November 1980 as the lead single from Split Enz's sixth studio album Waiata (also released as Corroboree in Australia), 'One Step Ahead' arrived at a pivotal moment in Antipodean pop: the band had already scored a landmark international hit with 'I Got You' earlier in 1980, establishing New Zealand pop on the global stage. The video became a significant early artefact of the nascent music video medium,…

Why it matters

A foundational document of Antipodean New Wave at the precise moment art rock transitioned to pop-focused music video production. The clip's single-take theatrical staging, physical mime vocabulary, and stark chiaroscuro set design distinguish it from contemporaneous performance-clip conventions…

The director

Noel Crombie is a New Zealand multi-disciplinary artist who served as percussionist, costume and set designer, and music video director for Split Enz throughout the band's career (1975–1984). He is credited as director of multiple Split Enz promotional clips…