Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were Australians Paul Hester and Nick Seymour. Band members included Neil Finn's brother, Tim Finn, Americans Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod. Active from 1985 to 1996, Crowded House had consistent commercial and critical success in Australia and New Zealand and international chart success in two phases, beginning with a self-titled debut album that reached number twelve on the US Album Chart in 1987 and provided the Top Ten hits "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong". Further international success came in the UK, Europe and South Africa with their third and fourth albums and the compilation album Recurring Dream, which included the hits "Fall at Your Feet", "Weather with You", "Distant Sun", "Locked Out", "Instinct" and "Not the Girl You Think You Are". Neil and Tim Finn were each awarded an OBE in June 1993 for their contributions to the music of New Zealand. In June 1996, Crowded House announced.
The band played several farewell concerts that year, including the "Farewell to the World" concerts in Melbourne and Sydney. On 26 March 2005, Hester died by suicide, aged 46. In 2006, the group re-formed with drummer Matt Sherrod and released two further albums, each of which reached number one on Australia's album chart; as of July 2010, Crowded House had sold 10 million albums. In November 2016, the band was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Neil Finn and drummer Paul Hester were former members of New Zealand band Split Enz, which spent part of 1975–6 in Australia and several years in England. Neil Finn is the younger brother of Split Enz founding member Tim Finn, who joined Crowded House in 1990 on vocals and keyboards for the album Woodface. Bassist Nick Seymour is the younger brother of singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour of the now defunct Australian rock group Hunters & Collectors. Finn and Hester decided to form a new band during the first Split Enz farewell tour, "Enz with a Bang", in late 1984.
Seymour approached Finn during the after party for the Melbourne show and asked if he could audition for the new band. The Mullanes formed in Melbourne in early 1985 with Finn, Hester and guitarist Craig Hooper and first performed on 11 June, they secured a record contract with Capitol Records, but Hooper left the band before the remaining trio moved to Los Angeles to record their debut album. At Capitol's behest, the band's name was changed to Crowded House, which alluded to the lack of space at the small Hollywood Hills house they shared during the recording of the album Crowded House. Former Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner produced the track "Can't Carry On" and was asked to join the band, he was unable to become a full member due to family commitments. Thanks to their Split Enz connection, the newly formed Crowded House had an established Australasian fanbase, they began by playing at festivals in Australia and New Zealand and released their debut album, Crowded House, in June 1986. Capitol Records failed to see the band's potential and gave them only low-key promotion, forcing the band to play at small venues to try and gain attention.
The album's first single, "Mean to Me", reached the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart top 30 in June. It failed to chart in the US. A single, "Don't Dream It's Over", was released in December 1986 and proved an international hit, reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one in Canada. New Zealand radio stations gave the song little support until months when it became successful internationally; the song reached number one on the New Zealand singles chart and number eight in Australia. It remains the group's most commercially successful song. In March 1987, the group were awarded "Best New Talent", along with "Song of the Year" and "Best Video" awards for "Don't Dream It's Over" at the inaugural ARIA Music Awards; the video earned the group the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist that year. The song has been covered by other artists and gave Paul Young a hit single in 1991, it was used for a New Zealand Tourism Board advertisement in its "100% Pure New Zealand" worldwide promotion from October 2005.
In May 2001, "Don't Dream it's Over" was voted seventh in a poll of the best Australian songs of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association. In June 1987, a year after its release, Crowded House reached number one on the Kent Music Report Album Charts, it reached number three in New Zealand and number twelve on the US Billboard album chart. The follow-up to "Don't Dream it's Over", "Something So Strong", was another global smash, reaching the Top 10 in New Zealand and Canada. "World Where You Live" and "Now We're Getting Somewhere" were released as singles with chart success. As the band's primary songwriter, Neil Finn was under pressure to create a second album to match their debut and the band joked that one potential title for the new release was Mediocre Follow-Up. Titled Temple of Low Men, their second album was released in July 1988 with strong promotion by Capitol Records; the album did not fare as well as their debut in the US, only reaching number 40, but it achieved Australasian success, reaching number one in Australia and number two in New Zealand.
The first single "Better Be Home Soon" peaked at number two on both Australian and New Zealand singles charts and reached top 50 in the US, though th
Don McGlashan
Don McGlashan is a New Zealand composer and multi-instrumentalist who won fame with bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, The Mutton Birds, before going solo. He has composed extensively for cinema and television. Among other instruments, McGlashan has played guitar, drums and French horn. McGlashan has played with percussion group From Scratch, bands The Bellbirds, The Plague, composed a number of pieces for New Zealand's Limbs Dance Company. McGlashan's first hits were with band Blam Blam Blam in the early 1980s, he released four albums as lead singer and writer for The Mutton Birds. McGlashan was born in New Zealand. Both his parents were teachers: his father Bain taught civil engineering at Auckland Technical Institute and his mother Alice was a schoolteacher. McGlashan was encouraged to pursue music from a young age by his father, who bought him bought parts of various musical instruments to learn on. McGlashan wrote the song'Envy of Angels' as a tribute to his father. At age seven McGlashan began on cello and piano, "then added more instruments to that.
Went through the tune-a-day for whatever instrument it was, for just about every instrument I think." McGlashan attended Westlake Boys' High School, on Auckland's North Shore. While at high school he began playing keyboard in local bands. "I carried on sort of following those two strands - of learning how to write songs, learning how to be in a band, learning all the sort of extra musical stuff that you have to learn - and on the other side I was learning the French horn."At Auckland University he studied English and Music, played French horn and percussion in the Auckland Symphonia from 1979 to 1982. McGlashan began working with Philip Dadson's percussion group From Scratch in 1979, while playing in the Auckland Symphonia. McGlashan played a number of eclectic percussion instruments, such as PVC piping struck with jandals. On Standards, the album he jointly produced with Ivan Zagni for Propeller Records in 1982, he is credited as playing bass guitar, whistle, percussion and vocals. In 1981, McGlashan replaced Ian Gilroy in punk band The Whizz Kids, who rechristened themselves Blam Blam Blam.
McGlashan's song "Don't Fight It Marsha, It's Bigger Than Both of Us" reached #17 in the New Zealand charts. Local music magazine Rip It Up deemed it'best single of the year', readers voted McGlashan drummer of the year. McGlashan formed multi-media group The Front Lawn with Harry Sinclair; the duo won acclaim for theatre shows. McGlashan's song Andy, written in memory of his late brother, was listed among the APRA Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time. McGlashan and Sinclair made and starred in short films Walk Short, The Lounge Bar and 1990's Linda's Body. By now Sinclair was growing interested in directing, while McGlashan was keen to return to the live circuit, he had begun composing for the screen. David Long moved from Wellington to Auckland to work with McGlashan, the two began working together and auditioning drummers. After playing their first gig on St Patricks Day 1991 with a session drummer, Steve Garden, they heard about Ross Burge and convinced him to move back to New Zealand from New York to join The Mutton Birds.
The band began to become successful—"Anchor Me" won McGlashan the 1994 Silver Scroll Award—and moved to the UK. However, while the Mutton Birds received acclaim from UK critics and music magazines, they failed to achieve mainstream success, they disbanded, McGlashan returned to New Zealand. McGlashan's first solo album Warm Hand, was released in May 2006, it was nominated for an NZ Music Award for album of the year, debut single Miracle Sun was a nominee for New Zealand's supreme songwriting award, the APRA Silver Scroll. March 2009, saw the release of album Marvellous Year through Arch Hill Records; the album is credited to Don McGlashan & the Seven Sisters, a band which had begun when he toured Warm Hand. The album included a new version of McGlashan-penned hit Bathe in the River, with McGlashan on lead vocals. In 2015 Don released third solo album Lucky Stars, which he described as'his most personal album yet.'. In 2005, "Anchor Me" was re-recorded by an ensemble of NZ artists to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Rainbow Warrior bombing.
McGlashan allowed the song to be used but did not perform on it, out of the concern it would turn the attention to him instead of the event the charity song was to represent. In 2012 McGlashan was one of a select number of artists given permission to visit Antarctica; the following year he was awarded the two-month Michael King residency. McGlashan played euphonium on album Time by Crowded House, he played live with the band at Glastonbury 2008 and was a regular member of the touring line-up throughout their 2008 world tour. He played euphonium on track'Hole In My Head' by Melbourne singer/songwriter Marjorie Cardwell, for her 2012 album'In Another World'. McGlashan began contributing to soundtracks as early as 1980, when he was one of the trio who composed the music for New Zealand police series Mortimer's Patch. McGlashan composed for the screen over the next two and a half decades, including work on Jane Campion's film An Angel at My Table. From 2005 onwards, McGlashan began to devote a lot more energy to soundtrack work.
Since he has composed t
Neil Finn
Neil Mullane Finn is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. With his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz, a project that he joined after it was founded by Tim and others, became the frontman for Crowded House, he has recorded several successful solo albums and assembled diverse musicians for the 7 Worlds Collide project. Finn rose to prominence in the late 1970s with Split Enz and wrote the successful songs "One Step Ahead", "History Never Repeats", "I Got You" and "Message to My Girl", among others. Finn rose to international fame after Split Enz broke up in 1984. While his brother Tim left for England, Neil was the founder of Crowded House with Split Enz's last drummer Paul Hester in 1985; the group achieved international success in 1987 when they released the single "Don't Dream It's Over", written by Neil. He ended Crowded House in 1996 to embark on what was to become a moderately successful solo career, has released two albums with his brother Tim as the Finn Brothers.
In 2006, after the death of drummer Paul Hester, Finn reformed Crowded House and released their first studio album in over 13 years, Time on Earth, the band began a world tour. In 2010, Finn commenced another world tour with Crowded House in support of their 2010 release, Intriguer. In February 2014, Finn released Dizzy Heights. On 9 April 2018, it was announced that Finn would perform with Fleetwood Mac as part of their forthcoming tour in 2018, replacing Lindsey Buckingham. Finn was born the youngest of four children to Mary Finn in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, his mother, a devout Catholic who moved to New Zealand from Ireland at the age of two, maintained a religious influence over the family. Speaking of Catholicism, Finn stated "It's a great fertile ground for pulling lyrics out. Lots of good stuff going on in there, good rituals and imagery and lots of guilt. It's a potent combination. I think you're blessed to be brought up with some kind of weird dogma like that." His father, the son of a farmer from Waikato, served in the army in Italy and became an accountant during World War II.
His parents instilled an "inspiring admiration of music" in young Finn. In addition to music, Finn enjoyed sports swimming, rugby and biking; as a child, Finn would perform at family gatherings with his older brother Tim. Finn recalled, "We'd sing all night, it was much part of our upbringing.... That was the first inkling of the seduction of live performance." He idolized his brother and wished to imitate his actions, learning to play guitar and piano at the same time Tim did. Tim was more public about his musical aspirations, won ten shillings in his school's annual talent contest shortly after enrolling; when Tim left to study at Sacred Heart College, a boarding school in Auckland, eight-year-old Neil started playing a guitar that his older brother left behind. A natural performer, Finn was nicknamed'The Ant' by his family due to his determined and ambitious nature. Finn attended Sacred Heart boarding Te Awamutu College, he decided to become a musician at the age of 12 and throughout his school years performed in prisons and hospitals, as well as at home gatherings.
Finn finished school in 1975. In 1976, Finn formed the group After Hours, with Mark Hough, Geoff Chunn, Alan Brown. Not long after the band's debut performance, Finn's brother invited him to join Split Enz in London, replacing original singer-songwriter Phil Judd. By 1980, he was sharing lead singer duties and wrote their first international hit, "I Got You". Finn contributed to the band's albums, briefly assumed leadership of the band after Tim Finn left in 1984, prior to the cessation of the band. After the breakup of Split Enz in 1984. Finn formed a new band called The Mullanes with Split Enz drummer Paul Hester, guitarist Craig Hooper of The Reels, bassist Nick Seymour, whom Neil had met on the final Split Enz tour. Hooper left just before they recorded their first album, at which time the band was renamed Crowded House, inspired by the rental home they shared while recording in Los Angeles. Crowded House went on to enormous success worldwide, in particular with two major hits: "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Weather With You".
Both Neil and his brother Tim were invested as Officers of the Order of the British Empire for services to New Zealand music in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours List. After releasing four albums, Crowded House, Temple of Low Men and Together Alone, the group broke up in 1996, followed this action by releasing a greatest hits album Recurring Dream. Following the breakup of Crowded House, Finn embarked on a solo career; the album Afterglow was released in 1999, which contained unreleased Crowded House recordings. Finn appeared alongside Roddy Frame and Graham Gouldman as part of the BBC Four's "Songwriters' Circle" series in 1999, explained that "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Better Be Home Soon" were both written with all of the elements of each song—such as lyrics and verses—emerging at the same time. Finn sang the opening lines of The Verve song "The Drugs Don't Work" to the opening chords of the latter song. Finn penned a theme song for the All Blacks' participation in the 1999 Rugby World Cup, "Can You Hear Us?", that made it to the top of the NZ charts in Octo
Nature's Best
Nature's Best is a two-disc compilation album of thirty New Zealand popular music songs, selected by a panel as the top thirty New Zealand songs of all time. The genesis of the idea was the 75th anniversary of the Australasian Performing Right Association in New Zealand in 2001 and the selection of the top 100 New Zealand songs of the past 75 years. A list of over 900 candidate songs was prepared, voting was open to APRA members and an invited academy; the list of the top 100 songs was announced in stages in 2001, with the number one place going to the 1969 song "Nature" by Fourmyula. A collaborative effort by representatives of major record companies and APRA - most notably Mike Chunn - took place to produce an album of the top 30 songs from this selection; the resulting album was named Nature's Best after the title song, was released in January 2002 on the Sony Music label. Sales were extraordinary - in the first four months after its release, over 100,000 copies were sold. Subsequent releases followed: Nature's Best 2 and Nature's Best 3, 2002, songs 31-65 and 66-100 of the official APRA list DVD release, 2003, music videos to sixty of the songs from the three albums Limited edition box set of the three albums and the DVD, 2005 More Nature, 2006, a selection of notable New Zealand songs since 2001 "Nature" - Fourmyula "Don't Dream It's Over" - Crowded House "Loyal" - Dave Dobbyn "Counting the Beat" - The Swingers "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" - Split Enz "Sway" - Bic Runga "Slice of Heaven" - Dave Dobbyn with Herbs "Victoria" - Dance Exponents "She Speeds" - Straitjacket Fits "April Sun in Cuba" - Dragon "I Got You" - Split Enz "Whaling" - DD Smash "Not Given Lightly" - Chris Knox "Pink Frost" - The Chills "Jesus I Was Evil" - Darcy Clay "Weather with You" - Crowded House "Blue Smoke" - Pixie Williams & The Ruru Karaitiana Quartet "Dance All Around the World" - Blerta "Lydia" - Fur Patrol "Blue Lady" - Hello Sailor "Drive" - Bic Runga "Chains" - DLT featuring Che Fu "Dominion Road" - The Mutton Birds " Not a Kennedy" - Shona Laing "I Hope I Never" - Split Enz "Tears" - The Crocodiles "Be Mine Tonight" - Th' Dudes "I See Red" - Split Enz "Beside You" - Dave Dobbyn "Home Again" - Shihad The National Anthems, New Zealand Herald, November 3, 2001 APRA Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time Nature's Best 2 Nature's Best 3 More Nature Nature's Best DVD Australasian Performing Right Association Music of New Zealand New Zealand rock Mike Chunn
Tim Finn
Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn Brothers. Brian Finn was born in New Zealand, he went to Auckland, a Catholic boarding school. In 1971 he started a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Auckland. There he jammed in music practice room 129 with friends and future Split Enz bandmembers Mike Chunn, Robert Gillies, Philip Judd and Noel Crombie. Music soon became more important to him than his studies. In 1972 he quit university. A few months Phil and Tim formed the group Split Ends, renamed Split Enz in 1975, shortly before they left New Zealand for Melbourne, their music moved towards a more mainstream sound in years, with an eclecticism that incorporated influences from art rock, swing, glam rock and pop. Between 1972 and 1977, Tim and Judd alternated as frontman for the band.
When Judd left the band, Tim Finn's younger brother Neil Finn took his place. Finn had his first success away from Split Enz in 1981 when his discarded demo "They Won't Let My Girlfriend Talk to Me" became a top 10 hit for Australian band Jimmy and the Boys. In 1983 Finn recorded his debut solo album, while still a member of Split Enz; this met with major commercial success both in Australia and New Zealand, yielded hit song "Fraction Too Much Friction", which revealed a more rhythm-based sound than Split Enz had been known for. After contributing four songs to Split Enz album Conflicting Emotions, Finn left the band permanently in June 1984, to focus on a solo career; the following year he moved to London. 1986 saw the release of his second solo album Big Canoe. The album utilised a wide variety of instrumentation, including guitars, orchestral backings and traditional Indian instruments - most notably on single "No Thunder, No Fire, No Rain", inspired by the Bhopal chemical disaster. Though Big Canoe reached number three on the New Zealand charts, it failed to become the international breakthrough that Finn or record company Virgin had hoped.
During this time, Finn's focus turned to soundtrack music, he landed a few acting roles on-screen. Finn has composed for a number of Australian films and TV productions, including 1981 teen tale Puberty Blues and comedy Les Patterson Saves the World, which yielded Australian hit "You Saved the World". Finn had a small part in Australian film The Coca-Cola Kid alongside then-girlfriend Greta Scacchi, a larger one in her Italian-shot romance La Donna della Luna. In late 1989, Finn was back living in Melbourne, recording his eponymous third album, Tim Finn, for Capitol Records; the album would yield strong reviews and New Zealand hit "Parihaka", based on a Maori village known for its campaign of passive resistance to European occupiers. In early 1990, he began playing music with younger brother Neil, for an intended Finn brothers record. After working together on some songs, Neil proposed incorporating the tracks onto the latest album of Crowded House, the group he had formed after Split Enz dissolved.
Tim performed with the band to promote the band's album Woodface, co-wrote eight songs, including the hits "Weather with You" and "Four Seasons in One Day". But some time during the tour which followed the album's American release, all concerned realised that the combination was not a good fit. Finn returned to pursue his solo career. Both Tim and Neil were made OBE for services to New Zealand music in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours List; the brothers Finn collaborated on another album in 1995. Finn was released as the first Finn Brothers release. In support of this album, the brothers toured Europe and the USA. In 1995, Finn formed the band ALT, with Irish musicians Andy White and Liam Ó Maonlaí. ALT's name was formed from the initial letters of their names, they toured Europe and Australasia. 5 June 2000 was proclaimed "Tim Finn Day" by the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the USA during Finn's tour of the United States that year. 2000 saw the release of album Together in Concert: Live, featuring Finn, fellow New Zealand singer/songwriters Bic Runga, Dave Dobbyn.
Recorded in August and September 2000 in venues around New Zealand, the album saw the three performers each equitably showcased. Both the concerts and album feature all three performers providing vocal and instrumental backing on each other's songs; the album spent 16 weeks in the New Zealand charts, was released in the UK in May 2007. In 2004, the Finn brothers released their second album, Everyone Is Here; the album was intended to be produced by Tony Visconti but the release has most production credits going to long-time Finn producer Mitchell Froom. A Mojo magazine review stated that it contained "some of the most haunting music to bear the Finn imprint". Finn has continued to release solo albums, as well as a song to the soundtrack of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe entitled "Winter Light", which appeared on Finn's Imaginary Kingdom album, he appeared as the offbeat father of the main character in 2010 black comedy Predicament. Finn guested on Peter Gabriel's song "Whole Thing" from the 2008 collaborative album Big Blue Ball.
Finn has been composing further for theatre, with an opera Star Navigator commissioned by New Zealand Opera, Victorian Opera and West Australian Opera, the musical Ladies in Black to premiere in Brisbane by Queensland Theatre Company in
Herbs (band)
Herbs are a multi-cultural New Zealand reggae group, which since its foundation has featured Samoans, Cook Islanders and Maori members. 11th inductee into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame, they formed in 1979, were once described as "New Zealand's most soulful and consistent contemporary musical voice". It has been said their debut EP Whats' Be Happen? "set a standard for Pacific reggae which has arguably never been surpassed". The band has always been political, with links to the Polynesian Panthers and the cover of Whats' Be Happen being an aerial photo of police action at Bastion Point in 1978; as well as race relations, the band took a strong stance on nuclear weapons in the Pacific with "French Letter". Herbs produced a stream of reggae hits with some of the country's top talent. In the 1980s and the first half of the'90s, Herbs had 10 top 20 singles hits. Herbs worked alongside UB40, Taj Mahal, Tina Turner, Neil Young, George Benson and Stevie Wonder. Though upbeat, Herbs' music is clear in its messages.
Their 1982 New Zealand hit "French Letter", which spent 11 weeks on the charts, came to express New Zealand's anti-nuclear stance. Fourteen years it was re-recorded to garner support for the prevention of nuclear testing at Mururoa. "No Nukes", "Nuclear Waste" and "Light of the Pacific" expressed much the same sentiment. Herbs' third release and first full album Long Ago, which featured the 1984 single of the same name, was produced by well-known New Zealand bass player Billy Kristian. In 1986, former Be-Bop Deluxe bassist/vocalist Charlie Tumahai joined the group, having been a session musician for various international acts. In 1986, "Slice of Heaven" with Dave Dobbyn reached number one on both the New Zealand and Australian charts. In 1989, Tim Finn joined them for "Parihaka" and, in 1992, Annie Crummer fronted the hit single "See What Love Can Do". Around this time the band forged into producing, providing instrumentation for Samoan singing sensation, John Parker; the album titled Another Girl produced a local hit, a reggae-funk inspired cover of the maori folk song "E Papa".
In 1989, the band was assisted by Eagles member Joe Walsh, who produced, played slide guitar and sung on the band's Homegrown album, which featured a cover of "Walk Away Renee" recorded by The Left Banke. Walsh announced he had joined Herbs. Walsh gives credit to the members taking him to'the ruins at Hawke's Bay', where he had'a moment of clarity' – for inspiring him to pursue sobriety, they provided two songs to the 1990 film, The Shrimp on the Barbie: A cover of the Peggy Lee song "Mañana" and "Listen". Herbs are considered pioneers of the Pacific reggae sound, having paved the way for contemporary New Zealand reggae groups such as Fat Freddy's Drop and Trinity Roots. Although their last album of new material was released in 1990, Herbs still perform in New Zealand and Australia, with guitarist Dilworth Karaka the last remaining member of the original line-up that released Whats' Be Happen? in 1981. Of the 2013 line-up, keyboardist Tama Lundon and percussionist Thom Nepia remain from the band's late 1980s commercial peak.
"Homegrown" is featured on the soundtrack of Once Were Warriors. Tama Renata died in November 2018. Other former membersDave Pou – bass guitar John Berkley – bass guitar Alan Foulkes – percussion Kristen Hapi – drums Juanito Muzzio – percussion Grant Pukeroa – vocals/drums Max Hohepa – vocals/bass guitar Lionel Nelson – vocals Ned Webster – drums Ryan Monga – drums Toni Fonoti – vocals/percussion Spencer Fusimalohi – vocals/guitar Fred Faleauto – vocals/drums Dave Pou – bass guitar John Berkley – bass guitar Phil Toms – vocals/bass guitar Morrie Watene – vocals/saxophone Alan Foulkes – percussion Carl Perkins – vocals/percussion Jack Allen – vocals/bass guitar Willie Hona – vocals/guitar Charlie Tumahai – vocals/bass guitar Gordon Joll – drums Joe Walsh – vocals/guitar Kristen Hapi – drums Juanito Muzzio – percussion Grant Pukeroa – vocals/drums Max Hohepa – vocals/bass guitar Lionel Nelson – vocals Ned Webster – drums Ryan Monga – drums Tama Renata – vocals/guitar The New Zealand Music Awards are awarded annually by the RIANZ in New Zealand
Bic Runga
Briolette Kah Bic Runga, recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Album charts. Runga has found success internationally in Australia and the United Kingdom with her song "Sway". Runga was born in Christchurch, her mother, Sophia Tang, was a Chinese Malaysian lounge singer in Malaysia when she met Joseph Runga, a Māori. They moved to New Zealand to live. Runga is of Ngāti Kahungunu descent. Regarding her name, she explains: "'You say it Bec, rather than Bic.... It's Chinese, it's a strange vowel sound, it means the colour of jade, which might mean green.'" The "strange vowel" is a checked tone. For the meaning of "colour of jade", Bic is 碧 in Chinese characters. Runga grew up in Hornby, Christchurch surrounded by a musically-inclined family, started recording songs with her sisters and Pearl, when she was four years old. Runga's older sister Boh was the vocalist in the New Zealand rock group Stellar, while Pearl is a session singer.
She learnt how to play drums at the age of eleven, guitar at about fourteen. Runga learned to play the keyboard around this time, she attended Cashmere High School, joining high school bands and performing with local jazz groups by her mid-teens. Under the name of "Love Soup", Runga and Kelly Horgan entered the 1993 Smokefreerockquest in Christchurch, winning third place and a music contract with Pagan Records. Using a QE II Arts Council grant, Runga recorded the first Drive EP in Wellington. Unsatisfied with the direction that her music was being taken, she moved to Auckland in 1994 and spent a year writing and performing. In 1995, she sent a new demo of "Drive" to Sony Music, who signed Runga in September of that year and bought her Wellington recordings from Pagan Records. Sony had her re-record the song with more instruments, but it was her demo, used on the upcoming album, it entered the Top 10 in New Zealand and won her the APRA Silver Scroll award in 1996. Runga released "Bursting Through", the first single from her upcoming album entitled Drive.
The success of the singles led to the release of her debut album, Drive, in 1997. Runga's song "Sway", along with a duet with Dan Wilson of Semisonic called "Good Morning Baby", were used in the films American Pie, Cruel Intentions. Six singles were released from the album, while "Sway" was released in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Germany. Runga has recorded two songs called "Drive"; the first was her own. The second was a 1999 collaboration with fellow New Zealanders Strawpeople, providing guest vocals for their cover of The Cars' classic 1984 hit. In 2000, Runga toured with Tim Finn and Dave Dobbyn, resulting in a release of a live album in November 2000, titled Together in Concert: Live, it has been certified 3x platinum. Runga released her second solo album, Beautiful Collision in 2002, it has been certified 10x platinum in New Zealand. Her third studio album, was released in New Zealand on 28 November 2005. New Zealand artists Neil Finn and Anika Moa contributed to the album; the first single, "Winning Arrow", was released on the same day.
It was her third consecutive studio album. Birds was certified triple platinum. Runga played a'Vietnamese lounge singer' in the 2005 film Little Fish, covered Gene Pitney's "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" for the soundtrack. In 2006, Runga was honoured with the New Zealand Order of Merit. In November 2008, Runga released Try to Remember Everything, a collection of unreleased and rare Bic Runga recordings from 1996 to 2008; the album was certified Gold in New Zealand on 14 December 2008. Runga contributed to the score and soundtrack to New Zealand filmmaker Roseanne Liang's debut feature film My Wedding and Other Secrets. In addition to featuring "Say After Me" from Birds, the film included two tracks from her fourth album Belle. Belle was released in November 2011. Runga completed a 17 date tour across New Zealand and 13 dates across Ireland, United Kingdom and Australia. A greatest hits album, was released on 1 December 2012. In June 2015, Runga released a new single titled "Dreamed a Dream".
This was a collaboration with Hollie Fullbrook of Tiny Ruins, with whom she toured New Zealand in June and July 2015. As well as solo performances by both artists, these shows included covers of songs by Simon & Garfunkel, Yoko Ono, Francoise Hardy and Fleetwood Mac. In October 2016, it was announced that Runga would release an album of consisting of ten covers and two original tracks titled Close Your Eyes. "Close Your Eyes" was released on 14 October 2016 as a single. In November 2016, Runga was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. Recorded Music CEO Damian Vaughan said "Bic is one of our most loved and treasured recording artists, her songs are recognizable and have been part of the fabric of New Zealand for more than 20 years. We're honored to present Bic with the 2016 Legacy Award and induct her into the NZ Music Hall of Fame". Runga's partner is singer Kody Nielson, she has three children: Joe and Frida. In the 2006 New Year Honours Runga was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to music.
Drive Beautiful Collision Birds Belle Close Your Eyes Try to Remember Everything Anthology Together in Conce
