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Dave Dobbyn is regarded as a national treasure in New Zealand. It’s a Japanese expression used for people who have made such a contribution to a country’s identity and culture that their existence is a cause for celebration.
In 2001, after 25 years as a musician and songwriter, Dobbyn was given a rare, lifetime achievement award by the New Zealand recording industry. Instead of a speech, the managing director of Sony Music New Zealand just read out a list of song titles.
The list went on for some time: 'Beside You', 'Be Mine Tonight', 'Language', 'Outlook For Thursday', 'Loyal', 'Whaling', 'Kingdom Come', 'It Dawned On Me', 'Guilty', 'Devil You Know', 'Slice of Heaven', 'Magic What She Do', 'Oughta Be in Love' …
These songs written by Dobbyn had moved people throughout the country. They were songs they had danced to with their first lover, songs they have married to, songs that have made them laugh and cry. These songs they have even played when burying their loved ones.
Everyone in the room that night knew them, from retired music legends to teenage musicians in their first band: even New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Helen Clark. Just mentioning the song titles made everyone realise how much Dave Dobbyn had written the soundtrack to their lives. A wave of emotion swept the room. Everyone present got to their feet and started to clap; most would have been choking back tears.
Dave Dobbyn says that since day one, he has had a tune in his head. A slight boy with a head of ginger curls, he found his niche with music rather than rugby. The middle child of a large family, he spent his time daydreaming. He’d be twiddling the dial on the radiogram, “travelling the world in music”. Across the road was a church, full of songs in which to hide. Now he realised what he learnt there. “After being exposed to such emotion, how could you not sing?” he says. And on that radio, he heard the tunes he wanted to sing: Beatles, Motown, David Bowie.
“Growing up, I got a good sense of ‘the song’. It was regarded as a precious, fleeting thing on the radio. And when you got the records, you didn’t have to wait to hear the magic.”
The shy schoolboy blossomed into a peroxided popstar in his first band, Th’ Dudes. Formed with his school friends, Th’ Dudes hit singles from the late 1970s have become perennial favourites, particularly Dobbyn’s 'Be Mine Tonight' and 'Bliss'. Taking centre-stage with his next band DD Smash, Dobbyn made history when the band’s debut album rocketed to No 1 in the first week of its release.
Dobbyn is well-known for catchy, nutty singles 'Outlook For Thursday' (about the weather) and 'Slice of Heaven' (for the soundtrack for an animated feature about a sheepdog), were two of the nuttiest that prove irresistible – and also for deeply emotional ballads. 'Slice of Heaven' spent eight weeks at No 1 in New Zealand, and four in Australia. 'Loyal', from his first solo album of the same name, has been a favourite for romantics for nearly 15 years.
In the early 1990s, after nearly a decade in Australia – with regular visits home for annual summer tours around beach resorts – Dobbyn returned to New Zealand to live. Mitchell Froom, the American producer of Crowded House, masterminded 'Lament for the Numb' in 1993. The recording sessions in Los Angeles were interrupted by earthquakes, but the album found a new maturity in Dobbyn’s songwriting.
This continued with 'Twist' (1994), produced by Neil Finn of Crowded House. New Zealand’s other favourite songwriter, Finn had also recently returned home to recharge and for New Zealanders this was the “dream duo” finally collaborating. Dobbyn was also invited to take part in ENZSO, the tribute to Split Enz featuring songs of the Finn brothers performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Dobbyn’s two most recent albums, 'The Islander' (1998) and 'Hopetown' (2000) saw the singer-songwriter producing himself, then going full circle, co-producing with his old friend from Th’ Dudes, Ian Morris. A national tour with Tim Finn (Split Enz and Crowded House) and Bic Runga ('Beautiful Collision') packed out town halls and picture palaces throughout New Zealand, including five nights at the grand Civic Theatre, in Dobbyn’s home town of Auckland.
A tribute to the lasting impact Dobbyn’s songs have had on his compatriots – and his musical peers – came in 2001, when New Zealand’s songwriters and music industry experts voted for the 30 best New Zealand songs written in the previous 75 years. Five songs by Dave Dobbyn made the Top 30, more than any other songwriter.
In 2002, the much-loved Dobbyn song 'Loyal' was chosen by Team New Zealand to front its international campaign to win back the America’s Cup yachting trophy. Wherever New Zealanders gather around the world, it is likely to be songs by Dave Dobbyn they sing when thinking of home. So New Zealanders eagerly await the release of his next album, which he has recorded with bass-player Bones Hillman (Midnight Oil) and Ross Burge (The Mutton Birds).
A best-selling retrospective album of Dobbyn’s career was called 'Overnight Success': it only took him 25 years of hard work. In the world of pop music, success often lasts no longer than overnight – but Dobbyn’s talents have consistently charmed their way into the consciousness of New Zealanders. This is a national treasure who keeps on shining.
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