Hogsnort Rupert "Ways of making you laugh" 1971

...Wishart returned after six months and moved to Napier, honing his stagecraft with the Napier Frivolity Minstrels musical society. Six months later, Luther returned and formed his own production and management company called Mardi-Gras Music. He produced singles for Wishart, including his own ‘Grandad’s Piano’, and managed Bulldogs Allstar Goodtime Band, co-writing their 1973 hit ‘Everyone Knows’ and producing their Bulldoggin’ LP. In 1976 he became the guitarist in The Jo Michat Group for what would be a five-year residency at the Burma Motor Lodge in Johnsonville. Occasionally Wishart would make the trip down from Napier to do a floorshow with the band. On one such trip in 1981, Luther and Wishart started talking about making another album. Within the Jo Michat line-up they had a ready-made band in Margaret Gill (piano), Bernie Reber (drums) and former Bulldogs Allstar Goodtime Band bassist Kevin Findlater. They called in ex-Bulldogs vocalist Neil Worboys on guitar, banjo and harmonica and the new Hogsnort Rupert entered the studio...
...The single ‘Tokyo Rose’, written by former Timberjack guitarist (and another ex-Bulldog) John Donoghue, was released on Epic before the comeback LP It’s Hogsnort Rupert appeared on Luther’s own Mardi-Gras label in 1982. It included a radically reworked ‘Pretty Girl’ just to see if they could “do it differently”. The band went out on the RSA/cosmopolitan club touring circuit but things had changed in their absence. With the likes of Billy T. James and Prince Tui Teka setting the bar high, audiences now expected a show full of comedy and music. It was an opportune time to exploit Alec Wishart’s humour and the band wrote a 2½-hour scripted show built around the old Hogsnort Rupert favourites as well as the Neil Worboys-fronted Bulldogs hits ‘Miss September’ and ‘Everyone Knows’.
Part of the show was a talent quest skit where Wishart would undergo numerous costume changes portraying characters such as Trembling Teddy Boyes and Big Rex Horton. During one costume change the rest of the band assumed the guise of ageing rockers Dave and the Dynamos who performed a short ditty about turning 40. By 1983, the ditty had developed into a complete song called ‘Life Begins At 40’ which Luther demoed and gave to Wishart to learn as the next Hogsnort Rupert single. The more people who heard the demo, the more suggested Luther sing the song himself and so he decided he would. He approached CBS and EMI but neither company were keen, so he pressed 400 or so copies of the demo under the Dave and the Dynamos name on his own Mardi-Gras label and sent a few off to radio stations. Lindsay Yeo started spinning the single on his 2ZB breakfast show in Wellington, but it was immediately after Merv Smith played it on the corresponding 1ZB show in Auckland that Luther received a phone call from CBS A&R director Gilbert Egdell, who was suddenly interested. Egdell suggested that CBS take care of distribution. Dave and the Dynamos’ ‘Life Begins At 40’ hit the No.1 spot in New Zealand that September – the only locally made No.1 of 1983. ‘Outlook For Thursday’ by DD Smash had peaked at No.3, ‘Sierra Leone’ by Coconut Rough at No.5 and the Netherworld Dancing Toys EP at No.10. Luther was holidaying in the UK when ‘Life Begins At 40’ was released there on the Epic label in November. He rang CBS headquarters in London and was met with great enthusiasm by the woman on the other end of the line when he explained he was Dave from Dave and the Dynamos. She read him through the new releases on Epic that week – Dave and the Dynamos’ ‘Life Begins At 40’, one from Shakin’ Stevens, one from Luther Vandross and Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. “Come and see us for morning tea when you’re in London on Wednesday,” she finished. By the time Wednesday rolled around, Luther had come down with the flu and the visit slipped his mind. When David Hamilton started playing the song on his BBC Radio 2 show, Luther thought he’d better touch base with the London office again. This time the woman was anything but enthusiastic. “Where were you on Wednesday? Everybody was here!” The single died in the UK after that. It took a year for a Dave and the Dynamos follow-up to appear, the Jim Hall-produced ‘Can’t Spell Rhythm’. Despite a video directed by Simon Morris and featuring cameos from Gliding On actors Ross Jolly and Ray Henwood, Fair Go reporter Philip Alpers and guitar-playing brothers Martin and Rob Winch, the song failed to chart. Hogsnort Rupert split again in 1988 but they have performed regularly since 1995, based around constants Luther, Wishart, Findlater, Worboys and drummer Dean Ruscoe, who was a sideman with the band in the early 1970s before touring the world with The Maori Volcanics. Luther’s son Graeme had a stint on keyboards and Wishart’s son Dean has guested on drums. They supported The Beach Boys and Cliff Richard at Napier’s Mission Estate Winery Concerts and released albums Hypnotic, A Tribute To The Goodtimes and A Touch Of Hoggers, and in 2014 were part of Dame Malvina Major’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration Tour. So, 44 years after ‘Pretty Girl’ took out The Beatles and made Hogsnort Rupert a household name, are there any regrets for Dave Luther? “Well, I still wish we’d gone with Flutey Harper’s Original Flagon Band,” he grinned. - audioculture

trax:
1. Ways Of Making You Laugh 2. Charlie Was A Good Man 3. Monday 4. Muddy Waters 5. Old Kentucky Home 6. Studio One Theme 7. Harvest Of Love 8. Crazy World 9. Turn Around Noeline 10. Ain't Misbehaving 11. Freight Train 12. The Topsy Turvy World Of Arthur Grey 13. Digging My Potatoes 14. Short 'N' Sweet 15. Act Naturally (Bonus Track) 16. I'm Coming Back To You (Bonus Track) 17. Little Bird (Bonus Track)
…served by Gaius…