If you look up Bungalow Bills on Google Street View, you won’t see much. There’s just a glimpse, a hint of something interesting down an alley off the top of Khyber Pass Road. Walk up the alley and you’ll find a place that, for a certain kind of person, is paradise. 

Bungalow Bills has been selling second-hand guitars, amplifiers and related goods for 36 years and some of the best-known guitarists
in the world have found their way there over that time. But “there” hasn’t always been where it is now.

Bill Lattimer, who came to New Zealand with his wife Pam in 1970, first established Bungalow Bills at 174-176 Symonds Street in 1985. He moved his recording studio The Lab into the warehouse out the back and that was where a slew of local classics, including Straitjacket Fits’ first two records, were made.

In 1998, the shop and the studio went their separate ways and Bungalow Bills settled into a new location on New North Road, across from the funeral parlour. Then there was the shop on Khyber Pass and now, the little secret at the end of the alley next door. Bill might have moved a few times, but he’s never left Uptown.

“I love this area,” he affirms. “It's not K’ Road, although I like K’ Road, and it’s not Ponsonby. It’s not Newmarket. I like it. I come from a place called Newcastle. We had a lot of old buildings there, terraced houses and stuff like that. I think the childhood memory of that is really strong and maybe that’s why I love it up here.”

He confesses that he wasn’t too keen when his landlord suggested he move from the Khyber Pass store to a former garage down the adjacent alley – until he walked in and literally saw the light. With its big front window bearing Bills’ colourful Sgt Pepper-style logo and skylights all along, it’s the brightest shop he’s ever had and he loves it.

Inside, guitars line the walls. Recent arrivals include a left-handed 1966 Guild Starfire once toted around the clubs by an American bluesman, and a 1963 Gibson Les Paul Custom. Not all Bills’ guitars are of that vintage, but it’s not the place where a teenager comes for a first guitar.

“It fluctuates a little bit, but predominantly our customer base is older guys who’ve never had, but wanted. It's sometimes a 50th or 60th birthday thing – and it is people who are looking for something different. I'd like to think that when they come in here, if I get a good chat out of it and I get a sale I’m bangin’. But if I get a chat and I don't get a sale, it’s still generally a great buzz. Because I get something out of life, you know?”

Bill values the element of personal contact in what he does, which is why you won’t find him on Trade Me. It’s all word-of-mouth.

“I do nothing. I'm not one of those guys. I've got friends who come in here who go round garage sales and look on Trade Me, but I do nothing – I just exist.” 

Some kit comes in as part of deceased estates. If it’s three or four guitars at once, Bill might not have the cashflow to buy them all, but he’s happy to sell on behalf.

Although he’s shy about naming names, there is a list of stars who have come in for a browse and a yarn with Bill. Jack White is a regular when his bands tour here (the wiggy guitar in the intro to the White Stripes’ “Icky Thump” is played on a Univox guitar Bill sold him) and Joe Walsh would come by when he was based at the former Mascot Studios. But Bill confesses that one of the great thrills of his working life was being greeted as “bonny lad” by his childhood hero and fellow Geordie, Hank Marvin of The Shadows.

Bill also has a reputation for helping out when a local player needs a loan or a fast repair. He’s modest about that too, preferring to talk about the nice things people do for him.

“I've had incredible support from people, you know, just because of the – their term, not mine – the funkiness of it. I’m just so grateful.”

Bill is, essentially, thankful for the life he’s been able to lead.



“I’ve said before, this place is the best boy’s bedroom ever. It’s a pleasure. I love coming into work every day. If someone comes in, I’m nearly dancing with the person when I've had a conversation and a few laughs. I'm grateful for life, I really am.”