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Dragon
 Originally from
New Zealand, Dragon swaggered their way through late 70s Australian rock in
true rock and roll fashion, like a Rolling Stones or Faces, delivering
roaring live performances, and backing them with strong anthemic recordings.
Dragon
starts and ends with the Hunter brothers, Todd and Marc. Their father
played saxophone, their mother was a pianist, and before they reached their
teens Todd and Marc performed in the Hunter family orchestra. By the time
the two year older Todd entered college in 1970 he was leading a band
called OK Dinghy, playing Grateful Dead covers at clubs and parties. OK
Dinghy lasted about two years, was replaced by a Pink Floyd tribute group
called Anteapot, and then a covers band called Staff. These bands lasted as
long as the gigs that supported them
In 1973 Todd Hunter put together a new group
for an appearance at the Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival. They wrote
original songs for their set list, and someone pulled the name
"Dragon" out of an I Ching book. Their performance at the
festival led to more performances. Although they had a name, the line-up
was constantly changing. Eventually brother Marc, who had followed Todd to college
and had joined a band of his own, was hired as Dragon's lead vocalist.
This
Dragon rented a house in one of Auckland's toughest neighbourhoods, writing
and rehearsing new material, performing wherever they could get a gig. By
the end of 1974 they had become one of New Zealand's top live attractions
and signed a record contract with Phonogram's Vertigo label. In the style
of the label's international signings - Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep etc -
they did not release singles. This was deemed progressive art rock. On
stage Dragon was performing in Hawaiian shirts and beachcombing attire;
anything that made an impression. They recorded two albums during this era,
'Universal Radio' and 'Scented Gardens For The Blind', finally managing a
first single, 'Vermillion Cellars'. The line-up was still changing.
It was
time to take on Australia, but they would have to do it without their
manager Graeme Nesbitt who had been covering the band's tour expenses by
selling drugs and was heading for jail. On his way he suggested keyboard
player Paul Hewson as a possible member. Dragon relocated to Sydney in May 1975, reassessed their musical options, and
badgered Hewson by letter and telegram to come and join them. They'd only
met him that once (at their final New Zealand performance) but knew him by
reputation from other bands he's been in. Paul Hewson wrote great pop
songs. Finally he relented and joined Dragon in Sydney.
The band
had moved into a tiny house in Paddington, where it was necessary to move
the keyboards regularly as new leaks appeared in the roof, and they had to
look out for cockroaches hibernating in their guitar cases. Within weeks of
arriving in Sydney burglars broke into their house and stole all their
equipment. Vertigo relaced the instruments, but then dropped the group
after their first Australian single failed to chart. Then Dragon lost more
of their equipment, along with their truck, in a car accident. Somehow they
kept working and writing songs.
They
were playing for the meal at the end of the night with what was left of
their equipment at Sydney's Recovery Wine Bar, when local record producer
Peter Dawkins dropped in with some international executives he was taking
to the airport. Dawkins secured the record company's permission to sign
Dragon, put the executives on their plane, and started working on Dragon's
recording career.
When
their first CBS single, July 1976's 'Wait Until Tomorrow' failed to chart
the group's new manager called the band into his office and ordered them to
write a song that would get airplay. Within 24 hours they were in the
studio recording 'This Time'. Not only did radio play it, the song was
starting to chart when drummer Neal Storey was found dead in his bed after
a heroin overdose.
Todd
Hunter almost broke the band up and called it quits. But a few weeks later,
armed with new drummer Kerry Jacobson and a Top 40 hit, Dragon was back on
the road. This was the line-up which would record Dragon's next single 'Get
That Jive, and took Australia by storm. For a while, the hard times were
over. Their hits were making them pop stars, their concerts deemed them
legitimate rock heroes. Their first Australian album, 'Sunshine' was also
released in America.
The next
album 'Running Free' contained the Paul Hewson song 'inspired by a Bobby
Fisher chess tournament, 'April Sun In Cuba'. A Number 2 hit at the time,
it's become one of the all-time most played songs on Australian radio. The
follow-up album 'O Zambezi' contained the Number One hit, 'Are You Old
Enough', an ode to leaving jail and avoiding jailbait. America combined
these latest albums as one and Dragon embarked on a memorable tour of the
US, with Marc continually baiting unappreciative audiences and causing
near-riots. Their American record company was quickly losing interest.
His rock
and roll lifestyle was catching up with Marc Hunter. He was out of control,
and to save Marc from himself and to save the band, in February 1979 Dragon
sacked their singer. Marc recorded a solo album 'Fiji Bitter' and took the
message. He cleaned himself up. Dragon recorded one album ('Powerplay')
without Marc, and in December 1979 broke up.
The band
members went every which way, but Dragon had left behind a lot of debts. In
August 1982 the classic line-up reconvened for a tour with which to wipe
the slate clean. The tour was so successful, the sessions for Marc's next
solo album spilled over into a new group album. The single 'Rain' returned
the Dragon name to the charts for the first time in four years. English
producer Alan Mansfield had become a band member in the process. Drummer
Kerry Jacobson left through illness and the Hunter brothers approached
former XTC drummer Terry Chambers who had married an Australian girl and
was living in Belmont, about 60 miles from Sydney. Nine days after its
release, the 'Body and the Beat' album was certified gold.
This was
a different Dragon, focussed on the studio. The dynamics had shifted, and
Paul Hewson had written just one song for the new album. After Dragon
completed a tour to support 'Body and the Beat' Paul flew to New Zealand to
rethink his future. Within weeks, On January 10 1985, he was found dead in
his car from an overdose. Once, it might have been the end of the band.
Now, it was just the final footmark in the history of the old band. To
avoid confusion with a heavy metal band, for America Dragon renamed itself
Hunter.
Polygram
wanted to break Dragon in the US, and offered the band a list of American
producers who would be willing to work on the band's next album. Dragon selected
Todd Rundgren to record what became 'Dreams Of Ordinary Men'. With another
new line-up "Hunter" toured Europe for six months, their final
shot at international success.
Dragon
dropped the "Hunter" nickname in 1988, and recorded a new album,
Bondi Road. By early 1990 Dragon had become an active but part-time
activity. Everyone was busy doing other things. Dragon's last studio album
was a greatest hits package called 'Incarnations', where the band reworked,
re-interpreted and re-recorded their classic hits. By 1997, Dragon's lineup
included Marc Hunter, Alan Mansfield and some session men; Todd left the
band to compose the musical score for the television drama, 'Heartbreak
High.' In November 1997, just before commencing Dragon's 40-date
Australia-New Zealand concert tour, Marc felt something odd in his throat.
One doctor told him he probably had tonsillitis and sent him home.
Unsatisfied with this diagnosis, Marc visited a throat specialist. He was
diagnosed with throat cancer and died in July 1998.
In
January 2006 Todd Hunter recruited NZ singer Mark Williams for an album of
acoustic versions of Dragon's hits, 'Sunshine To Rain', including a
rendition of 'Age Of Reason', the John Farnham hit written by Todd.
On
April 4 2009 Dragon celebrated 30 years with a one-off show at the Harbour
Lounge at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. December 2009 saw the release of
a new album, backed up by live performances with a new official line-up. After
a ten year hiatus Dragon was back. With Mark Williams on lead vocals Todd
and Mark are joined by Canadian guitarist, Bruce Reid and drummer Pete
Drummond.
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