130,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Overnight NZ-wide delivery 🚀 | Visit our Auckland bookstore • Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

Signals and Static

Reflections on Life and Broadcasting in New Zealand
By Rex Simpson
0.0 (0 reviews)
Brief Description
Signals and Static is a vivid memoir from one of New Zealand broadcasting’s quiet pioneers. From Play School and What Now? to Nice One Stu and How’z That?, Rex Simpson takes readers behind the scenes of local television as it came of age, navigating creative risk,... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$4000
Pre-order
Releases 3rd November 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "Signals and Static" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

Found a better price? Request a price match

A candid, often wryly funny memoir of life in New Zealand broadcasting. From Play School and What Now? to independent radio and local politics, Rex Simpson shares the creative risks, personal challenges and community connections behind a life spent helping a changing country find its voice.

From the creator of What Now? and producer of Play School, Signals and Static offers a behind-the-scenes look at programmes generations of New Zealanders grew up with.

The memoir will appeal to readers of New Zealand life stories, television and radio enthusiasts, and those interested in the country’s changing social and cultural landscape. Personal reflections on adoption, identity, sexuality, grief and reinvention sit alongside stories of creative ambition and community life.

Strong regional connections span Northland, the East Coast, Waikato, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and the Coromandel. The book also offers discussion material for broadcasting, media studies and screen production audiences.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Signals and Static is a vivid memoir from one of New Zealand broadcasting’s quiet pioneers.

From Play School and What Now? to Nice One Stu and How’z That?, Rex Simpson takes readers behind the scenes of local television as it came of age, navigating creative risk, big personalities and the relentless pressure of live production.

Adopted as a child and raised by Scottish immigrant parents in rural Māori communities, Rex traces the early experiences that shaped his life in storytelling. His journey takes him through theatre, television and independent radio, into the theatre of hospitality and on to community broadcasting and local politics on the Coromandel.

Set against decades of social and cultural change, this is more than a story about familiar programmes. It is a personal account of creative ambition, setbacks, reinvention and connection, offering an insider’s perspective on a changing New Zealand.

Thoughtful, candid and often wryly funny, Signals and Static brings together a life behind the microphone, behind the camera and within the communities whose stories Rex helped to tell.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781991436115

Publisher: Mary Egan Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 18 November 2026

Country: New Zealand

Imprint: Mary Egan Publishing

Illustration: 6 x 4-page picture inserts

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 230.0mm

Weight: 23g

Pages: 310

Collections

Arts & Culture Biography & Memoir Musicians, Movie Stars & Creative Biographies New Zealand and Australia Published New Zealand Biographies New Zealand Non-Fiction New Zealand Published Non-Fiction Non-Fiction Pre-Orders Pre-order Biographies Pre-order Books Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date Rex Simpson

About the Author

Rex Simpson created What Now?, produced Play School and conceived Praise Be. Across a broadcasting career spanning nearly five decades, he worked behind the scenes on some of New Zealand’s most familiar television programmes and behind the microphone at radio stations from Dunedin to the Coromandel.

Born in Auckland and raised in rural Māori communities in the Far North and Ōpōtiki district, Rex got his first taste of broadcasting after winning a teenage radio DJ competition in Gisborne. He joined TV One in 1975 and went on to head TV3’s Children’s and Young Persons Department, establish independent production company Kids TV and develop programmes for audiences in New Zealand and overseas.

His working life also took him into hospitality and local politics. On the Coromandel, he combined community radio with service on the Thames Community Board and later as a district councillor. He retired to Ghana in 2023.

His memoir, Signals and Static, brings together a lifetime of storytelling, creative ambition and community involvement, offering an insider’s perspective on New Zealand broadcasting and the changing country around it.


More from Biography & Memoir

View all
  • New Release
    One Helluva Ride
    "This book is about where I came from, what I fought against, and what I chose formyself. Fame can blur the truth; this is my attempt to bring it back into focus." A legendary actor and Hollywood Icon whose five-decade career spans film, television,and producing, Michael Douglas has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, fiveGolden Globes, a Primetime Emmy,...
    By Michael Douglas
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Book cover for 'Swan Song: Diana, my sister' by Charles Spencer, featuring a black-and-white portrait of Diana with white and gold text on a gray background.
    New Release
    Swan Song
    Beautiful. Beloved. Hunted. The extraordinary life and death of Diana, as told by her brother, Charles – available to pre-order now. ‘When asked, ‘What was it like, growing up with Diana?’, my first thought is always, But I don’t know what it was like not to grow up with her…’ In September 1997, Charles Spencer stood in Westminster Abbey before...
    By Charles Spencer
    Hardback
    $5499
    Elsewhere:
    $6500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Fictional Selves
    From the beloved actor and star of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Sex and the City comes a candid and deeply personal memoir. In this highly anticipated memoir, the beloved actor and star of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Sex and the City and more shares his utterly original account of his offbeat journey in Hollywood, his battles with fear and...
    By Kyle MacLachlan
    Hardback
    $4799
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Steps
    The long-awaited memoir from a true Hollywood icon. We know Sylvester Stallone as one of the most revered actors, writers, and directors of all time, yet his life story is every bit as dramatic, intense, and inspiring as his greatest creations on screen. Bringing together a no-holds-barred account of a fascinating life with messages of hope, positivity, and resilience, in...
    By Sylvester Stallone
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Signed Copy
    New Release
    Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    Home Again
    Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...
    By Jon Toogood
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Dogs, Boys and Other Things I've Cried About
    From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee--known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue--comes an utterly winning memoir about a twentysomething woman's search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it. A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she...
    By Isabel Klee
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Famesick
    Chronicling the tumultuous decade between the premiere of Girls to her 2021 shotgun wedding (minus the baby, because she has no uterus), Lena Dunham takes us through her journey with her trademark mix of humor, unsparing honesty, and keen eye for detail. We peek behind the scenes - of her work, her family, her relationships, and her battle to reclaim her body...
    By Lena Dunham
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    By Layne Staley
    Hardback
    $7299
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Signed Copy
    Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    Stakes
    Read our interview with author Noelle McCarthy! A darkly funny, sparkling follow-up to the author’s bestselling memoir Grand. You have to invite him in. You have to want the vampire’s badness in the house with you. Growing up in Catholic Ireland, Noelle McCarthy is captivated by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The vampire is a risk-free fantasy, a suave alternative to the fraught realities...
    By Noelle McCarthy
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Built for This
    Raised among strong women, butcher's benches, and hard ideas about what men are meant to be, Brad Poulter grows up knowing he's different long before he has the words for it. But in late '90s small-town New Zealand, 'different' isn't discussed, it's managed. Joining the Royal New Zealand Navy offers escape, certainty, and belonging. The rules are clear, the uniform...
    By Brad Poulter
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Even the Good Girls Will Cry
    Thanks to a thrown beer bottle and a fan letter to a P.O. box, Melissa Auf der Maur's first band scored an opening slot for the Smashing Pumpkins in her bohemian home town, Montreal. Sensing Melissa's talent, Billy Corgan recommended her to Courtney Love. Whisked from her local scene, Melissa joined Hole just after the deaths of Kurt Cobain and...
    By Melissa Auf der Maur
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • An Ocean and a Day
    An utterly riveting, moving and poignant memoir of grief and loss that will speak to anyone who's ever lost someone they love. An Ocean and a Day is Hannah Richell's personal account of losing her husband, Matt, in a surfing accident on Tamarama beach in 2014. It is the story of the grief journey she travelled over the first two...
    By Hannah Richell
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

Biography & Memoir lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all