Cruise Lane had no hit songs and rarely appeared outside of their inner-city Auckland base, yet they are notable for the sheer number of New Zealand musicians who passed through on their way to great acclaim at home and in Australia.
There were four distinct versions of Cruise Lane variously fronted by singers Al Hunter, Murray Grindlay and Kaye Wolfgramm, and featuring such homegrown musical heavyweights as Paul Hewson, Eddie Rayner, Red McKelvie, Paul Dunningham and Paul Woolright.
Family
Shoestring
Jerry Biggs - bass
Tony Pilcher - guitar
Paul Lee - keyboards, saxophone, flute
Claude Radics - drums
Peter Kershaw - bass
Murray Grindlay - vocals, harmonica
Mike Wilson - bass, guitar
Bruno Berens - drums
Paul Woolright - bass
Brett Neilsen - drums
Eddie Rayner - keyboards
Paul Dunningham - drums
Steve Wilson - guitar
Dennis Ryan - drums
When Al Hunter returned from Melbourne to find Cruise Lane had continued in his absence, he formed Chapeaux with Cruise Lane founder Jerry Biggs for a residency at the Crypt. Their former band’s guitarist Tony Pilcher soon joined them.