Johnny Devlin in Sydney in 1963
“There was pretty much a Kiwi in every major act in Australia, without a doubt, especially in Victoria. There were truckloads.” That’s the observation of Glyn Mason – singer and guitarist of The Rebels, after Larry Morris left, on their arrival in Australia. He is quoted in Christine Mintrom’s encyclopaedic two-volume work New Zealand Musicians in Australia, which she published late in 2024. The books cover the years 1959-1976, which is the period Christine has often written about for AudioCulture. New Zealand Musicians in Australia has been years in the making, and is based on dozens of interviews with musicians, and dedicated research in secondary sources.
As well as innumerable profiles, it goes on detours to describe the scenes the New Zealanders found in Sydney and Melbourne, key background people such as engineers, record label owners and broadcasters; tangents such as the musicians who designed their own clothes, the love some had for their exotic cars; and the expat musicians’ children who are now involved in Australian music. It will surely be the definitive work on this topic.
Mintrom, originally from Taranaki, and based in Australia for decades, wrote the biography Tommy Adderley (1940-1993), published in 2004. The two-volume New Zealand Musicians in Australia is currently available through Amazon Australia, as hard-copy books or on Kindle. Christine blogs at Kiwi Musicians in Oz.
In this column, Christine picks a personal top 10 of songs recorded by New Zealanders who did well in Australia. – AudioCulture
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Johnny Devlin – Stomp The Tumbarumba (1963)
Johnny Devlin, once described as New Zealand’s answer to Elvis, begins this list with ‘Stomp The Tumbarumba’. Ironically, surf music written by Johnny began to see chart action in Australia with this song, released in 1963. It isn’t my favourite Johnny Devlin song, but it marks a turning point: the days when surf music was popular, moments before the Beatles took over the world. Johnny was a prolific songwriter. A list of songs he wrote and recorded is eye watering, as is a glance at those he wrote for other people. He wrote songs for overseas artists – among them, Eartha Kitt – and Australian singers such as Patsy Ann Noble. His song ‘Surfside’, when recorded by Digger Revell and the Denvermen, is reported to have gone to No.1 in Sydney in 1963; it did reach No.17 nationally. Johnny formed his own publishing company, Devlin Music, so he had to keep up his songwriting output.
Dinah Lee – Do The Blue Beat (1964)
Dinah Lee singing ‘Do The Blue Beat’ has always been a favourite of mine. Though, I could easily have chosen ‘Don’t You Know Yokomo’ or ‘Reet Petite’ – all songs she released in quick succession in 1964. ‘Don’t You Know Yokomo, and ‘Reet Petite’ were recorded first. She’d been singing these in clubs before she recorded them. With ‘Do The Blue Beat’, Max Merritt and the Meteors had already put down the backing track. I recall her saying she’d never heard the song until the day she recorded it, adding that at the recording session she sang it the way she thought it should be sung. With those three hits in New Zealand, she soon became a household name. ‘Yokomo’ reached No.1 in Brisbane and Melbourne and got into the Australian Top 20. It was released as a single in Australia, where ‘Do The Blue Beat’ was the B-side of ‘Reet Petite’.
The La De Da’s – Ever Since That Night (1965)
It was a struggle to confine myself to just one song from The La De Da’s. My final battle was between ‘Ever Since That Night’, ‘The Place’, and ‘Gonna See My Baby Tonight’. ‘Ever Since That Night’ (the B-side of ‘Little Girl’, released June 1965) is a song that gets me whenever I hear it. In 2015 when I told Kevin Borich it still got me, at first he was embarrassed then he said enjoyed the idea that a song he had written when he was so young still had such emotional impact. And it does. So while I really enjoy hearing ‘The Place’ (1974) – written about the legendary Bondi Lifesaver venue on the site where the shopping centre is now – and love ‘Gonna See My Baby Tonight’, the more emotive song won out.
Ray Columbus and the Invaders – Til We Kissed (1965)
Ray Columbus and the Invaders gave us the song ‘Til We Kissed’ (written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil) in 1965. It is one of the songs that got me emotionally when I was a schoolgirl still living at home in New Plymouth. This version is so emotive. Yet this song isn’t nearly as powerful in the hands of others like Gerry and the Pacemakers. It didn’t do especially well in Australia, charting at a lowly No.29, but in New Zealand it won the Loxene Golden Disc in 1965. As official charts (those based on record sales) didn’t begin in New Zealand until 1975, it is only unofficially reported as reaching No.1 in New Zealand in 1965. In Australia they had a huge hit with the New Zealand-produced ‘She’s A Mod’ which went to No.1 on the Australian charts in 1964. But I preferred ‘Til We Kissed’.
Max Merritt and the Meteors – Fannie May (1966)
Max Merritt and the Meteors delivering ‘Fannie May’ (by Glascoe, Lewis and Levy) had to be on my list. Max was a musician who benefitted from the young US servicemen who were in Christchurch with Operation Deep Freeze and lent local musicians music – such as R&B – typically not heard in New Zealand. This recording, released on the Parlophone label, reinforced the soul and R&B direction Max and the Meteors were taking. Recorded in 1966, this song highlights Max’s strong gravelly voice and includes lots of brass. The single ‘Fannie May’ received no chart action in Australia. The first of their songs that nudged the Australian charts was ‘Zip A Dee Doo Dah’ in 1965. ‘Western Union Man’ reached the No.15 spot in November 1969, but it was ‘Slipping Away’ – a Max original – that did the best in Australia, reaching No.2 in late 1975. ‘Fannie May’ is included on several CD collections.
The Hi Revving Tongues – Tropic of Capricorn (1967)
The Hi Revving Tongues ‘Tropic of Capricorn’, a 1967 song written by Chris Parfitt, is another I have included in my 10 favourite songs. There were lots of songs to choose from with this band and many of them were originals; several of the band members wrote. ‘Tropic Of Capricorn’ just won over ‘The Psychedelic Illusion’ written by Mike Balcombe, but only just. It was early October in 1969 when ‘Tropic Of Capricorn’ reached the No.1 spot in New Zealand. However this was still prior to New Zealand having any charts based on record sales. If you need a refresher of their music (including ‘Rain and Tears’ which charted for them) in 2018 Frenzy Music released a CD, Hi Revving Tongues: the complete singles, the A & B Sides.
The Simple Image – Spinning, Spinning, Spinning (1968)
‘Spinning, Spinning, Spinning’ (from US writers Boettcher and Friedman) was a song New Zealand producer Howard Gable found for The Simple Image that they recorded in 1968. But … Gable had first given them ‘Shy Boy’ which they learned and recorded. He then told the band he had another song he thought they should learn as well. That song was ‘Spinning, Spinning, Spinning’. It became the song that made the country sit up and listen to them. I sat up and listened too. Listening to it again now it’s Cass Gascoigne’s falsetto voice and the psychedelic swirling that stand out. The phasing was accidental. In the studio when transferring music from a tape, Howard leaned on the tape recorder, which threw the timing out. Released on HMV, the single attained the top spot on the New Zealand charts for them in June 1968 (again, before charts were based on record sales).
The Rebels – My Son John (1969)
The Rebels – who morphed out of Larry’s Rebels, with Glyn Mason out in front in the spot where Larry had been, gave the country ‘My Son John’ (written by Flett and Fletcher) in 1969. Over 50 years later this song still stands up and compels the listener to remain motionless and just listen. The song was released on Parlophone as a single with ‘Passing You By’ – written by the band – as the B-side. It is also on the album Madrigal, which they recorded with engineer Wahanui Wynyard. They were working on this when Mason joined. In March 1969, this song got them to No.1 in the NZ Listener reader-voted singles chart. In recent years, when discussing this album for AudioCulture, Nick Bollinger noted that the Rebels’ “secret weapon” was Glyn, with his “mighty rhythm and blues voice like Steve Winwood crossed with Wilson Pickett”.
Dragon – Are You Old Enough (1978)
Dragon has a huge songbook. A handful of their songs I like a lot. Once Paul Hewson joined the band, he and Marc Hunter began writing songs. In the 1970s they delivered a series of hits – ‘Get That Jive’, ‘April Sun In Cuba’ and ‘Still In Love’ – songs still remembered decades later. Then, in a second peak in the 80s, there was another series of hits including ‘Rain’ and ‘Cry’. I chose ‘Are You Old Enough’ partly because of the song itself, and partly because of the location where it was written: Magnetic Island, in Far North Queensland on a mid-tour break. It was Dragon’s only No.1 hit in Australia. Now, at shows, ‘Old Enough’ is played as the last song of the encore. I remember Todd Hunter talking about the audience singing this hit, saying, “they sing like a huge choir and then disperse into the night.”
Split Enz – Six Months In A Leaky Boat (1982)
Split Enz’s ‘Six Months In A Leaky Boat’ came out in 1982 and is a must for this list (though I like lots of their songs that were hits in Australia). ‘Six Months’ gives listeners strong images to consider and a mix of musical styles to listen to, for example, the bits of borrowed Irish jig. I have always enjoyed the song’s imagery, and the thoughts the song promotes. Six months is such a long time to be confined to a boat. My mind has the boat creaking as well as leaking, has times when the wind in the sails is ferocious and other times almost non-existent. And when it rains … ‘Six Months In A Leaky Boat’ reached No.2 in Australia in 1982.
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