NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

Journey of NZ music charted in new book

By Heather Tyler
13 Nov, 2005 11:28 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

It's half a century since Kiwi rock 'n' roll was born and the music industry has never looked more buoyant.

Radio plays about 20 per cent local content, the New Zealand Music Commission pumps out incentives, record labels treat artists with the respect previously dished out for overseas acts and
the listening public is buying up local music in spades.

But it was not always like this. When veteran music writer John Dix launched the first edition of his encyclopaedic Stranded in Paradise in 1988, it was the first definitive history of New Zealand rock 'n' roll and Chris Knox said "You people will never get your act together".

Up to then, New Zealand music had been a long road of heartbreak and dogged persistence, exacerbated by lack of infrastructural support from the ground up.

The public might have gone along to listen to their favourite singers and bands, but record sales were by and large lamentable.

For decades record companies and radio stations had stared each other down over the quota issue.

The companies refused to sign up more acts because of lack of exposure, and radio was sniffy at being told what to do. Burgeoning talent jumped the Tasman to survive and realise ambitions.

For every Dragon, Split Enz, Hello Sailor success, there were a dozen failures in their wake. The anecdotes about Misex tell one of the sorriest stories. Led by the reinvented Steve Gilpin, Misex rode on the new wave of punk rock in the late 1970s.

Ignored in New Zealand, they enjoyed a brief period of stardom in Australia. The single Graffiti Crimes sold 500,000 copies worldwide and two of their albums did well.

But that was it. Their dream of making it big came to nothing. Talent still heads to Australia with eyes on Britain, Europe and the United States, but the suffering of the forefathers could not be more different than the current crop of stars.

"There are dozens out there doing it now: hip hoppers, guitar bands, alt-rock groups. Local superstars surface at the rate of three to four a year (Savage in 2005), all intent on global domination," writes Dix.

"The groundwork laid down by Johnny Devlin and Max Merritt, the Invaders and la de das, Fourmyula, Herbs and Toy Love is reaping rewards."

Split Enz paved the way for international attention on home-grown rock 'n' roll, followed by Crowded House, Straitjacket Fits, OMC, Bic Runga, Anika Moa, Shihad, the Datsuns and Scribe just to name a few. Their music is as diverse as their names suggest.

"The music industry has never been as healthy as in the 2000s, and there's never been so many local releases," says Dix.

He marvels at the multi-platinum sales, something the artists of old could never dream of. "The cultural cringe is all but over."

Dix says the establishment of New Zealand On Air in 1989 was a crucial step forward -- its mandate was to increase New Zealand music on radio and television.

In 1991 schemes introduced subsidies for record companies for music videos and funding for New Zealand music radio programming.

In 1993 the Kiwi Hit Disc -- a compilation of all music types -- was delivered to radio stations every two months.

"The multi-national record companies -- BMG, Sony, Warner -- the people who head these are, almost to a man, dedicated to nurturing and promoting local talent," says Dix.

In the bad old days, the companies squarely focused on imported music because they were the surefire profits. There was little money to be made from local music, with only a few exceptions to the rule.

Festivals such as the Big Day Out and Mountain Rock gave some acts their biggest paypackets. However the days of gruelling every-pub-in-the-country tours to make ends meet are over, except for artists who choose to do them.

Savvy marketing, radio exposure and film clips are covering more ground for promotional purposes. Artists can be more selective about their pub and club venues.

Dix praises veteran promoter Mike Chunn. After leaving APRA, he formed the Play It Strange Charity Foundation dedicated to introducing music to schools.

The Smokefree Rockquest has launched the careers of Nesian Mystik, Moa, Runga, Evermore and others.

The Datsuns is one of the most unusual recent success stories in Dix's book. They bypassed the improved climate at home and aimed for the US.

Formed in 1999, the four friends from Cambridge released a few singles which got plenty of student radio airplay but little came of them. After doing a support act for the White Stripes in Auckland in 2002, the American group suggested they go west.

So they gatecrashed a festival in Austin, Texas, and went on to London where they were signed to the Virgin subsidiary V2.

Their debut self-titled album was a hit abroad and back in Godzone, followed by the second, Outta Sight/Outta Mind in 2004.

Dix says Kiwi music, while plugged into the international scene, remains true to its roots. It just shows beyond doubt local talent doesn't have to ape anyone any more. "Rock's come a long, long way since Johnny Cooper fluffed lines on Rock Around the Clock. We're no longer dependent on overseas sounds for inspiration."

New Zealand's Polynesian and Maori population has been responsible for a meteoric rise in hip hop over the past five years, where an overseas genre has been adapted to a significant indigenous sound, says Dix.

That sound has travelled, particularly for Scribe and Savage who are forging international careers with ease. "It's really exciting stuff, I just couldn't imagine their kind of success 20 years ago."

Dix could not have imagined the success of his book either. The first edition sold 10,000 copies and copies have since become collectors' items valued at $200.

- NZPA

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Lifestyle

I teach people to sleep for a living - here’s how I ensure I always rest well

01 Jul 06:00 AM
Lifestyle

Iconic Kiwi lolly Jaffa comes to end, quietly discontinued by manufacturer

01 Jul 04:49 AM
Lifestyle

Atlantic diet: The healthy meal plan taking on the Mediterranean diet

01 Jul 12:04 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
I teach people to sleep for a living - here’s how I ensure I always rest well

I teach people to sleep for a living - here’s how I ensure I always rest well

01 Jul 06:00 AM

Telegraph: How to make the most of your day to get the best forty winks at night.

Iconic Kiwi lolly Jaffa comes to end, quietly discontinued by manufacturer

Iconic Kiwi lolly Jaffa comes to end, quietly discontinued by manufacturer

01 Jul 04:49 AM
Atlantic diet: The healthy meal plan taking on the Mediterranean diet

Atlantic diet: The healthy meal plan taking on the Mediterranean diet

01 Jul 12:04 AM
Premium
Advice: How can we get my ageing stepmother to cull her belongings?

Advice: How can we get my ageing stepmother to cull her belongings?

01 Jul 12:00 AM
Sponsored: Get your kids involved in your reno
sponsored

Sponsored: Get your kids involved in your reno

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP