Blue Smoke

Sitting on the bank at the Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth for each Showtime Spectacular tour in the early 1960s was a young Maori boy: Dalvanius Maui Prime. He was already a good singer and had… Read more Audio

If there was a Wellington sound in the 80s it was a local version of rhythm and blues that became unique to the capital. What was once borrowed and blue became sunny and joyous. It passed through the… Read more Audio

The New Zealand Truth immediately saw it as a scandal. "Beware of the Twist" they declared, when the swiveling dance first arrived in Auckland. The Twist had more grace than rock'n'roll, the paper… Read more Audio

In the late 60s the phrase "getting it together in the country" described bands who were burnt out from psychedelia, or just wanted some space, man. They removed themselves from the city to live… Read more Audio

In the 1960s there was a wave of pop DJs who decided to flip roles and become recording artists? Was this vanity? Certainly. Were the early local record companies offering sweeteners hoping their… Read more Audio

In this episode we take a musical tour of Auckland's North Shore, which once had its own pirate ship dance hall, still has a bunker, and nurtured a Lorde. Chris Bourke takes a ferry across the… Read more Audio

Why was a woman regarded as New Zealand's best soul singer of her generation hardly known outside Auckland's musicians and the city's nightclub audiences? Josie Rika was in constant demand for backing… Read more Audio

How did New Zealand respond to the Beatles? Like most places - unless you were a boy or a band feeling threatened. Sheer joy. In the second episode of a new series of Blue Smoke, Chris Bourke looks at… Read more Audio

The arrival of The Beatles' music in New Zealand required a response, whether you were for or against. Young musicians reacted quickly: if you didn't comb your hair forward, suddenly you looked dated… Read more Audio