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Dave Dobbyn Apart from Split Enz's Finn brothers, there is no-one who has had more impact on mainstream New Zealand music than Dave Dobbyn. A whole generation of Kiwis has grown up listening to, and singing along to his songs.
Dave Dobbyn was invited to play guitar with Sharon O'Neill who was touring in support of her burgeoning record successes in both New Zealand and Australia. Once that tour was over Dobbyn returned to the Auckland studio where his co-Dude guitarist Ian Morris was now ensconced as house engineer. Experimenting in the studio they came up with Dave's first two singles. The first came to the songwriter in a dream. He was in a bullfighting arena, facing a huge bull, being cheered on by thousands of spectators. But it wasn't the bull he was afraid of. It was the crowd. 'Bull By the Horns' was recorded that very night. It was followed by 'Lipstick Power', a less than complimentary portrait of a former girlfriend. Neither single charted but they are considered landmarks in Dave Dobbyn's style. The group which would establish Dave Dobbyn was DD Smash, formed in mid-1981. This time he also managed to garner an audience in Australia, although it was nothing like the hit-scoring award-winning career the band would enjoy in New Zealand. By the time they recorded their second album, Dave was living in Sydney and DD Smash was principally made up of Australian musicians. But in 1984 the group's Australian record company pulled the plug. Dave had also been charged with inciting a riot. He felt everyone had turned their backs on him. His fortunes changed again in 1985 when Dobbyn was commissioned to write the music for the film based on the comic strip 'Footrot Flats'. The single from the accompanying album 'Slice Of Heaven', (recorded with vocal group The Herbs) spent eight weeks at Number One in New Zealand, and almost a year later, three weeks in Australia. The soundtrack album itself met with similar success, as did the follow-up single from the soundtrack 'Oughta Be In Love', a number two record in NZ. In the process Dave had learned how to be more than a songwriter. It took Dave Dobbyn months to deliver the next, all-important release, an all-out display of his musical talents captured in an album he called 'Loyal' and filled with songs to his wife. The album reached number 9 in NZ and generated two important songs, the hit single 'Love You Like I Should' and the album title track, which would come to outrate DD Smash's 'Whaling' and old Th' Dudes songs as the most requested song at Dobbyn's live shows. 'Loyal' restored Dave to NZ hearts forevermore. In Australia the album couldn't overcome the 'Slice Of Heaven' novelty factor and slipped from sight unnoticed, even though Dave spent a lot of valuable time in Australia promoting the album. From Sydney he wrote the theme song for a new NZ puppet series, 'Space Knights'. After a 15 year career in New Zealand Dobbyn found himself without a record contract. He undertook production of two albums for friend and former Go-Between G.W. McLennan and recorded his own 'Lament for The Numb' in Los Angeles with Crowded House producer Mitchell Froom and Bruce and Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello's Attractions, one of the world's most respected rhythm sections. Outside the studios LA was still rebuilding itself after the earthquake, and gripped by the Rodney King riots. The album's songs were also touched by the deaths of his father and former bass player Ian Belton, and by the frustrations of a five year gap between albums.
Another four years passed before Dave's next album, 'Islander'. This time it was family and a writers's block rather than the music business which kept him out of the recording studio. In between albums he'd also become involved in Eddie Raynor's Enzo project, classical interpretations of Split Enz songs on record and stage. 'Islander' started with sessions in Neil Finn's basement studio with visiting Australian musicians Peter Luscombe and Bill McDonald. It had been years since Dobbyn recorded with a band. He continued the process with Allan Gregg and Ross Burge, The Mutton Birds' rhythm section that had played on 'Twist'. 1999 marked the twentieth anniversary of Dave Dobbyn's first recordings. To mark the occasion, Sony Music compiled a career spanning retrospective 'Overnight Success- the definitive Dave Dobbyn collection'. Working on bringing some of the earlier tracks up to date brought Dave back in contact with his old The' Dudes compatriot and DD Smash producer Ian Morris. They instantly picked up where they left off and recorded Dave's next album together, 'Hopetown' an album which introduced musical diversity to Dave Dobbyn's obvious and well-established songwriting skills. In August 2000 Dave toured New Zealand with Neil Finn and Bic Runga, performing alone and together, acoustically and with a band. The results were released in November in an album called 'Together In Concert', featuring five songs from each performer. Dave Dobbyn's importance to New Zealand music was confirmed and underlined in 2001 when the Australasian Performing Rights Association celebrated 75 years of existence with a survey of its members to name the greatest New Zealand songs of all time. Dave Dobbyn was responsible for 10 of the 100 songs named. In 2005 he ended a five year break from the studio with the release of 'Available Light'. 'Available Light' started life with pre-production and recording in Auckland with Neil Finn before being finished off in Wellington, Dave co-producing the album with former Muttonbird David Long. Members of Fat Freddy's Drop and TrinityRoots members contributed subtle horn work for a rootsier musical settting. In October 2006 Dave reunited with Th' Dudes for a New Zealand Theatre tour as part of Radio Hauraki's 40th Anniversary celebrations. A live album was released of the best performances. 2008's follow-up to 'Available Light' continued along the roots music path but at the same time embarked on a bold adventure, classic Dobbyn, but with elements of blues, gospel, dub and funk. During a 2007 UK tour On-U Sound dub and reggae record producer Adrian Sherwood and American blues musician Little Axe's Skip McDonald who trail-blazed rap in The Sugarhill Gang in the 80's, were invited to a show and it was agreed they should work together. 'Anotherland' was the first album Dave had recorded overseas since 'Lament for the Numb' in 1992. Dave flew over his band from New Zealand for the sessions, introduced them to his collaborators and the songs, and completed the album in just three weeks.
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