New Year Honours: Dave Dobbyn

By ANGELA GREGORY

There will be no curtseying in the Waihi Beach Hotel tonight if newly honoured songwriter Dave Dobbyn has his way.

But it is unlikely a sellout crowd of 1200 fans will let Dobbyn completely off the hook after being announced as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM).

And an astonished Dobbyn admits even he can't wipe the grin off his face.

The outlook for New Year's Day - your guess as good as mine?

"A letter from the Prime Minister arrived. I looked at it and thought what does Helen want? ... I was very humbled, had no idea."

Dobbyn is already being ribbed by band members on his tour with Lucy Lawless.

"They've been curtseying but I've said I'll have none of that ... it's all a bit scary really ... I'm dreaming."

Dobbyn rose to national fame with a band, Th'Dudes, which he formed with school friends, whose hit song Be Mine Tonight won single of the year at the 1979 music awards.

In 1981 he formed DD Smash, which spawned more hit singles during the 1980s, including Devil You Know, Outlook for Thursday, Whaling and Magic (What She Do).

In 1985 Dobbyn wrote the music for the Footrot Flats film, which included the chart-topping singles Slice of Heaven and Oughta be in Love.

Five of his songs appeared in the APRA top 30 New Zealand songs of the past 75 years, including "Loyal" at number three.

Dobbyn spent 10 years in Australia until homesickness, captured in Whaling, and the birth of his first child brought him home. He plans to celebrate the honour with a "bit of a barbie" combined with his 46th birthday on January 3, when he meets up with his wife and two children at Mangawhai.

Dobbyn, whose next album is out next year, doubts he will stop making music.

"At times it has been a feast and a famine ... but I am excited by the danger. It's just something I've got to do."

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