Chatterbox: Singer-songwriter loses the bikini

It is not just Paul Reid of Rubicon who has a television alter-ego to worry about as he pursues a parallel music career. Say hello to Marvey King, who you may not recognise here in her singer-songwriter garb. But she has also been the small screen pitchwoman for holiday-floggers House of Travel (think: yellow bikini, bubbly smile, annoying jingle). King's real name is Tanya Horo, but she wanted a stage name after starting out in various bands including a grunge rock outfit named "Growler".

Like obvious female singer-songwriter predecessors Anika Moa and Bic Runga, she too is from Christchurch - she's been based in Auckland for the past four years. Having signed to the Felix label, the pop offshoot of Wildside, King has her first song and video Rosary doing the rounds and has plans for an album next year. She's also been working in Australia with dance act P'nau and playing live with Greg Johnson.

AWARDS DEPT I: Prize-givings - it seems everyone's having one. As reported earlier, the b-Net awards are being given out on Friday September 6 but a few days later on it's the turn of The Coke 2002 Juice TV Awards - an affair celebrating pop's best vids as judged by New Zealand public vote. There are 12 categories to have your say on with a mix of local and international acts up for contention.

The nominees for the overall best video prize are Basement Jaxx (Where's Your Head At?), Kylie Minogue (Can't Get You Out My Head), Garbage (Cherry Lips), goodshirt (Sophie), Eminem (Without Me) and Betchadupa (Sleepy News). The event will be live on Monday September 2 (from 7.30pm) on Juice and Sky 1. For voting and info go to TXTSMS or Coke or Juice TV. Meanwhile, New Zealand music telly show Squeeze is having its own People's Choice awards as it winds up its season for the year later in the month. Go to Squeeze to pick your faves.

AWARDS DEPT II: He was on our cover a few weeks ago despite some folk thinking being on the wrong side of 50 disqualifies you from making a good album, and now David Bowie has cemented his critical comeback with a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize. Past winners of the prize - sort of the British contemporary music equivalent to the Booker - have included PJ Harvey, Gomez, Talvin Singh, Pulp and Roni Size. Apart from Bowie's album Heathen the nominees this year are Roots Manuva (Run Come Save Me), Doves (The Last Broadcast), Beverley Knight (Who I Am), Gemma Hayes (Night On My Side), The Streets (Original Pirate Material), The Coral (The Coral), Joanna Macgregor (Play), Electric Soft Parade (Holes In The Wall), The Bees (Sunshine Hit Me), Guy Barker (Soundtrack), and Ms Dynamite (A Little Deeper). The winner will be announced next month. Quipped Bowie when told the news: "Time to get a new suit, then."

KEY OF OE: Should you be in London at the end of next month and feeling a little homesick, there's always a show at the Shepherd's Bush Empire to give you that New-Year's-at-the-Mount feeling. Stellar and the feelers will be playing a double-header at the venue on Saturday August 31, the former heading there after performing at the Popkomm music festival in Cologne, Germany, and the feelers will be in town following industry showcases.

FEELIN' GLOOMY: Here's proof they know real entertainment when they see it down south - the movie Gloomy Sunday has been running at a Christchurch arthouse cinema for a record-breaking 69 weeks. The subtitled German movie set in wartime Budapest, which was described in these pages last year as "an old-fashioned drama to please those who think they don't make movies like they used to", has outlasted such previous long-stayers as the Sound of Music. The film extrapolates an urban legend which has formed around the famously melancholy Hungarian song of the title, a tune that allegedly prompted many who heard it to sudden suicide. In Christchurch it's what they call "a feelgood treat".