Dave Dobbyn

Dave Dobbyn stood among New Zealand’s most enduring and admired pop figures, sustaining a career that stretched across multiple decades. He first appeared in mid-1976 as a founding member of Th’ Dudes, then one of the nation’s leading groups, and quickly drew notice as the band’s standout talent through his songwriting and vocals on their major success “Be Mine Tonight.” Negative press, together with struggles involving drugs and alcohol, curtailed the group’s run; after Th’ Dudes disbanded in 1980, Dobbyn withdrew to develop solo recordings away from public view. He later joined Sharon O’Neill’s backing band on guitar, and in early 1981 CBS issued his first solo single “Lipstick Power,” which made no chart impact, nor did the follow-up “Bull by the Horns.”

Midway through 1981, Dave Dobbyn’s Divers—featuring former Lip Service guitarist Rob “Revox” Guy, drummer Peter “Rooda” Warren, and bassist Lisle Kinney—performed their initial shows. Shortly afterward the ensemble adopted the name DD Smash and released the single “Repetition,” which climbed into the Top 25 and paved the way for the 1982 album Cool Bananas, an immediate chart-topper. Following an automobile crash, Kinney departed; bassist Ian Morris joined, and DD Smash returned in 1983 with the hit “Outlook for Tuesday.” After issuing the concert recording Live: Deep in the Heart of Taxes, Dobbyn retained only Warren and completed 1984’s The Optimist with studio musicians.

A free concert by the reconstituted DD Smash on December 7, 1984, descended into rioting; authorities blamed Dobbyn for inciting the crowd, leading to a trial that ended in acquittal yet left his standing diminished. He maintained a subdued profile afterward, producing the soundtrack for the animated film Footrot Flats before emerging in early 1986 with the newly formed Dave Dobbyn & the Stone People. The solo single “Slice of Heaven” soon topped the New Zealand charts, and “You Oughta Be in Love” likewise achieved major success. Following further touring, Dobbyn delivered his first official solo album, Loyal, in 1988. Subsequent releases included Lament for the Numb in 1993, Twist the next year, The Islander in 1998, Hopetown in 2000, Available Light in 2005, and Anotherland in 2008.