Hello Sailor (band)
Encyclopedia
Hello Sailor was a New Zealand
pop/rock band originally formed in 1975.
and Harry Lyon
having first played together in the mid 1960s. After several lineup changes, the band released its first album, Hello Sailor
, in 1977. The line-up at that time was Graham Brazier
on vocals and some guitar and saxophone, McArtney and Lyon on guitars and vocals, Lisle Kinney
on bass, and Ricky Ball
on drums.
Hello Sailor built a huge following playing in hotels scattered throughout New Zealand, their first gig being in Tokoroa at the Trees Tavern.
Three top 20 singles were taken from the album: "Gutter Black" written and sung by McArtney, "Blue Lady" written and sung by Brazier, and "Lyin' in the sand" written and sung by Lyon. It was the first record made in New Zealand that was certified gold.
Their second album, Pacifica Amour
, was released in 1978, after the band had made a first trip to America to try to crack the American market. The trip was not a success, in part due to a party atmosphere and the consumption of large amounts of drugs.
In 1979 the band left for Australia
, but this trip was also not a success. The band formally disbanded in 1980.
During the following decades, members of the band played and recorded both apart and together. The classic line-up gradually came together again in Brazier's early-1980s band The Legionnaires, and was officially reformed in 1985 (with former Coup d'Etat
bass player Neil Hannan instead of Lisle Kinney) for a nationwide tour and an album, Shipshape & Bristol Fashion
, that contained several new songs and some reworked older material. The band recorded another album, named The Album
, in 1994, and released a "greatest hits" album called Sailor Story in 1996, and an all-acoustic album, When Your Lights Are Out
, featuring acoustic versions of their best-known material, in 2007. The core members of the band continue working together and apart to this day.
Dave McArtney's song "Gutter Black" was chosen as the title music for the hit television series Outrageous Fortune
, inducing a renegotiation of publishing rights for Sailor's earlier material in the band's favour and a lady called Wendy Morris in 2011 has been writing songs and recoding thingy with one of the Hello Sailor Boys.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
pop/rock band originally formed in 1975.
History
The band's history is long and complicated, with guitarist/vocalists Dave McArtneyDave McArtney
Dave McArtney is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. He has a BA in English, majoring in Renaissance poetry. He first came to prominence as a member of the band Hello Sailor...
and Harry Lyon
Harry Lyon (musician)
Harry Lyon is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. He first came to prominence as a member of the band Hello Sailor.After Hello Sailor, Lyon formed Coup D'Etat with Jan Preston, Neil Hannan and Steve Osborne . They were awarded the 1981 RIANZ Single of the Year for "Dr I Like Your Medicine"...
having first played together in the mid 1960s. After several lineup changes, the band released its first album, Hello Sailor
Hello Sailor (Hello Sailor album)
Hello Sailor is the debut album released in 1977 by New Zealand band, Hello Sailor.-Track listing:#"Gutter Black"#"Where Your Lights Are Out"#"Hooked"#"Last Change to Dance"#"All Around This Town"#"Blue Lady"#"Vermillion"#"Watch Your Back"...
, in 1977. The line-up at that time was Graham Brazier
Graham Brazier
Graham Brazier is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. He first came to prominence in the band Hello Sailor. After Hello Sailor he formed a band called the Legionnaires...
on vocals and some guitar and saxophone, McArtney and Lyon on guitars and vocals, Lisle Kinney
Lisle Kinney
Lisle Kinney is a musician from New Zealand. His full name is David Lisle Kinney. From 1967 onwards he was a semi-professional musician, playing mainly in cabaret bands. He played bass in the following bands: Oktober while at the University of Auckland ; Brown Street, the resident band at the...
on bass, and Ricky Ball
Ricky Ball
Ricky Ball is a musician from New Zealand. He played drums in the following bands: the Beatboys, the Courtiers, Challenge, Ticket, Jimmy Sloggett Band, Tommy Ferguson's Goodtime Band, Rainbow, Hello Sailor, Woody, the Pink Flamingos and Beaver.Woody was a resident band at Jilly's in Auckland, one...
on drums.
Hello Sailor built a huge following playing in hotels scattered throughout New Zealand, their first gig being in Tokoroa at the Trees Tavern.
Three top 20 singles were taken from the album: "Gutter Black" written and sung by McArtney, "Blue Lady" written and sung by Brazier, and "Lyin' in the sand" written and sung by Lyon. It was the first record made in New Zealand that was certified gold.
Their second album, Pacifica Amour
Pacifica Amour
Pacifica Amour is an album released in 1978 by New Zealand band, Hello Sailor.-Track listing:#"Disco's Dead"#"On Parade "#"Tube 'n' Train"#"Tears Of Blood"#"Chained All Round"#"The Boys In Brazil"#"Blackpool"#"I'm A Texan"...
, was released in 1978, after the band had made a first trip to America to try to crack the American market. The trip was not a success, in part due to a party atmosphere and the consumption of large amounts of drugs.
In 1979 the band left for Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, but this trip was also not a success. The band formally disbanded in 1980.
During the following decades, members of the band played and recorded both apart and together. The classic line-up gradually came together again in Brazier's early-1980s band The Legionnaires, and was officially reformed in 1985 (with former Coup d'Etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
bass player Neil Hannan instead of Lisle Kinney) for a nationwide tour and an album, Shipshape & Bristol Fashion
Shipshape & Bristol Fashion
Shipshape & Bristol Fashion is an album released in 1982 by New Zealand band, Hello Sailor.-Track listing:#"Heaven"#"Kings & Queens"#"You "#"Snakes & Ladders"#"Fugitive For Love"#"Remember The Alamo"#"Billy Bold"...
, that contained several new songs and some reworked older material. The band recorded another album, named The Album
The Album (Hello Sailor album)
The Album is an album released in 1994 by New Zealand band, Hello Sailor.-Track listing:#"New Tattoo"#"Easy"#"Ragin' With The Storm"#"Never Fade Away"#"Stick On You"#"G.M.T."#"Please Tease Me"#"Black Dreams"#"Passion Play"#"Dolly"...
, in 1994, and released a "greatest hits" album called Sailor Story in 1996, and an all-acoustic album, When Your Lights Are Out
When Your Lights Are Out
When Your Lights Are Out is an album released in 2006 by New Zealand band Hello Sailor.-Track listing:#"Latin Lover"#"New Tattoo"#"When Your Lights Are Out"#"Lying in the Sand"#"Gutter Black"#"Long John"#"Bush by Where You Live"...
, featuring acoustic versions of their best-known material, in 2007. The core members of the band continue working together and apart to this day.
Dave McArtney's song "Gutter Black" was chosen as the title music for the hit television series Outrageous Fortune
Outrageous Fortune (TV series)
Outrageous Fortune was a New Zealand comedy/drama television series, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang and was produced by South Pacific Pictures...
, inducing a renegotiation of publishing rights for Sailor's earlier material in the band's favour and a lady called Wendy Morris in 2011 has been writing songs and recoding thingy with one of the Hello Sailor Boys.
Albums
| Date of Release | Title | Label | Charted | Certification | Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albums | |||||
| 1977 | Hello Sailor Hello Sailor (Hello Sailor album) Hello Sailor is the debut album released in 1977 by New Zealand band, Hello Sailor.-Track listing:#"Gutter Black"#"Where Your Lights Are Out"#"Hooked"#"Last Change to Dance"#"All Around This Town"#"Blue Lady"#"Vermillion"#"Watch Your Back"... |
Key | #17 (NZ) | Gold | L 36336 |
| 1978 | Pacifica Amour Pacifica Amour Pacifica Amour is an album released in 1978 by New Zealand band, Hello Sailor.-Track listing:#"Disco's Dead"#"On Parade "#"Tube 'n' Train"#"Tears Of Blood"#"Chained All Round"#"The Boys In Brazil"#"Blackpool"#"I'm A Texan"... |
- | - | L 36682 | |
| 1982 | Last Chance to Dance | #49 (NZ) | L20042 | ||
| 1986 | Shipshape & Bristol Fashion Shipshape & Bristol Fashion Shipshape & Bristol Fashion is an album released in 1982 by New Zealand band, Hello Sailor.-Track listing:#"Heaven"#"Kings & Queens"#"You "#"Snakes & Ladders"#"Fugitive For Love"#"Remember The Alamo"#"Billy Bold"... |
Zulu | #21 (NZ) | ZLP 002 | |
| 1994 | The Album The Album (Hello Sailor album) The Album is an album released in 1994 by New Zealand band, Hello Sailor.-Track listing:#"New Tattoo"#"Easy"#"Ragin' With The Storm"#"Never Fade Away"#"Stick On You"#"G.M.T."#"Please Tease Me"#"Black Dreams"#"Passion Play"#"Dolly"... |
Control Records Hello Sailor Productions |
- | - | 471-3112 |
| 1996 | The Sailor Story The Sailor Story The Sailor Story 1975-1996 is a greatest hits album released in 1996 by New Zealand band, Hello Sailor.-Disc 1:#Gutter Black#When Your Lights Are Out#Latin Lover#I'm a Texan#Disco's Dead#Blue Lady#Son of Sam... |
Festival | - | - | D31672 |
| 2006 | When Your Lights Are Out When Your Lights Are Out When Your Lights Are Out is an album released in 2006 by New Zealand band Hello Sailor.-Track listing:#"Latin Lover"#"New Tattoo"#"When Your Lights Are Out"#"Lying in the Sand"#"Gutter Black"#"Long John"#"Bush by Where You Live"... |
Liberation/Universal | 37 (NZ) | - | BLUE0922 |
Featured appearances
The group has appeared on the following compilations and soundtracks.- (1986) - We Carry The Cup (CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
) - "Billy Bold" - (1995) - Bliss (Festival) - "Gutter Black" & "Blue Lady"
- (1995) - Kiwi Hit Disc No. 17 (NZ On Air) - "Raging With The Storm"
- (1997) - Bliss Volume 2 (Festival) - "I'm In Heaven" & "Fugitive For Love"
- (1999) - The Best Beer Drinking Songs In The World Ever (EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
) - "Blue LadyBlue Lady (song)"Blue Lady" is a song released by the band Hello Sailor in 1977 as part of their Hello Sailor album. The New Zealand pop/rock band released it as one of their first songs as written by the guitarist and lead vocalist Graham Brazier. It reached number thirteen on the New Zealand Singles Charts,...
" - (2000) - Savage Honeymoon OST (Mana MusicMana Music-Screen Composers:David Bridie, Dale Cornelius, Peter Dasent, Elizabeth Drake, Joel Haines, Mick Harvey, Philip Judd, Johnny Klimek & Reinhold Heil, David Long, Don McGlashan, Plan 9, Richard Pleasance and David Thrussell.-Films:*Perfect Strangers*Whale Rider...
) - "Lying In The Sand" - (2002) - Nature's BestNature's BestNature's Best is a two-disc compilation album of thirty New Zealand popular music songs, selected by a panel as the top thirty New Zealand songs of all time.-Selection:...
(Epic Music) - "Blue Lady" - (2002) - Absolute BlissAbsolute BlissAbsolute Bliss is a New Zealand music compilation album released in 2002 by recording label, Festival Music.-Track listing:#"Outlook for Thursday" – DD Smash#"Something So Strong" – Crowded House#"Sweet Lovers" – Holidaymakers...
(Festival Music) - "New Tattoo" - (2003) - Give It A Whirl The Soundtrack From The Major Television Series (Propeller RecordsPropeller RecordsPropeller Records was an independent record label formed in Auckland, New Zealand, by Simon Grigg in 1980.-1980-81:In the years prior to 1980 the New Zealand contemporary recording industry was largely moribund. The major record labels were either not recording or were confining themselves largely...
) - "I'm A Texan" - (2007) - Outrageous Fortune Soundtrack (Mana Music) - "Gutter Black"
Singles
| Year | Single | Album | Chart | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | "Gutter Black" | #15 (NZ) | - | |
| "Blue Lady Blue Lady (song) "Blue Lady" is a song released by the band Hello Sailor in 1977 as part of their Hello Sailor album. The New Zealand pop/rock band released it as one of their first songs as written by the guitarist and lead vocalist Graham Brazier. It reached number thirteen on the New Zealand Singles Charts,... " |
#13 (NZ) | - | ||
| 1978 | "Lyin' in the Sand" | #29 (NZ) | - | |
| 1985 | "Fugitive For Love" | #23 (NZ) | - |
Book references
- Dix, John, Stranded In Paradise, Penguin, 2005. ISBN 0-14-301953-8
- Eggleton, David, Ready To Fly, Craig Potton, 2003. ISBN 1-877333-06-9
- Spittle, Gordon, Counting The Beat, GP Publications, 1997. ISBN 1-86956-213-5