Every weekday between 1 and 5pm we play tracks from our #spotlightartist. They’re an artist with a body of work which has stood the test of time. We’ll play the hits – but also some deep cuts. Listen ad-free through New Zealand via @tunein at https://goo.gl/VL6m3N
Dave Dobbyn is an obvious artist to celebrate in New Zealand Music Month – because its obvious doesn’t mean its the wrong thing to do though. He has such an impressive body of work, and has been a big part of my life since “Slice of Heaven” was a triumphant singalong in the mid 1980s from the Footrot Flats film. Of course that wasn’t the beginning – later I got to sing along to classic party songs from his earlier career in Th’Dudes. Overnight Success was his first best of, released in 1999 and filled with cracking tracks. Wonderfully he has gone on to release further treasures since then. We look forward to listening to some gems this week, including a few lesser known tracks.
James Bay was the much hyped man in a hat back in 2014, the ex Brighton busker with the sensitive folk-pop acoustic leaning album The Chaos and the Calm. He could have done it again, but whilst ostensibly on a six month break he headed into a basement studio and emerged with what iTunes describes as “simmering funk-rock, taut alt-pop and folky electro-R&B”. At the risk of too much smooth male music (Charlie Puth last weekend released Voicenotes, next weekend Shawn Mendes releases a self titled album) we’re looking forward to checking out more tracks from this album. The tracklist:
Smith & Thell – DUMB
Beach House – Pay No Mind
Lake Street Dive – I Can Change
Rueben Stone – Something For You
R3hab & Conor Maynard – Hold On Tight
Neil Finn’s status as a legendary Kiwi musician is really inarguable. His achievements span four decades and a body of masterful pop. Born in 1958 he joined Split Enz in the mid 1970s. By 1980 he was lead singer and made an impressive debut on the international scene writing and singing their first big worldwide hit “I Got You”. After an impressive body of work with Split Enz, he went on to found what became Crowded House. They went on to enjoy stellar success, including two massive hits “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and “Weather With You”. Since they split up in 1997 he has released four solo albums (Try Whistling This – 1998, One Nil – 2001, Dizzy Heights – 2014 and Out Of Silence last year) as well as many collaborations including ones with his brother Tim and his wife (forming Pyjama Club). We’ll enjoy lots of great hits as well as some lesser known tracks from Neil’s various career points over the week. We’ll kick it off after 1pm Monday with one of my favourites, “It’s Only Natural” off Crowded House’s penultimate and perhaps greatest album Woodface (1991).
New Zealand Music Month continues with another great new release from Sons of Zion. These guys released their first album in 2009 and have really gone from strength to strength. They have stepped beyond their reggae origins to more of a pop sound, although the reggae vibes are still there. This is an album that brings a taste of summer with its cool vibes – we look forward to checking it out this week.
Frank Turner – 1933
Middle Kids – Bought It
Guns N’ Roses – Shadow Of Your Love
Missy Higgins – Red Moon
Graace – Kissing Boys
One of the most successful artists of the 1980s, Lionel Richie followed success in The Commodores with a massive 13 Top 10 hits in his 1981 – 1987 heyday. His first single from his first solo album (Truly) hit number 1 – we’ll kick the Spotlight Artist week off with this track on Monday. The hits kept on coming. We’ll play most of them, but as usual we’ll also play some less well known tracks.
May has been New Zealand Music Month since 2000, an opportunity to promote and celebrate New Zealand music. Check out the 
Nerina Pallot – Man Didn’t Walk On The Moon
Ruel – Dazed & Confused
LOWES – Here We Are
Billy Raffoul – Could You Be Mine?
Elohim – Half Love
The Wailers started out in 1963, with changes of lineup through to 1974 and their third album Natty Dread. Peter Tosh had left by this time, and for the first time they were credited as Bob Marley & The Wailers. Their breakthrough didn’t come until the following year when they performed at the Lyceum in London. Eric Clapton had helped popularise reggae the with his cover of “I Shot The Sheriff”. The band kept going from strength to strength until Bob’s sad death in 1981.