Che Kuo Eruera Ness, better known by his stage name Che Fu, is a New Zealand hip hop, R&B and reggae artist, songwriter and producer. A founding member of the band Supergroove, as a solo artist he has gone on to sell thousands of albums both in New Zealand and internationally. Che Fu is considered a pioneer of Hip hop and Pasifika music in New Zealand.
Supergroove is a New Zealand funk rock music group. Their debut album Traction was released in 1994. The group disbanded in 1997 but reformed in 2007.
Dame Gaylene Mary Preston is a New Zealand filmmaker with a particular interest in documentary films.
"George" is a song by New Zealand rock band Headless Chickens, released as the lead single from their third studio album, Greedy, in 1994. Charting as a double A-side with the Eskimos in Egypt mix of their 1991 song "Cruise Control", the single reached number one in the band's native New Zealand for four weeks in 1994 and 1995 and received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). "George" was nominated for Single of the Year at the 1995 New Zealand Music Awards, losing to Purest Form's "Message to My Girl". In 1997, the song was released in Australia, where it peaked at number 67 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision is an archive that was launched on 31 July 2014, following the completion of a three-year process whereby the New Zealand Film Archive "absorbed" the collections and operations of the RNZ Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Kōrero in 2012 and the Television New Zealand Archive in 2014.
Traction is the first album by New Zealand rock band Supergroove. It was released in 1994 by RCA Records, debuting at number one on the New Zealand albums chart and quickly reached platinum status there. Before the band could record their second album, Che Fu was fired from the band. Supergroove would end up releasing their second and final album, Backspacer, without Fu. To date, the album has achieved the requirements for platinum status five times over.
Charles Turu Tumahai was a New Zealand singer, bass player and songwriter who was a member of several noted rock groups in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. He is best known internationally as the bassist and backing vocalist in Bill Nelson's Be-Bop Deluxe.
Isabella Smith Andrews, known professionally as Isobel Andrews, was a Scottish-born New Zealand playwright, novelist, short-story writer and poet. She wrote over sixty plays, many of which were published, and was associated with the New Zealand branch of the British Drama League. She won the League's annual playwrighting competition four times. Her plays, particularly The Willing Horse, have continued to be performed into the 21st century.
Deane Waretini is a musician from New Zealand. He had a #1 chart hit in 1981 with the song "The Bridge", a Māori language song set to Nini Rosso's tune "Il Silenzio". He is also the son of a historically significant Maori baritone singer and recording artist. In later years, Waretini was featured in a New Zealand television production that was built around him.
"Nature" is a 1969 single by New Zealand band The Fourmyula. The song peaked at number one in the New Zealand singles chart in 1970, won the APRA Silver Scroll songwriting award the same year, and in 2001 was voted the top song in APRA New Zealand's Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time. "Nature" was notably covered in 1992 by New Zealand rock band The Mutton Birds.
Maureen Te Rangi Rere I Waho Waaka was Miss New Zealand 1962, the second Māori woman to win the title. She later became a local-body politician, serving on the Rotorua District Council for 18 years. Of Māori descent, she identified with the Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Whakaue iwi.
Bunny Te Kokiri Miha Waahi Walters was a New Zealand singer who had a number of New Zealand hits during the 1970s. He is best known for the hits "Brandy" and "Take the Money and Run".
English drum and bass duo Sigma have released one studio album, four extended plays and 12 singles. The duo signed to 3 Beat Records in the summer of 2013. They released their debut single "Summer Calling" with 3Beat featuring vocals from Taylor Fowlis. Their second single "Rudeboy" featuring Doctor was released in December 2013. The song peaked at number 56 on the UK Singles Chart.
The Mauri Hikitia is a various artists album released in 1981. It reached no 4 on the New Zealand charts. It features Rhonda, Ken Kincaid, Deane Waretini, and the Lightwood family.
Ode Records is a New Zealand record label. Artists recordings released through the label include Herb McQuay, Deane Waretini. The first release on the label was a single in 1968, "Sally I Do" by Abdullahs' Regime. The label also became an important outlet for ethnic and world music, especially music from Melanesian and Polynesian sources.
Herb McQuay was a popular jazz and soul singer from New York who lived and worked in New Zealand during the late 1970s to the mid 1980s. He is remembered for his cover of the Edwin Starr song, "Oh How Happy", which was a minor hit for him.
Tony McCarthy Recordings was a New Zealand record label owned by record producer Tony McCarthy. Some of the artists on the label were Deane Waretini and Mahia Blackmore. The label is also a representation of the only released recordings by singer Abe Phillips who was killed in an accident in 1971.
"Cruise Control" is a song by New Zealand band Headless Chickens. Written by members Chris Matthews and Michael Lawry, the track was released as the second single from the band's second studio album, Body Blow (1991), in 1991 and reached number six on the New Zealand Singles Chart. Three years later, the song was remixed and re-released as the "Eskimos in Egypt" mix. This version of the song peaked at number 26 in Australia and topped the New Zealand chart as a double A-side with "George".
Shirley Frances Whitley Maddock was a New Zealand producer, television presenter, author and actress. After early work in theatre and radio, she became a pioneering figure in early New Zealand television. She produced and presented a number of award-winning documentaries, including New Zealand's first ever locally produced television documentary series, Islands of the Gulf (1964). Later in her career she wrote a number of non-fiction books about New Zealand's history and landscapes, worked as a book reviewer, and continued to make appearances on television and radio throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Ariana Rahera Tikao is a New Zealand singer, musician and author. Her works explore her identity as a Kāi Tahu woman and her music often utilises taonga pūoro. Notably, she co-composed the first concerto for taonga pūoro in 2015. She has released three solo albums and collaborated with a number of other musicians. She was a recipient of an Arts Foundation Laureate Award in 2020.
