Dragon


At their 1970s peak, they roared across Australasia, making music as fiery as their name, leaving a trail of bodies both alive and dead. But that is a long way from Dragon’s beginnings.

Taumarunui, population 6,000, is the hub of a sheep-farming community in New Zealand’s central North Island, where Todd Hunter and his younger brother Marc were born in the early 1950s. Their father was a weekend clarinettist and their part-Fijian mother played piano. While still at primary school, the brothers joined the family band: Todd on guitar, Marc drumming, and all four singing.

Full concert - Dragon at Sydney Entertainment Centre, 1984
Dragon, May 1989: Todd Hunter,  Alan Mansfield and Marc Hunter
Dragon sign to CBS, 1976. Back, left to right: producer and head of A&R Peter Dawkins, Neil Storey, Marc Hunter, Todd Hunter, Robert Taylor, Paul Hewson. In front is CBS managing director Bill Smith
Dragon in the mid-70s. Left to right: Ivan Thompson, Neil Storey, Todd Hunter, Ray Goodwin and Marc Hunter
Photo credit: Photo by Murray Cammick
Todd Hunter in Dragon, Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival, 1973.
Photo credit: David Stone
Ray Goodwin in Dragon, Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival, 1973.
Photo credit: David Stone
Dick Frizzell's cover from Universal Radio
Mark Williams and Bruce Reid from Dragon playing the Twin Peaks venue in Kaitaia, Northland, 2010
Photo credit: Photo by Grant Stantiall
Dragon in an a 1979 Australian ad for Moove flavoured milk.
Auckland, circa 1974: back - Marc Hunter, Neil Reynolds, Todd Hunter, front - Ivan Thompson and Ray Goodwin
Robert Taylor, Union Hall, Victoria University of Wellington, 1975
Photo credit: Photo by Larry Jordan. Richard Driver collection
Todd Hunter speaking for Dragon at the Vector Arena, Auckland, November 2011 as the band are inducted into the NZ Music Hall Of Fame. Left to right: Paul Hewson’s son Daniel Hewson, Alan Mansfield’s wife Sharon O’Neill, Todd Hunter, Kerry Jacobson, Alan Mansfield.
Photo credit: Photo by Grant Stantiall
Marc and Todd Hunter at the Union Hall, Victoria University, 1975. 
Photo credit: Photo by Larry Jordan. Richard Driver collection
Marc and Todd Hunter on the Grass is Greener (1991)
Marc Hunter and Graham Brazier, Great Western Festival Jan 15, 1978
Photo credit: Photo by Murray Cammick
Marc Hunter in the mid-1970s. 
1974 Auckland University bio/flyer - only $1. Tod [sic] was a former member of 'Heavy Pork' and 'O.K. Dingy'.
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
April Sun In Cuba (Live at Sammy's Dunedin, August 2010)
Early 1970s newspaper advertisement for Tabla Nitespot in Lorne St, Auckland. Bands included Human Instinct and Anteapot, which included future Dragon members Todd Hunter and Ray Goodwin.
The Australian single sleeve for Rain
Marc Hunter at Victoria University, Wellington, 1975
Photo credit: Photo by Larry Jordan. Richard Driver collection
Dragon around the time of the Class Reunion Tour, 1982: Marc Hunter, Todd Hunter, Kerry Jacobson, Robert Taylor (front) and Paul Hewson (rear).
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
Former and current members of Dragon perform at a one-off gig at Sydney Entertainment Centre, 4th April 2009
Photo credit: Photo by Grant Stantiall
Mark Williams at the Dragon's 30th Anniversary gig, Sydney Entertainment Centre, 4 April 2009
Photo credit: Photo by Grant Stantiall
Dragon drummer Neil Storey who died of a heroin overdose in 1976
Neil Reynolds in Dragon, Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival, 1973.
Photo credit: David Stone
Dragon in Auckland in the mid-1970s: Todd Hunter, Ray Goodwin, Neil Storey, Marc Hunter, Ivan Thompson
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
April Sun In Cuba
Ray Goodwin, Neil Reynolds, Todd Hunter – Dragon at the Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival, 1973.
Photo credit: David Stone
Are You Old Enough (Acoustic)
Todd Hunter at Victoria University, 1975.
Photo credit: Photo by Larry Jordan. Richard Driver collection
Are You Old Enough (live)
Marc Hunter
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
The Japanese single of 'Rain'
Photo credit: Rone Kane Collection
Dragon in New Zealand, 1975, venue unknown
Marc Hunter
Photo credit: Photo by Murray Cammick
April Sun In Cuba (Live at Rhythm & Vines Festival 2010)
Rain
Radio With Pictures - My Kind of Town - 1981 documentary directed by Simon Morris, featuring interviews with Dragon’s Marc Hunter, producer Peter Dawkins, Sharon O’Neill, future Warratahs Barry Saunders and Nick Theobald during their time as the Tigers, Kevin Stanton of Mi-Sex, and Dave McArtney.
Mark Williams with Dragon at the Founders Theatre in Hamilton, 2007
Photo credit: Photo by Grant Stantiall
Dragon receive the Legacy Award at the New Zealand Music Awards and are inducted into the Hall of Fame. Vector Arena, Auckland, November 2011. Left to right: Alan Mansfield, Todd Hunter, Robert Taylor, Kerry Jacobson.
Photo credit: Photo by Grant Stantiall
Dragon 1979, without Marc Hunter. Clockwise from top left: Richard Lee, Todd Hunter, Paul Hewson, Kerry Jacobson, Billy Rogers, Robert Taylor.
Still In Love With You
Rain (Live at Rhythm & Vines Festival 2010)
Dragon - Rain (1983)
Dragon was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in 2011. The Hall of Fame is an initiative of Recorded Music NZ and the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), whose support of AudioCulture enables the site to stream music content.
Labels:

CBS


Polydor


Vertigo

Members:

Neil Storey - drums

Todd Hunter - bass, vocals

Marc Hunter - vocals

Ray Goodwin - guitar

Robert Taylor - guitar

Paul Hewson - keyboards, vocals

Alan Mansfield - guitar, keyboards

Terry Chambers - drums

Kerry Jacobson - drums

Mark Williams - vocals

Graeme Collins - vocals, keyboards

Ivan Thompson - keyboards

Neil Reynolds - drums

Richard Lee - electric violin, guitar

Billy Rogers - vocals, saxophone

Doane Perry - drums

Tommy Emmanuel - guitar

Bruce Reid - guitar

Pete Drummond - drums

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