Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne Australia in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later band members included Neil Finn's brother, Tim Finn, and Americans Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod. The current line-up includes Finn's sons Elroy and Liam and the American keyboard player Mitchell Froom. Neil Finn and Nick Seymour have been the sole constant members of the group since its formation.
The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including blues, jazz, country, rock and roll, reggae, and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation.
Split Enz was a New Zealand rock band that was popular during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was founded in 1973 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd, and had a variety of other members during its existence. Split Enz had eight songs listed in the APRA Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time, more than any other band.
Brian Timothy Finn is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn Brothers.
ABBA is the third studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally released on 21 April 1975 through Polar Music and featured the hits "Mamma Mia" and "SOS".
Time in New Zealand is divided by law into two standard time zones. The main islands use New Zealand Standard Time (NZST), 12 hours in advance of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) / military M (Mike), while the outlying Chatham Islands use Chatham Standard Time (CHAST), 12 hours 45 minutes in advance of UTC / military M^ (Mike-Three).
"I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Bob Marley and released in 1973 by Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Recorded Music NZ is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Music NZ is open to any owner of recorded music rights operating in New Zealand, inclusive of major labels, independent labels and self-released artists. Recorded Music NZ has over 2000 rights-holders.
"Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco song by Jamaican vocalist Carl Douglas, written by Douglas and produced by British-Indian musician Biddu. It was released as a single in 1974 on the cusp of a chopsocky film craze and rose to the top of the British, Australian, Canadian, and American charts, in addition to reaching the top of the Soul Singles chart. It received a Gold certification from the RIAA in 1974 and popularized disco music. It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song uses the quintessential Oriental riff, a short musical phrase that is used to signify Chinese culture.
The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974 is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released by EMI in 1997. The US release of the album was pulled from the stores because of multiple inaccuracies in the credits and liner notes. It was re-released by EMI-CAPITOL Entertainment Properties the following year (1998) in the US as part of the essential collection, with a new cover and corrected information as a limited edition. This album was also included as the first disc of the compilation The Platinum Collection (2005/2006).
Shona Laing is a New Zealand musician. She has had several hits in her native country, as well as a few minor international hits, most notably "(Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy" and "Soviet Snow". Laing contributed to Manfred Mann's Earth Band album Somewhere in Afrika and contributed music to, and appeared in, the 1985 action film Shaker Run.
"Top of the World" is a 1972 song written and composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis and first recorded by American pop duo Carpenters. It was a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit for the duo for two consecutive weeks in 1973.
"Love's Theme" is an instrumental piece written by Barry White about 1965, recorded and released by White's The Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1973 as a single. It is one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, which it did in early 1974. Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1974. The piece was included on two albums: 1973's Under the Influence of... Love Unlimited and 1974's Rhapsody in White by the Love Unlimited Orchestra.
The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979 is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released in 1998 by EMI. It follows The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974 (1997) and includes material released between 1974 and 1979. This album was also included as the second disc of the compilation The Platinum Collection (2005/2006).
"Just One Look" is a song co-written by American R&B singers Doris Troy and Gregory Carroll. The recording by Doris Troy was a hit in 1963. The Hollies, Anne Murray and Linda Ronstadt each achieved great success with the song. There have also been many other versions.
Back Home Again is the eighth studio album by singer-songwriter John Denver released in June 1974.
Mark Williams is a New Zealand singer with Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) number one hit singles, "Yesterday Was Just the Beginning of My Life" (1975) and a cover of Paul Anka's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" (1977) before he relocated to Australia later that year. His single, "Show No Mercy" (1990) was a top ten hit in both countries. He has undertaken extensive touring in support of numerous Australian bands and worked in television. In 2006 he became the vocalist for the reformed New Zealand-Australian band, Dragon.
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" is a pop ballad written by Paul Anka and recorded by Buddy Holly in 1958. The song was issued in January 1959, less than a month before Holly's death. "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" reached number 13 as a posthumous hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1959, shortly after Holly was killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. The single was a two-sided hit, backed with "Raining in My Heart". "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" was Holly's last US Top 20 hit and featured the orchestral backing of Dick Jacobs. It was also successful in the United Kingdom, where it became the country's first posthumous number 1 hit.
The Official New Zealand Music Chart is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ. The Music Chart also includes the top-20 New Zealand artist singles and albums and top 10 compilation albums. All charts are compiled from data of both physical and digital sales from music retailers in New Zealand.
"April Sun in Cuba" is a song recorded by New Zealand group Dragon, released in October 1977. It is the first single to be released from Dragon's fourth studio album Running Free. "April Sun in Cuba" first charted on 7 November 1977, peaking at number 2 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart and staying on the chart for 22 weeks. It also reached number 9 on the New Zealand singles chart. The b-side of the single, a non-album track called "Telephone", was credited to "Dr. Agony".