A quick word with: Johnny Devlin

In the days when rock'n'roll hysteria swept the world, Johnny Devlin could barely keep the shirt on his back.

In 1958, Johnny Devlin was king. He was our answer to Elvis and the fans loved him so much they tore the shirt off his back on many occasions.

Devlin is getting together with some other icons of local rock - including Ray Columbus, Sharon O'Neill, Shane, Larry Morris and Tom Sharplin - for the nationwide Best Of The Best tour which plays Auckland's Aotea Centre on August 18.

So what have you been up to since leaving New Zealand in 1959?

I've been based in Australia since then but still make trips back to New Zealand?

Do you still call Wanganui your home town?

Definitely, but I have a very special place in my heart for Auckland because that's where it all happened for me in 1958, when I went professional. I was appearing regularly at the Jive Centre, the heartbeat of New Zealand rock'n'roll. I also cut my first record there, which was Lawdy Miss Clawdy, at Stebbing Studio on Jervois Rd. Is that still there?

Yep, yep, it's still there. Take us back to the Jive Centre. What was it like and who was coming to see you?

I started there in January 1958 and we'd get hundreds of teenagers there on a Saturday night. One night the fans started screaming. I wasn't sure what it was all about. I thought my fly must have been undone, so I turned around and checked that, and no, that was okay. And then I realised that it must be part of the rock'n'roll hysteria that was sweeping the world at the time.

What was the mood of the country back then? Were they gagging for you?

I think it was an outlet for the teenagers. Rock'n'roll was music that teenagers could understand. It was a simple type of music that was very infectious, and they wanted to be part of what was happening overseas. And they certainly did and as a result I had shirts ripped off my back and all sorts of things going on.

What sort of negative comments did you get from those who thought you were corrupting young minds?

Religious groups were writing to the papers asking why Mr Devlin was getting all the attention. I ended up with the title of New Zealand's answer to Elvis Presley so I had to cop whatever Elvis was copping.

You say you were surprised that people were screaming, but the shirt thing would have been even more shocking.

There were rumours going round later that these shirts had been unstitched and that it was all a ploy. All I know is that it got out of hand in the end because some of my shirts were very hard to rip and I used to get cuts under my arms. At one stage, in Invercargill, they tried to rip my trousers off.

It was pretty dangerous then?

We had police protection for most of the shows but then in Dunedin police got injured themselves and the shows were like riots really.

Why did you leave New Zealand?

It was just that we, my band the Devils and I, had done everything we could possibly do. We'd covered the whole of New Zealand in that six-month tour. We were marking time in Auckland wondering where we'd go from there. And we'd cut many records, done all the shows, and were wondering what to do next.

And you got on the Everly Brothers tour in Australia?

That was our introduction to Australia and it was great because television had just arrived, and the venues we played were 10,000 people.

What were the Beatles like?

I haven't played in Auckland since the Beatles tour in 1964 and it was there that I had a very rare photo taken with them. They were great guys. I was invited to all their parties and things like that. They were just normal guys, just starting off on their professional career. They played me a Hard Day's Night - before it was ever released on record - at a little session back stage at the Wellington Town Hall. They asked what I thought of it and I said, 'Oh, it's gotta go to number one'. It did.

So when you play now is it still the same feeling you got in the old days?

Oh no, it's a lot quieter now. No, no, I still get that feeling and I've stuck pretty much to original rock'n'roll right throughout my career, which now spans 48 years.

* For tickets, dates and more information on the Best of the Best go to Ticketek