He was the glue, the joker, the multi-instrumentalist and the rock ‘n’ roll of the Bee Gees and this month, it’s 15 years since Maurice Gibb’s sudden death. Thinking back to the news headlines after Maurice died (due to complications from a twisted intestine), so many stories referred to him as “the quiet Bee Gee”…
Saturday Night Fever Turns 40, Barry Gibb Gets A Knighthood & This Music Geek Discovers Something Unusual About The Fever Songs
Barry Gibb has a knighthood and I’m a happy man. I’m not much into numerology, but there is something about the Gibb family and the number 7. The Bee Gees had their first international hits in 1967, they released what became the biggest selling album of all time in 1977, they stormed back to the top of…
Remember The Tired Old Copthorne In Downtown Auckland? It’s Now The Very Funky, Staycation-Worthy M Social
For years I’d walk past the Copthorne Hotel on the waterfront in downtown Auckland and think, “they either need to knock that down or spend millions doing it up”. It was a stunning location and for too long a tired, drab hotel in what seemed an unimaginative piece of 1970s architecture. Then one day I…
Paul McCartney Live: My NZ Herald Review Of His ‘Profound’ Auckland Concert
On Saturday I had the honour of being asked to review the Paul McCartney concert in Auckland for the New Zealand Herald. The pressure! With an understandably tight deadline, I was up until 3am trying to capture what made this three-hour event so remarkable. Here is the link: Review: Paul McCartney’s ‘profound’ Auckland concert Thanks…
E-Biking The Waikato River Trails – My NZ Herald Article + Top 20 Photos
A couple of weeks ago the New Zealand Herald published my article about e-biking the new Waikato River Trails. Click here to link to the article to find out why riding these trails was so much fun and why I think Waikato is one of the most underrated regions in New Zealand. Also read about a…
Where To Stay In Kuala Lumpur? Why The Majestic Hotel Is Such An Authentic Step Back In Time
A few months ago a friend of mine asked which hotel I’d recommend for her to stay at while in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Given this is the city of my childhood and a place that still somehow keeps pulling me back every couple of years, I was an obvious person to ask. And yet I…
Happy 65th To The Coolest Man In Music – A Coast Soul Special For Nile Rodgers
In a post-David Bowie world, is there a cooler musician alive than Nile Rodgers? I’m not certain there is. Aside from what he can do rhythmically with an electric guitar, there are the dreads, the sunnies, the beret, the suits and most crucially, the sense of being entirely comfortable in his own skin. Turning 65…
Road Tripping Through South India Part 2: Wayanad To Fort Kochi Top 60 Photos
Part two of my World Journeys southern Indian adventure will be published in the next issue of Let’s Travel magazine, this one starting in the mountainous jungles of the Wayanad region and taking us through to the historic coastal town of Fort Kochi. There was the beauty in seeing such a lush, green side of…
Barry Gibb: ‘You’re living in the now and you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow’ – Our Extended 2009 Interview
Bee Gees with their Saturday Night Fever Album Of The Year Grammy, 1979. Barry Gibb once told me this was up there with the favourite interviews he’s ever done. Well Barry, it’s fair to say the feeling is mutual, though more to the point, the gratitude and the pleasure is mine. To mark the…
40 Years Since Elvis Died, The Night That Saved His Career & Sealed His Legacy – My NZ Herald Tribute
Today the New Zealand Herald published my tribute to Elvis on the 40th anniversary of his death. How do you sum up the career of arguably the most important figure in the history of popular music in 800 words? Well, I gave it my best shot. And the angle for me was that the famous 68…
Goodbye To Joy Ramirez – The Stunning Stevie Wonder Song She Had At Her Wedding
Just over 24 hours ago I heard that one of my oldest and most remarkable friends had died in a tragic accident on her honeymoon in Vanuatu. I will never, ever forget Joy Ramirez and right now I feel very much in denial. Because Joy was always there for me. Though as I’m increasingly discovering, she…
Glen Campbell Dies – Watch Him Sing & Play The Bagpipes On Amazing Grace
It’s really sad to hear that Glen Campbell has died at the age of 81, his final years ever increasingly affected by Alzheimer’s. As soon as I heard the news I remembered this clip below and the blog post I wrote back in 2011. I was hosting a late night talk radio show and I’d…