Shady Wade steps into the spotlight with Damaged Goods
After decades writing in the margins, Shady Wade is finally stepping forward. His debut single Damaged Goods marks the long-overdue arrival of a songwriter who's spent years building his craft, from backroom gigs in rural Japan to the beating heart of Christchurch’s open mic scene.
At 42, Wade’s voice lands with the weight of lived experience. Co-produced by Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers) and Sam Trevethick (Shapeshifter), Damaged Goods is a slow burn about emotional armor, the kind we wear after love leaves a mark. "We're damaged goods for sure,” he sings, laying it bare without flinching.
The video, filmed behind SOLE Music Academy with Neato Productions, leans into the metaphor - crumbling brick walls and broken timber mirroring the song’s central tension: the fear of letting someone in.
Backed by the Toi Ōtautahi Incubator and now recording with Flynn Adamson (LYTTEL Studios), Wade is quietly building toward a debut album. After years on the sidelines, he’s finally taking up space, and he’s got something real to say.
