Brendan Dugan on NZ Highwaymen’s last tour and tribute to Eddie Low

The NZ Highwaymen (from left) Dennis Marsh, Gray Bartlett, Frankie Stevens and Brendan Dugan.

Fans of The NZ Highwaymen are running out of chances to see the country supergroup before their final curtain fall.

The band made up of iconic Kiwi musicians Brendan Dugan, Frankie Stevens, Dennis Marsh and Gray Bartlett is performing at Forum North in Whangārei on Saturday.

They take the stage in Putāruru tonight, Papakura tomorrow and Ōrewa on Sunday.

Founding member and veteran country singer Dugan said the shows will be the group’s last.

“It’s been unbelievable ... We are Kiwi boys who have managed to make a living out of this over 60 years.”

Dugan made his first album at 14, a year later he found fame when he appeared on 1960s TV talent show New Faces. He won the final with a rendition of There Goes My Everything.

“I never dreamed 60 years ago I’d still be doing this,” he said.

Dugan proved popular from day one, saying in his teens he would get invited to events where kids would queue for his autograph.

“You know, it took me an hour to sign one bloody autograph,” he laughed.

“I remember rehearsing my autograph till I finally found the one I liked. God, it was funny.”

Dugan still gets asked for his autograph.

“It doesn’t take me an hour now, though,” he said.

The NZ Highwaymen’s final shows are special not just because they are the group’s last.

Dugan said they are also a tribute to late bandmate and founding member Eddie Low.

Low, a talented multi-instrumental and singer, died in September last year. The 81-year-old had been battling cancer.

Eddie Low, far left, with bandmates Dennis Marsh, Gray Bartlett and Brendan Dugan.

“He kept on fighting,” Dugan said. “He kept on doing the shows. It was quite amazing.”

Losing Low had been hard on the group as they were “great mates”.

Dugan has worked with celebrated guitarist and music producer, Bartlett, for 50 years on-and-off.

“Gray’s now 83 and he’s still playing that guitar like you wouldn’t believe,” he said.

Then there is singer, Marsh, who Dugan has worked with for the past decade.

“So, we’re all pretty good buddies.”

After Low’s death, Stevens – a well-known Kiwi entertainer and singer – was brought into the fold.

Dugan said he, like the others, had become a good friend.

The fact the group were pushing into their later years, with 74-year-old Dugan the baby of the band, had not slowed them down.

“You can be dead on your feet, but the minute you hit that stage, you’re alive,” Dugan said. “It’s the adrenaline.”

He joked that the band may tour again in a couple of years “if we’re all still alive”.

Dugan’s advice for people curious about The NZ Highwaymen?

“If you want to discover how great country music is, come to the show because everyone just sings and has a party.”

For more information on the remaining shows, visit the band’s website: nzhighwaymen.com.