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First published in August 2009, updated December 2010
John can be contacted at jd@puha.co.nz
I was born in Northland, NZ. My family moved around the North Island a lot in the first few years of my life before finally arriving in Miramar, Wellington just before my eighth birthday in 1956.
One day, as things were beginning to settle down, “It’s in the Bag” came to town.
This was B.T. (before television) and “Its in the Bag” with Selwyn Toogood
was the highest rating radio show In NZ.
The venue was the Miramar Central
School Hall, and was fully booked out. My parents had purchased our
tickets early, so we had good seats, and could see everything.
“It’s in the Bag” featured a short break during the live broadcast. This was so their technicians could play a pre-recorded “Message from our sponsors.” A local act had been booked to fill in this gap for the live audience. The local act that performed that night was “The Swampdwellers Skiffle Band”. Selwyn Toogood himself announced them on. Carrying Washboards and Tea Chests, they rushed out onto the stage and began belting out a highly animated Lonnie Donegan song. Before they could finish a red light came on and they rushed off again.
To an eight-year-old this was wildly exciting and totally amazing. I thought that the Swampdwellers were by far the best band I’d ever seen. Of course, they were the only band I’d ever seen, but all that aside, life’s never been the same since. I recognised the “Swampdwellers” guitarist, Mike Shackleton. Mike was the same age as my sister Marion and our Mothers worked together at “The Lamphouse,” in Maupuia Road. Mike also had a younger brother Andy who was closer to me in age.
After the “It’s in the Bag” show, I became very interested in what the Shackleton boys were getting up to after school and on the weekends.
The Shackleton’s house in Brussels Street had a big old shed out the back. The boys had taken it over and the Swampdwellers held their band practices there. There were a variety of musical instruments lying around and there was an old wind-up gramophone that sat on a bench surrounded by piles of ‘78’s. Andy also had formed a Skiffle Band, with his schoolmates Rod Stone and Johnnie England. They called their band “The Skiffle Scholars.” About dinner time when the Swampdwellers packed up and left the shed, the Skiffle Scholars took over. They had a banjo, a ukulele, a washboard and a Tea-Chest bass with the name of the band painted on to it. Sometimes when they were practicing they would let me sit in with them, usually playing the Tea Chest.
Inspired by the adventure of it all, I formed my own Skiffle Band at Miramar Central Primary school. The members of my band were Ian Stephen, Eddy McDonald, Laurie Thomas and Dave Reid. We would perform in the school playsheds on rainy days. I played my Dad’s old Tenor guitar that he had tuned to an open “C” chord for me. The rest of the band played percussion instruments that we borrowed from the school.
We had our first serious public performance at a school concert held in the very same hall that the Swampdwellers had performed in. For this big event I borrowed Andy’s tea chest bass for Dave Reid to play. I had named my band “Johnnie and the Cutthroats” as we were all dressed in pirate costumes for a Play we were performing in that evening. However, Andy’s Tea Chest still had "Skiffle Scholars" painted on it so people assumed that was our name of our band.
It turned out to be a life-changing night for me and people who were there still remember it.
After that my Dad built us our own tea chest bass and we changed the name of our band to “The Rhythm Wreckers”. We painted the band name on the tea chest ourselves, spelling “Rhythm” wrong, of course...
Later I commenced piano lessons from Mrs McKercher who lived a few doors from us up Rex St. She and I engaged in several years of mutual torture that would lead eventually to Ian, Laurie and I reforming the “Rhythm Wreckers” in 1960 as a piano band. This band we named “The Vultures”. This was to be my last band at Primary School.
One day Andy and I were out in the Shackleton’s shed when suddenly, for no apparent reason, he tore his banjo apart and rebuilt it as a snare drum. That “snare drum” became the centrepiece of a "drum kit" he built out of all sorts of pots and pans and old buckets and stuff. He would sit in with Mike’s band when they practiced in the old shed. In no time at all he became their regular drummer.
This really marked the end of the Skiffle Era in Miramar and British group “The Shadows” was now becoming the major influence on the Local Bands. Already “The Swampdwellers” had gone electric and become “The Premiers", and so “The Skiffle Scholars” followed and became “The Librettos”.
Not to be left behind the "Vultures” went electric and became first “The Crescendos,” then “The Strangers”.
The following is what happened to me after that and of course, it’s all Andy’s fault. If he hadn’t lent me his tea chest bass that night in Miramar, I might have gone on to enjoy a perfectly normal life…
1964 “The Strangers” are formed in Miramar with Steve Musaphia and the McDonald brothers, Eddy and Steve. – We disband in 1965.
1966 Original “Cheshire Katt” founded in Miramar with Dennis Cleaver and Doug Reid.
1967 Cheshire Katt attempt world non-stop playing record.
1968 Cheshire Katt turn professional - move to Auckland.
1969 Cheshire Katt disband-return to Wellington – I join “Dizzy Limits”.
1970 Dizzy Limits travel to London- on return change band name to “Timberjack”
1971 Timberjack record “Come to the Sabbat” on Ode Records- Loxene Gold Disc Finalist- Timberjack Splits – I Record 1st Single as “Timberjack Donoghue”– “Dahli Mohammed” -becomes Loxene Golden Disc Finalist. –First Bulldogs Allstar Goodtime Band’s lineup formed with me on Banjo.
1972 I join Auckland band “The Human Instinct”.
1973 Record my 1st solo album “Spirit of Pelorus Jack” - wins “NZ Album of the year award”
1974 Record “The Hustler” album with the Human Instinct - Re-join “Bulldogs Allstar Goodtime Band” for their final NZ tours. Band wins “NZ Group of the Year award”
1975 Record 2nd “Timberjack Donoghue” album with Wellington band “Redeye”, featuring Julian Lee and the Yandall Sisters- I then move to London.
1976 Return to NZ - Form “Pasha” duo with Steve McDonald in Auckland – We make one record for Ode – Move to Te Hapua - Far North.
1977 Political Rockband “Cockroach” formed in Far North. Band includes Dennis from “Cheshire Katt.”
1978 Cockroach moves to Whangarei.
1979 Cockroach performs at “Nambassa” rock festival - Makes one record for Ode.
1980 Cockroach disbands – I Return to Wellington.
1981 I tour North Island with “The Platters” from USA.
1982 Join “Mangaweka Viaduct Blues Band” Wellington Blues Circuit.
1983 Form duo “John Wayne” with Wayne Mason for residency at Cricketers Arms, Wellington - Also “Crookstrait” band, with John O’Connor and Rob Clarkson.
1984 Form “The Warratahs” with Wayne Mason and Barry Saunders.
1985 Martin Jorgensen and Nik Smith join Warratahs- we record album “Only Game In Town” for Pagan Records – Wins “NZ Country album of the year“ -Warratahs then commence several years extensive touring.
1988 Leave Warratahs to become Recording Engineer at Pacific Sound Studios, Wellington. –Become Record Producer, founding “Rock Solid Music Productions” with Martin Jorgensen and Bruce McKinnon.
1989 Form band “Johnny and the Skyhawks” for residency at “The Oaks” - Central Wellington.
1990 Rock Solid Productions wins “Classical Album of the Year Award” with Stan Friedman’s “Lyric Trumpet” and Finalist in “Jazz Album of the Year “Crombie Murdoch.” Also Aotearoa Radio “Number One Airplay Award” for Electric Puha’s “Sweet Music in Te Hapua.”
1991 Skyhawks disband – form duo “JD Mohawk” with drummer Maurice Newport for residency at “Molly Malones” Irish Bar, Wellington.
1994 Move to Northland to join “Electric Puha” Band.
1995 Form “Northland Bandidos” with guitarist Richard Mason for residency at “Revas on the Waterfront” - Whangarei
1996 Bands “Electric Puha” and “Northland Bandidos” combine to form “Puha Bandidos” for TV's "Gong Show." Episode Winners.
1996 Become itinerant street musician, Northland.
1997 Go bush. Go mad.
1998 Itinerant street musician, again.
1999 Bush, mad, etc.
2000 Hokianga Community Trust Coordinator, Waimamaku- Reform “Puha Bandidos Streetband” for residency in Paihia, Bay of Islands.
2002 Run for Parliament contesting the Northland seat for the Alliance.
2003 Found “Waimamaku Wildwestfest’ annual street festival, Hokianga.
2004 Tour Rarotonga with “Puha Bandidos.”
2005 Music Tutor in residence at Opononi Area School
2008 Head of Music, Opononi Area School
2010 Eccentric Recluse-Hokianga-Northland
Well, it’s been a great adventure and it’s not over yet, by a long shot.
Along the way I have also gigged with many fine social bands, skiffle bands and working combos.
These have included; -"The Leaders" - "Azizweriz " - "Guru and the Gypsy" - "Stoney Broke" - "Bored Room” - "Free Beer" - "The Hutt River Band" -"Mike Stand and the Amplifiers" - "Sound Advice" - "The Pitts Street Band" - "Prima Donna" – “The Possums” - “The '78's" - "The Queenstown Skiffle Band" - "Jumbadobra" - "Heckle and Jeckle" - "The Titanics" (they always go down well) - "Mescalito" - "Opomojo" – "The Hillbillies" – ”The Mudtroll Buskers" – and “The Flying Mud Flat Flagon Band."
(“Hogsnort Rupert” doesn’t really count because I got fired before the first
gig...)
To be continued………
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