A smorgasboard of contagiously cringeworthy songs, served with a huge dollop of cheesy comedy.
NZ in the 1970s and the cultural cringe was in full swing. Musical options were limited, popular music was served to us via a handful of radio stations and two TV channels. At a time before the internet, Spotify, iTunes and musical gratification at the touch of the screen, we were held hostage to the Top 40, often delivered to us via shows such as Happen Inn, Free Ride and Ready to Roll.
Mark Williams, Bunny Walters, Suzanne, Craig Scott, The Fourmyula, Creation, John Rowles, Blerta and more sashayed into our living rooms performing original songs and covers of overseas hits unavailable via music videos as they are today.
Many of these songs had a story to tell, packed with drama and often tragedy… ‘Take The Money and Run’, ‘Seasons In the Sun’, ‘Jezebel’, ‘I Did What I Did for Maria’ and ‘Tell Laura I Love Her’ … you couldn’t escape and somehow ended up knowing all of the lyrics inside out.
Kids today can tune in and out as they please. We, on the other hand, ended up being forced to listen to songs we didn’t necessarily even like … until now!
