Dragon (band)
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Dragon was the name of a popular New Zealand/Australian rock band, led by lead singer Marc Hunter and his brother Todd Hunter. Original keyboard player Paul Hewson wrote or co-wrote most of the group's earlier hits.
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Band history
The band formed in Auckland in 1972, with a line-up that featured Todd Hunter, guitarist Ray Goodwin, drummer Neil Reynolds and singer Graeme Collins but by 1974 several personnel changes had occurred before Marc Hunter joined on vocals and Neil Storey came in on drums. Dragon recorded two progressive rock albums in their native New Zealand, Universal Radio and Scented Gardens for the Blind, the second with an added guitar element from Robert Taylor. Paul Hewson also joined the band on keyboards and from this point Dragon's music took on a pop-flavoured AOR feel.
Dragon eventually landed a contract in Australia with CBS Records and relocated there in 1975. Always a lightning rod for controversy, the band was rocked by the heroin overdose death of Storey only weeks after arriving in Australia, and their original manager was also deported back to New Zealand on drugs charges. By then, founding member Goodwin had left the group.
Storey was replaced by Kerry Jacobson and between 1975 and 1979, Dragon scored a string of major hits on the Australian pop charts with songs including "April Sun in Cuba," "Are You Old Enough" and "Still In Love With You" and the albums Sunshine and O Zambezi. There were high hopes of an American breakthrough but these were scuttled by a disastrous American tour, in which Marc Hunter incited an Austin, Texas crowd (calling all Texans "faggots") and the band had to dodge flying beer bottles. Marc Hunter left the band in 1979, due to his health problems, which were by then seriously affecting his performances. A new singer in Richard Lee was recruited and the group recorded Powerplay LP before breaking up in 1979.
Marc Hunter cleaned up somewhat in the post-Dragon years and released two moderately successful solo singles, "Island Nights" (1979) and "Big City Talk" (1981) and the LP Fiji Bitter. Brother Todd had meanwhile teamed up with his partner (and later wife) Johanna Pigott (formerly of indie group XL Capris) and together they became a successful songwriting team.
The group was forced to reform in 1982 to pay off outstanding debts, but they stayed together and decided to have another shot at success. The band's second comeback single "Rain" proved to be a massive hit but Jacobson left the band for health reasons and was replaced by British drummer Terry Chambers, formerly from the band XTC. American keyboard player and producer Alan Mansfield also joined the band at this point. The group's 1984 album Body and the Beat became one of the biggest-selling albums in Australia and New Zealand and the band was restored to something close to its late 70s glory. Paul Hewson left the band and tragically died from a drug overdose in New Zealand in January 1985 and Chambers and Taylor left some time after.American, Doanne Perry replaced Chambers and Taylor was eventually succeeded by guitar ace Tommy Emmanuel.
This line-up produced the Todd Rundgren-produced Dreams of Ordinary Men album and toured Europe under the name Hunter in 1987, where they were somewhat misrepresented as a heavy metal band in some markets. After this, Dragon again split up in 1988 although a year later the Hunter brothers and Mansfield had reconvened once again with guitarist Randall Waller and drummer Barton Price, ex-Models and The Choirboys, for Bondi Road, which actually featured Emmanuel's guitar playing.
Dragon continued to record and tour off and on with varying line-ups centered around Todd and Marc Hunter and Mansfield until 1997, although Todd Hunter retired from the band to do soundtrack work Heartbreak High after the 1995 album Incarnations, which featured reworkings of earlier hits. In 1998 Marc Hunter was diagnosed with throat cancer and he died later that year.
Personnel
Todd Hunter (bass) 1972 - 1995
Marc Hunter (vocals) 1973 - 1979, 1982 -
Alan Mansfield (keyboards) 1982 -
Paul Hewson (keyboards) 1975 - 1985
Robert Taylor (guitar) 1975 - 1985
Tommy Emmanuel (guitar) 1985 - 1988, 1995
Ray Goodwin (guitar) 1972 - 1975
Neil Storey (drums) 1972 - 1975
Kerry Jacobson (drums) 1975 - 1982
Terry Chambers (drums) 1982 - 1985
Doane Perry (drums) 1985 - 1988
Richard Lee (vocals) 1979 - 1980
Neil Reynolds (drums) 1972
Graeme Collins (vocals) 1972
Ivan Thompson (vocals) 1972 (replaced Collins)
Don Miller-Robinson (guitar) 1985 (replaced Taylor)
Randall Waller (guitar) 1989
Barton Price (drums) 1989
Mike Caen (guitar) 1989 - 1995, 1996 - 1997
Ange Tsoitoudis (guitar) 1996 - 1997
Dario Bortolin (bass) 1996
Mick O'Shea (drums) 1996 - 1997
Billy Kervin (bass) 1996 - 1997
Major Hits
- April Sun in Cuba ( 1977)
- Are you old enough ? ( 1978)
- Still in love with you ( 1978)
- Rain ( 1983)
Albums
Universal Radio 1974
Scented Gardens for the Blind 1975
Running Free 1977
Sunshine 1978
O Zambezi 1978
Power Play 1979
Dragon's Greatest Hits Vol 1 1979
Body and the Beat 1984
Live One 1985
Dreams of Ordinary Men 1986
Bondi Road 1989
So Far: Their Classic Collection 1990
Incarnations 1995