Roger Frank Skinner was born in Wellington on 9 February 1942. His father Frank Jr was a signwriter and his grandfather Frank Sr became head of the Government Printing Office. Roger’s mother Sylvia (née Mizrahi) played piano, and his older brother David took up folk music and later sang opera.

Their father died when Roger was five and the family moved to live with relatives in Wellington’s Strathmore Park. Roger went to Seatoun Primary until his mum re-married five years later. He got on well with his stepfather Les Gresham who was an electrical engineer, builder, and inventor; Gresham designed electric sheepskin slippers and the Warma Rest electric blanket. The family soon moved to Kohimarama in Auckland and Roger went to St Heliers Bay Primary School, then on to Selwyn College.

Roger was caught during lunch break in the school music room, strumming the guitar

Roger’s brother taught him a few chords on the ukulele. One day Roger was caught during lunch break in the music room, strumming the school’s guitar. Mr Smith, the music master, reckoned that if Roger was going to borrow his guitar he may as well learn how to play it properly, so he gave him lessons.

Tuned in at night to his crystal radio, Roger became entranced by the music of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley and Lonnie Donegan. His electrical wizard stepfather cut the neck off an old acoustic guitar, added it to a solid piece of wood then mounted pickups onto it. Next he converted an old valve radio into an amplifier and Roger was in business.

In 1957 he put together a skiffle band with five of his schoolmates and came up with the name: the Kool Kats. They had a tea-chest bass, washboard, bongos made out of paint-tins, a guitar and saxophone. Peter White, the bass player, later built his own upright bass. Playing school concerts and local dances they evolved into the Top Hats, then into the Versatones. Graham Gibson played rhythm guitar, Neville Findlay drums, Geoff Land bass, and Roger was on lead guitar. On weekends he washed cars, mowed lawns and gigged, playing Shadows and Cliff Richard covers at local dances at the College Rifles Football Club in Remuera and the St Heliers War Memorial Hall.

At college Roger studied engineering, tech drawing and woodwork; he left at 16 to take a motor mechanical apprentice at Spragg’s Garage, which had the Morris and Austin dealership. A year later the owner retired so he arranged for Roger to transfer to Glen Innes Mechanical Repairs. Working during the day and playing nights took their toll. One day his boss found him asleep under a car and asked him, “Make up your mind, boy. Do you want to be a musician or a mechanic?” So Roger turned professional.

When the Versatones broke up in late 1963, Roger founded The Pleasers, covering The Beatles’ repertoire. Members included Bryan Layton (rhythm guitar and vocals), Kevan Walsh (bass), and Max Thomson (drums). They followed The Merseymen into a residency at the Beatle Inn in March 1964 and later played the Shiralee nightclub. A guest spot on television’s first pop show, On The Beat Side – hosted by Stewart Macpherson – led to a residency on Wellington TV’s Let’s Go show. The group moved to the capital and secured residencies at the Petone Youth Club and the Teenarama Nightclub, replacing The Librettos when that group relocated to Australia.

With Phil Warren as their manager, The Pleasers released a series of singles, two EPs and an LP with Let’s Go host Pete Sinclair. In June 1965 they toured on the Dave Clark Five Show with Lew Pryme and Ray Columbus and The Invaders, then returned to Auckland in September to take residencies at St Seps, the Top 20 and the Shiralee. After appearing on the ABC Teen Scene programme they folded in December 1965.

In June 1965, with the Pleasers, Roger toured New Zealand on the Dave Clark Five Show

Phil Warren’s Prestige Promotions arranged for Roger to join Herma Keil and the Keil Isles in mid-1966; they had a residency at the Oriental Ballroom, playing Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. When Keil left to go solo, keyboardist Brian Henderson took over as leader. In February 1967 the Keil Isles became the resident band on the C’mon TV show with ex-Invaders Billy Kristian (Billy Karaitiana, bass) and Jimmy Hill (drums). They released the show’s theme song as a single, and it was chosen as a finalist for the Loxene Golden Disc award. The Keil Isles also released an album of songs they performed on the programme. Cambridge Clothing supplied their suits, in a sponsorship arrangement.

Work started on Mondays, learning new arrangements and songs and practising with the vocalists. Jimmie Sloggett was musical director, Herma Keil played rhythm guitar and Roger took lead. By Wednesday they were ready to enter Mandrill Recording Studios as all the music was dubbed in during the show; only Pete Sinclair’s introductions were live. Rehearsals continued until Friday and the show went out live on Saturday nights. At the end of the season, the group toured the country with the C’mon Stage Show starring The Chicks, Mr Lee Grant, Sandy Edmonds and Sonny Day. In December 1967, Roger left the Keil Isles and played with the Blue Jackets in Brisbane, Australia, for a few months.

While he was in The Pleasers he had begun writing songs, two of which they recorded: ‘I Saw You There’ and ‘For Ever’. In 1967 Roger approached Larry’s Rebels – a regular C’mon band – and played them ‘Let’s Think of Something’. Larry’s Rebels’ version became a hit and won Roger the 1967 APRA Silver Scroll Award. The song remained in Larry Morris’s repertoire until his death in January 2023; Roger sang it at Morris’s funeral service in St Matthews Cathedral.

With the demise of six o’clock closing, the motivation joined the new Lion Breweries circuit

In early 1968, Roger formed his first version of Roger Skinner and the Motivation, with Trevor Gissing (guitar), Ron Williams (bass), and Danny McCarthy (drums), performing covers on the new Lion Breweries hotel circuit. These residencies were a godsend to New Zealand musicians: with the demise of six o’clock closing, dance work was drying up. This line-up of the Motivation released their debut single in October, ‘Everybody’s Got To Be Somebody’ b/w ‘What’s The Use’. Both sides were written by Roger. A few months later, at year’s end, the group’s second single ‘Hey There (Have You Seen My Baby)’ b/w ‘Time’ was released on the Zodiac label.

The Motivation started 1969 with a brand new line-up that included Roger, Norris Nutsford, Jerry Biggs and Brad Coates. The group appeared at the infamous Redwood 70 music festival, opening the proceedings on the third and last day.

The following year the group released its third single, George Harrison’s ‘Sour Milk Sea’, on Pye. Harrison wrote the song while The Beatles were in India with the Maharishi, but the group only recorded a demo, so Harrison gave it to Jackie Lomax to be his debut single on Apple. Lomax’s version wasn’t released in New Zealand which left the door wide open for Roger and The Motivation to release their version.

In April 1970, Roger wrote ‘Sweet Loving Baby’ as the B-side for up-and-coming singer-songwriter Lynne Pike’s debut single; The Motivation provided the backing.

Also in 1970, future newsreader Tom Bradley – a DJ with Radio Hauraki – talked Eldred Stebbing of Zodiac Records into letting him record ‘Come Fly With Me’ as a single (it had previously been released by American group Avant Garde). Stebbing agreed and arranged for The Motivation to be the backing band with Roger producing and writing the B-side.

The Motivation played on board the Baroona ferry to Waiheke Island and took residencies at The Embers, the Galaxie, Shiralee, The Colony, and Checkers nightclubs. Many well-known musicians were featured over the years in The Motivation, including keyboard player Eddie Rayner and drummer Paul Crowther (who both went on to join Orb, Space Waltz and Split Enz), and vocalist Kaye Wolfgramm. The band was a runner-up to The Inbetweens in the 1970 Battle of the Bands.

Mark III of the Motivation, in 1973, featured Kaye Wolfgramm on vocals

Mark III of the Motivation, in 1973, saw a completely different line up with Roger, Brad Coates, Peter Grattan, Jerry Biggs, plus Kaye Wolfgramm on vocals. This lineup eventually gave way to another new lineup in 1974 with Roger, Dave Ingram, Don Weller and Owen Fleet.

The band appeared on TVNZ’s Happen Inn and played New Year’s eve gigs outside Auckland’s Central Post Office in 1973 and ’74, dodging beer cans and other missiles. Roger toured with Joan Armatrading in 1978 and Pam Ayres in 1979.

Roger married Kim in 1968 and they had a daughter Melissa and two boys, Christopher and Andrew; sadly Christopher died in a motorcycle accident when he was 21. Over the years Kim found the family – and their menagerie of animals – great locations, including a number of lifestyle blocks in Helensville and Massey, and an ex-nightclub in the Waitākere Ranges called Back of the Moon where the kids could go bush in their own back yard or play on the huge dance floor.

Roger and The Motivation recorded two singles during 1972, on the Family label. The first was ‘Have A Cuppa Tea ‘b/w ‘I Want My People To Know’; the A-side was a Ray Davies song, and the strong B-side was by Roger. Later in the year ‘Wish I Could See You Again’ b/w ‘I’ve Got That Feeling Again’ was released. The last Motivation single was released on Kontact in 1974, the poppy ‘Dang-A-Lang A Loo’ b/w ‘Before My Time’.

In 1973 Roger went solo and worked the Auckland pub circuit, performing at venues including the Occidental Hotel, the Shakespeare, and the Station Hotel. At that time there were only three other solo acts in Auckland, Paul Bennett, Rob Skiffington and Dave Cowell. One unusual gig was the Big Fresh supermarket store, perched high above the shoppers. This required Roger to lug his amp and guitar up a ladder.

During a gig at the Occidental an American sailor offered Roger a Harmony acoustic guitar; he snapped it up for $100. After he added pickups and fine-tuned it to suit his ear, it became his favourite guitar. He is a dab hand at making and repairing guitars, building from scratch the 7kg double-necked monster that he often played on C’mon, with a six-string and a 12 string setup. Roger now has 20 guitars in his collection.

Between the many versions of his Motivation bands, and his solo work, Roger managed to keep himself busy with pub residencies around Auckland suburbs. He went solo at the end of their De Bretts contract in May 1975 then settled into a 12-year run at the Prospect, Howick, in 1978. By this time he was living in Remuera, converting his basement into a studio.

Roger gigged at the Helensville A & P Show, the local RSA, Black Pete’s, the Grand Hotel and occasionally on board MV Top Cat, cruising the Kaipara Harbour. Touring the Lion Brewery circuit and many late nights away strained Roger and Kim’s relationship, and the couple divorced in 2003.

In 1976, Music World label boss Hoghton Hughes got in touch after seeing Roger perform on the TV music show The Entertainers. Recognising Roger’s potential, Hughes recorded an album with him at Auckland’s Mandrill Studio. Introducing ... Roger Skinner was released in March 1977.

Club and pub work dropped off drastically after the 1987 World Rugby Cup

Club and pub work dropped off drastically after the 1987 World Rugby Cup when many venues installed large videos to watch the games. Roger began gigging at rest homes and, in 1991, released a cassette album of his own songs, One More Time.

From 2006 Roger managed the entertainment at the Glenfield Tavern, then six years later he moved to the Point Chevalier RSA. The Motivation has seen innumerable reincarnations and Roger also has a trio called Roger and the Ramjets, currently with Jim Lake on drums and Chris Parfitt [The Hi-Revving Tongues] playing bass.

Roger does a lot of fundraising work, organising an annual Woofstock charity concert, the annual 60s Musicians Bash, and Manukau Cruising Club’s fundraising events. Over the years he has received many awards, including the Variety Artists Club of NZ Scroll of Honour twice – in 1995 and 2010 – and he was granted their Agnew Award in 2016. Alongside 25 other prominent New Zealand musicians and entertainers, Roger was inducted onto the Orewa Walk of Fame in 2025.

In November 2025, the Frenzy label released The Roger Skinner Collection. The CD compiled 28 tracks released on the Pye, Family, Red Rooster, Festival, Kontact, and Zodiac labels, including recordings by The Motivation and The Pleasers.