Dragon, the band best known for hits April Sun In Cuba and Are You Old Enough?, as well as their decadent bad boy ways, are the winners of this year's NZ Herald Legacy Award.
The prize honours local acts with an enduring influence, and Dragon's win was announced along withthe finalists for the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards tonight.
Formed by Todd Hunter in Auckland in 1973, he and brother Marc were the key members along with keyboardist and songwriter Paul Hewson, who was responsible for many of the band's hits until he died of a drug overdose in 1985.
These days Todd Hunter is the only original member, with the band having had many line-up changes over the years and Marc dying of throat cancer in 1998.
Todd left the band in 1995 to concentrate on other music ventures, and Marc carried on until his death. But in 2006 Todd got a version of the band back together, with veteran vocalist Mark Williams singing; they haven't stopped touring since and have a new EP out, Chase the Sun.
Dragon will also be inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame at the main awards ceremony at Vector Arena on November 3, joining this year's APRA hall of fame recipients, Hello Sailor.
