NZ rocker's show has kids in fine tune to benefit Tanzania's needy

KIDS FOR KIDS: Wanganui schoolchildren rehearse for the Kids for Kids show, directed by Nathan King (left) and musical director Chris Lam Sam. PHOTO/STUART MUNRO

Nathan King's voice is familiar to anyone who was listening to radio in the early 2000s when, as leader singer of the band Zed, he dominated the airwaves with the hit song Renegade Fighter.

King was scheduled to sing the songs of other New Zealand artists at the Wanganui War Memorial Hall last night and his backing band was made up of more than 400 Wanganui schoolchildren.

Children from St Mary's School, Mosston School, Brunswick School, Durie Hill School, Castlecliff School, Carlton School, Wanganui East School, Aranui Primary School, Wanganui Intermediate School, St Anne's Catholic School, Kaitoke School, St Johns Hill Primary School and Westmere School performed with King at the Kids for Kids show Slice of Heaven, presented by World Vision.

The show was a fundraiser for Luguru, a Tanzanian community in urgent need of assistance to provide safe water, food and education for thousands of children.

King visited Luguru earlier this year with fellow NZ singer Jackie Clarke, who is also performing with Kids for Kids concerts.

"World Vision are just beginning their work in Luguru and there's a lot to be done. They need classrooms, desks, wells and clinics for the community.

"The Kids for Kids concerts are a great way to help out, because New Zealand children learn about what life is like in Luguru and they get to have fun while helping children in another country."

King and Clarke are travelling New Zealand to perform with schoolchildren, who have been rehearsing songs by Dave Dobbyn, Bic Runga and OMC for weeks.

King was still at high school when Zed formed in 1998 and, since the band took a break in 2005, he has done the "big OE" and is now married with three children.

"I have a small recording studio in Auckland and I have recently formed a new band named Twin Cities, and have included a song I've written in the repertoire for the Kids for Kids shows. It creates a buzz for the kids, knowing that they are the first to perform the song in public."