Following the success of her single ‘Royals’, Lorde’s first studio album Pure heroine debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 charts
Music
Events In History
15 December 1995
It may have been the mariachi trumpets, the gently rapped lyrics or that ‘making-me-crazy’ chorus, but whatever the reason, ‘How bizarre’ by the South Auckland group Otara Millionaires Club (OMC) became one of the most successful songs ever recorded in New Zealand.
2 October 1986
Written for the movie Footrot Flats: the dog’s tale, based on an iconic New Zealand cartoon series, Dave Dobbyn’s hit single featured reggae band Herbs singing unaccompanied (a cappella). It topped the charts for eight weeks.
7 December 1984
‘Tears, terror at the concert that made history’ was one of the newspaper headlines the day after the Queen St riot of December 1984.
29 July 1981
For six minutes New Zealand opera star Kiri Te Kanawa took centre stage at the highly anticipated wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral, London
14 March 1980
The Kiwi group’s first New Zealand no. 1 hit, from their album True colours, also topped the charts in Australia and Canada. It reached no. 12 in Britain and no. 53 in the United States.
18 January 1980
Upper Hutt’s Jon Stevens achieved back-to-back no. 1 singles when ‘Montego Bay’ bumped ‘Jezebel’ from the top of the New Zealand charts.
27 June 1975
'Yesterday was just the beginning of my life' topped the New Zealand music charts for three weeks. Williams successfully combined soul and pop with an image that merged glam rock with disco.
8 May 1970
Pop singer John Rowles established himself as an international star in the late 1960s. His hit single ‘Cheryl Moana Marie’ sold a million copies worldwide.
21 June 1964
Beatlemania hit New Zealand when 7000 hysterical fans greeted the Fab Four in Wellington during their ‘Far East’ tour. After concerts in the United States, Europe, Hong Kong and Australia, the lads from Liverpool touched down in New Zealand.
18 October 1954
Soon to be renamed the New Zealand Opera Company, the Group performed Gian Carlo Menotti’s comic opera The telephone in Wellington. The performance was broadcast live on radio.
6 March 1947
Classical music lovers packed Wellington’s Town Hall for the debut performance by New Zealand’s first national orchestra.
9 February 1900
The large wooden building on St Hill Street has been a jewel in Whanganui’s crown for more than a century.
17 April 1880
About 2500 people attended the first inter-city brass band competition in the Christchurch Drill Hall. The inaugural winners were the Invercargill Garrison Band.
29 September 1862
Dunedin's Royal Princess Theatre was the venue for a performance of Donizetti's Daughter of the regiment by the visiting English Opera Troupe, supplemented by local performers.
1 March 1862
The British-born tenor Charles Thatcher gave his first New Zealand performance at Shadrach Jones's Commercial Hotel in Dunedin.
Articles
Wellington cafe culture
Café culture has become integral to Wellington's identity. This culture began in the 1930s with the emergence of the milk bar, followed by coffee houses in the 1950s. After a period of decline in the 1960s and 70s, the city's café scene has grown in spectacular fashion over the last 20 years. Read the full article
Page 5 - Music and cafe culture
Entertainment generally and music in particular have always been a part of the Wellington cafe scene.
US Forces in New Zealand
The first American soldiers landed on New Zealand soil in June 1942, beginning an 'invasion' which would have a profound impact on both visitors and hosts over the next 18 months. Read the full article
Page 5 - Having fun US style
Although the American forces worked hard, they also craved time off. New Zealand leisure habits were very different to American ones, so the visitors devised their own forms of
Page 6 - Having fun NZ style
For many people of both nations, the most memorable aspect of the American invasion was the home visits. Often these were arranged formally, with New Zealand families signing up
Links - arts and literature
Recommended links relating to New Zealand arts, literature and music Read the full article
New Zealand Music Month
New Zealand Music Month was developed to support the New Zealand music industry by creating a commercially successful platform for local performers. To mark New Zealand Music Month in 2007 we compiled 31 reasons to love New Zealand music. Read the full article
Page 1 - New Zealand Music Month
New Zealand Music Month was developed to support the New Zealand music industry by creating a commercially successful platform for local performers. To mark New Zealand Music
Page 2 - 31 reasons to love New Zealand music
What do Kiri Te Kanawa and 1970s punk legends Suburban Reptiles have in common? Both feature in the 31 daily stories celebrating New Zealand Music Month. It’s a rich mix – from
Page 3 - Best New Zealand songs ever?
In 2001, to celebrate 75 years of its existence, the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) invited its members and an academy to vote for what they believed to be New
Page 4 - About New Zealand Music Month
In 1995 New Zealand songs made up just 1.6% of the airplay on commercial radio. Campaigners began to urge the introduction of a quota system that would force commercial radio
The Beatles in New Zealand
When four young Liverpool musicians landed in Wellington on a lazy Sunday afternoon in June 1964, seven days of pandemonium erupted. Young New Zealanders flocked in their thousands to hear or just catch a glimpse of the famous 'Fab Four'. Read the full article
Page 1 - The Beatles in New Zealand
When four young Liverpool musicians landed in Wellington on a lazy Sunday afternoon in June 1964, seven days of pandemonium erupted. Young New Zealanders flocked in their
Page 2 - Setting the scene
The Beatles' 1964 tour occurred as New Zealand was undergoing a cultural shift, and many young people swapped their old image for the new 'mod'
Page 3 - Wellington
Seven thousand screaming fans waited as The Beatles touched down at Wellington airport on 21 June 1964. As the band stepped off the plane, the fans' shrieks drowned out the noise
Page 4 - Auckland
Auckland fans were as riotous as those in Wellington. The Beatles' music went almost unnoticed as everyone commented on the
Page 5 - South Island
The Beatles' concerts in Dunedin on 26 June were some of the wildest of the New Zealand
The 1960s
Five decades ago most Kiwis enjoyed a standard of living that was the envy of other nations. During the 1960s the arrival of TV and jet airliners shrank our world, and New Zealanders began to express themselves on a range of international issues, including opposition to the Vietnam War. Read the full article
Page 11 - 1968 - key events
A selection of the key events in New Zealand history from
Television in New Zealand
New Zealand’s first non-experimental television transmission went to air on 1 June 1960. To mark five decades of TV, in 2010 we presented five snapshots of Kiwi TV history. Explore pre-1960 experiments, TV news, music shows and modern election coverage - and discover how our own history has been showcased on the small screen. Read the full article
Page 4 - Kiwi music shows on TV
New Zealanders can now view music videos over the internet or on music channels C4 and Juice TV. But after TV was introduced in 1960 several generations of New Zealanders kept up
Rock music festivals
After a hesitant beginning in the early 1970s, rock festivals hit their stride with Nambassa, Sweetwaters and a string of smaller events in the early 1980s. Following a period of decline, festivals are today as popular as ever with Laneway, WOMAD and others catering to a wide range of musical taste. Read the full article
Page 1 - Rock music festivals
After a hesitant beginning in the early 1970s, rock festivals hit their stride with Nambassa, Sweetwaters and a string of smaller events in the early 1980s. Following a period of
Page 2 - Beginnings
The early rock music festivals held in Auckland and Ngaruawahia reflected the troubled emergence of teenagers as a distinctive group and economic force in the second half of the
Page 3 - Nambassa
No-one predicted the success of the 1979 Nambassa Festival which drew over 65,000
Page 4 - Sweetwaters and beyond
Sweetwaters - Festival of Music, Culture and Technology. There was a lot to that new tagline. It had the future in it. A modernity echoed by the band line-up. Having come
Page 5 - The lights go down
From the late 1980s into the 1990s small scale and sharply focused rock music festivals would be the norm, though there were some notable
Page 6 - Festivals galore
As the new century dawned it was clear music festivals were now a viable and often long-running proposition. WOMAD, the Big Day Out and others continue to attract huge crowds each
Page 7 - Rock music festivals 1970-2010
List of the main rock music festivals held in New Zealand between 1970 and
Page 8 - Further information
Links and books relating to New Zealand's rock music
Women Together
Palmerston North Music Club
The Palmerston North Girls' Music Cluba group provided performance opportunities for talented young women and foster both a continuing love of music and an ambition to excel at it. Read the full Women Together Essay
Society of Women Musicians of Otago
The Society of Women Musicians of Otago was formed primarily to encourage music-making by and for women. Read the full Women Together Essay
Biographies
Performer Howard Morrison was one of the legends of New Zealand show business.
When nine-year-old Vincent Aspey persuaded his mother to buy a violin he had spotted in a second-hand shop she was dubious that he would practice, let alone come to be described as ‘synonymous with orchestral development in New Zealand’.
Oswald Cheesman was a pioneer of music radio broadcasting who directed the Kiwi Concert Party in the Second World War before helping to establish New Zealand's first national orchestra.
Douglas Lilburn was an influential composer and music teacher who inspired and promoted later generations of local composers.
Mavis Rivers was a notable cabaret and jazz singer, who attained success in Hollywood, where she recorded for major record labels.
Frank Hofmann was an influential photographer, both commercially and artistically, introducing interwar European modernist ideas and practices into New Zealand.
Tex Morton was a Kiwi country and western singer, also known as the ‘Yodelling Boundary Rider’.
Main image: Sound clip: State House Kid album
The cover of the 1985 record State House Kid by Last Man Down shows singer/songwriter Ross Mullins, in an unkempt 1950s school uniform, standing in front of burnt-out state house.
