Malcolm Welsford is a New Zealand Record Producer and is best known for his work with Shihad, The Feelers and Supergroove.
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.
New Zealand hip hop derives from the wider hip hop cultural movement originating amongst African Americans in the United States. Like the parent movement, New Zealand hip hop consists of four parts: rapping, DJing, graffiti art and breakdancing. The first element of hip hop to reach New Zealand was breakdancing, which gained notoriety after the release of the 1979 movie The Warriors. The first hip hop hit single, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, became a hit in New Zealand when it was released there in 1980, a year after it was released in the United States. By the middle of the 1980s, breakdancing and graffiti art were established in urban areas like Wellington and Christchurch. By the early 1990s, hip hop became a part of mainstream New Zealand culture.
True Colours is the sixth studio album released by New Zealand band Split Enz, and was their first major commercial success. Released on 21 January 1980, the album featured more pronounced contributions from co-lead singer and songwriter Neil Finn than previous releases. The album's New Zealand and Australian number 1 single, "I Got You", which also broke them internationally, is credited to him. The US release of the album featured "Shark Attack" and "I Got You" in reversed positions due to the latter's success on the single charts.
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.
Platinum blonde is a color of blonde hair.
The following lists events that happened during 1997 in New Zealand.
Nesian Mystik was a New Zealand hip-hop/R&B group which formed in 1999. The cultural backgrounds of its members united a remarkable diversity of Polynesia by bringing together Cook Island, Tongan, Samoan and Maori ancestry. As well as producing a record number of Top 10 New Zealand singles, Nesian Mystik supported international acts such as Robbie Williams, Missy Elliott, Shaggy and The Black Eyed Peas. The group officially disbanded in 2011 after a successful music career that included four commercially successful albums and numerous New Zealand Music Award nominations.
2b S.Pacific is the debut solo album by New Zealand musician Che Fu. Released through BMG in October 1998, it reached No. 2 on the New Zealand charts.
"Fu-Gee-La" is a song by American hip-hop trio, Fugees, released on December 13, 1995, as the lead single from their second and final album, The Score (1996). Produced by Salaam Remi, it contains a sample of "If Loving You Is Wrong " by Ramsey Lewis, while its chorus contains an interpolation of "Ooo La La La" by Teena Marie. Immediately following this is a sample of "Shakiyla (JRH)" by the Poor Righteous Teachers.
"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.
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.
Hallelujah Picassos were/are a reggae, rap, ska, thrash, jazz, pop crossover band from Auckland, New Zealand. They started life in 1988 as a garage punk band The Rattlesnakes, changing their name to Hallelujah Picassos in 1989. They were released on Pagan Records for their first official single No More, following several self-released cassettes, then with the Wildside label for subsequent releases.
DLT or Darryl Leigh Thomson, is a New Zealand hip hop DJ, music producer and composer as well as a visual artist. He was a founding member of Upper Hutt Posse (UHP). As a solo artist DLT issued two albums, The True School (1996) and Altruism (2000) – both peaked on the New Zealand albums chart top 20. His most successful single, "Chains" (1996), featuring vocals by Che Fu, reached number one on the New Zealand singles chart.
Backspacer was the last studio album by the New Zealand rock band Supergroove. It was released in 1996 by RCA Records. Before recording, creative differences saw vocalist Che Ness and trumpeter Tim Stewart fired from the band. The album is musically very different from their first, being less funk and more straight rock, with a darker and more melancholy feeling in songs like "Dear Mother ", "This Stupid Grin" and "The Decline and Fall of Us Both."
Postage is a greatest hits album by the New Zealand funk rock band Supergroove, released in 2003. In addition to the band's biggest hits, there are a number of songs on the album, predominantly from singles, which had not been previously released on any of the band's earlier albums and EPs. Noticeable inclusions are "Sex Police", "Here Comes the Supergroove", and a new remix by New Zealand hip hop producer P-Money. The album entered the charts at number 10, and was certified gold one week after its release.
"Chains" is a hip hop song by New Zealand DJ DLT featuring singer Che Fu. The song reached number one on the New Zealand charts. It was Che-Fu's first song after leaving Supergroove and marked the beginning of his solo career.
Mark James "Slave" Williams and Otis Frizzell are a New Zealand duo known as hip hop MCs and television and radio presenters. Together they are known for their musical work in the 1990s as MC OJ & Rhythm Slave and Joint Force, and their radio and television work in later years.
"Can't Get Enough" is a 1994 single from New Zealand funk rock band Supergroove. It peaked at number one in the New Zealand singles chart and later charted at 36 in Australia. The song was included on Supergroove's debut album Traction. Long-time TVNZ 2 continuity announcer Warren Thomas made a spoken cameo appearance part way into the song.
"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".
