It was a well-loved TV show which launched Suzanne Prentice, Patsy Riggir and the Topp Twins' musical careers. Jo-Marie Baker talks to That's Country host Ray Columbus about celebrating the series 30 years on by embarking on a nationwide tour.
Ray Columbus is expecting quite a scene inside Baycourt this week.
It's been nearly three decades since he finished hosting one of New Zealand's most successful ever television series, That's Country, but it's taken until 2012 for the original cast to hit the road on a national tour.
Not that the legendary 69-year-old is fazed by the prospect. Rather, he is relishing the chance to re-live the show's popularity and croon on stage again.
"You still get the buzz," he told Vibe before the tour kicked off in Invercargill at the start of this month.
"The magic is still there and you feel the warmth of the lights and of course the people. And I can imagine that as soon as the curtain comes up and we're all on stage singing 'folks all love that Country Cookin" the place will go mad - I just know it will."
Country Cookin' was the show's popular opening number where the charismatic Columbus was joined on stage by all his That's Country guests.
Everything was big - the hair, the cowboy hats, the microphone stands, the coloured stage lights, the tassels and the dazzling sequins.
From 1976 until 1983 That's Country was prime-time Saturday night viewing.
There were only two television channels in those days and it rated "through the roof".
"It was number one constantly and I think the main reason was because it connected with people," says Columbus.
Both well-established and up-and-coming country music stars performed solos and duets, accompanied by the That's Country band and a live studio audience.
"It was filmed inside the James Hay Theatre at the Christchurch Town Hall. It's a small 800-seat theatre but you couldn't get in, it was absolutely packed.
"We were on air for seven years and were so busy making the series we never got a chance to tour it so this will be the first time."
Columbus will reprise his role as host and the Baycourt show next Thursday will feature stars from the original series: Suzanne Prentice, Australia's Jade Hurley, Tony Williams, Maree Humphries plus members of the original That's Country band. The group will be joined by special guest star Dennis Marsh, the 2011 Country Music Legend Award winner.
The national tour was originally planned for June last year, following the successful release of the first That's Country DVD full of archive footage.
But tragically, the show's original musical director, Murray Wood, was killed four months earlier when the CTV building collapsed in Christchurch's February earthquake. "Suzanne and I were just too distraught," Columbus recalls. "We backed off the whole thing."
Instead a second DVD compilation was put together and released late last year. That's Country: Encore proved to be another top-seller.
"It's been amazing. Absolutely thrilling. I felt it would be, but you never know," he says.
"After a couple of months of mourning Suzanne contacted me and said she felt she was ready. She was always our top of the bill. And even though 30 years have passed on, everybody's still performing.
"We'll have the opening Country Cookin' theme and our opening song with the whole cast will be On The Road Again, which is very apt.
"Everyone's so excited about it because the great thing about country music is you can grow older with it, it's quite a graceful thing."
Columbus, who was the co-creator of the original show, decided to re-activate That's Country while recovering from a stroke in June 2008.
Having a project to work on gave the iconic Kiwi entertainer renewed enthusiasm, and helped his recovery by putting his brain to work.
After gaining approval from TVNZ, he joined forces with Scott Morrison from Sony Music and began the painstaking task of sifting through archive footage to compile the DVDs.
"I already had a hit list of ones that I remembered were stand-outs. And the more I looked, the more I remembered.
"It's amazing how even after a heart attack and a stroke I could still remember key moments. Sometimes I'd just say ' let's look for so-and-so' because I could remember something special had happened on some performance or whatever."
Columbus says the DVDs and subsequent national tour have been "fabulous projects" which he is thrilled to undertake.
"It's a bit of New Zealand history.
"It's the only New Zealand television series that sold to America. It screened there three times a week for a full 12 months on the TNN County Network. That's something. It's a very important thing. It earned overseas funds and it was top rated. I used to love getting fan mail from there."
Unfortunately, politics proved to be That's Country's demise. Columbus blames former Prime Minster Rob Muldoon for axing the show in order to divert attention away from the state of the economy.
Although all the stars went on to enjoy further musical and television success, Columbus believes Kiwis will always have fond memories of the show and he's determined to deliver an authentic experience over the coming 12-date national tour.
"It will be exactly the same as the TV show. It'll have the same opening, the same closing, the same format. It'll be all country music of all the different sub species. As far as I'm concerned, my job will always be to protect the integrity of the programme. Even when it's live on stage."
Columbus no longer performs rock and pop music, as per his She's a Mod heyday, and will instead woo audiences with a "slower and lower" type of performance which he is looking forward to.
"I last performed in Tauranga with The Best Of The Best show in 2006 which was great. I love Tauranga; it's a great place, and the Mount and the Bay of Plenty generally."
And fans of That's Country will certainly feel more than welcome.
"The culture of the show, which I protect jealously, is that we will be having meets and greets with fans after the show, in every city and every town. So come along y'all and make yourself known!"
The Fine Print
What: "That's Country" national tour
When: Thursday, March 15, 7:30pm
Where: Baycourt Theatre
Tickets: Available from www.stetsongroup.com