Kaye Wolfgramm

aka Kaye Wilson


With a voice boasting the depth and soul of Chaka Khan, stunning good looks and a petite frame that belied her vocal power, singer Kaye Wolfgramm was a pearl of Auckland’s live music scene in the 1970s.

Fronting acts such as Fair Sect and Cruise Lane at Nick Villard’s the Embers, and singing on many popular jingles of the era, Kaye moved permanently to Australia to pursue a solo career and came achingly close to mainstream success.

Kaye Wilson (front, fourth from left) with Reverend Blues And The Blues Messengers (aka Grand WaZoo) in Melbourne in the mid-1980s.
Photo credit: John Montesante collection
Kaye Wolfgramm in 1976
Peter Kershaw and Kaye Wolfgramm on stage with Cruise Lane, Carlaw Park, November 1971
Photo credit: Peter Kershaw collection
Cruise Lane at the New Zealand launch of the Shelter Records label, the Crypt Nightclub, 1972. Left to right, Al Hunter, Tony Pilcher, Kaye Wolfgramm.
Photo credit: Al Hunter collection
Kaye Wilson (in pink) with Reverend Blues And The Blues Messengers (aka Grand WaZoo) in Melbourne in the mid-1980s.
Photo credit: John Montesante collection
Cruise Lane and backing choir on the Auckland waterfront, 1972. Left to right, Josie Rika, Peter Kershaw, Pauline, Claude Radics, Paul Lee, Tony Pilcher, Al Hunter, Shirley Hunter, Kaye Wolfgramm.
Photo credit: Al Hunter collection
Cruise Lane in the Embers courtyard, 1972. Left to right, Paul Lee, Peter Kershaw, Tony Pilcher, Al Hunter, Kaye Wolfgramm, Claude Radics.
Photo credit: Al Hunter collection
Kaye Wolfgramm at Nick Villard's Embers with Cruise Lane in the early 1970s
An early Brown Street line-up in Ponsonby, 1975. Left to right, Paul Dunningham, John Parker, Greg Mayson, Kaye Wilson, Keith Ballantyne, Chris Nielson, Lisle Kinney.
Photo credit: Paul Dunningham collection
Paul Dunningham and Kaye Wolfgramm with Cruise Lane, De Bretts, 1974
Photo credit: Paul Dunningham collection
Trivia:

During her second stint in Cruise Lane, Kaye Wilson sang all three parts on the Andrews Sisters pastiche jingle ‘I’m Your Lovey-Dovey Butcher From Hellaby’s’, written by her bandmates Paul Hewson and Mike Wilson (no relation).

Kaye Wilson sang the first version of the Paul Hewson-written ‘Good Guys Never Die’ on a demo recording by Cruise Lane in 1974-75 that failed to score the band a recording deal. Dragon’s Marc Hunter released the song on his Big City Talk LP in 1981.

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