Hello Sailor

In the mid-'70s, Hello Sailor emerged as stars on the New Zealand scene, becoming one of the country's first bands to succeed on the strength of their original material. The group's origins date back to 1963, when guitarists Harry Lyon and the Dave McArtney played together while at school. Reunited while attending Auckland University in the early '70s they formed Hello Sailor in 1975 with vocalist Graham Brazier. The group began to build a reputation as a superior live act and released a 1976 single on RCA covering The Andrews Sisters "Rum and Coca Cola." 
 By 1976 Hello Sailor’s line-up with Brazier, McArtney and Lyon had Lisle Kinney on bass and drummer Ricky Ball. Their eponymous debut LP, Hello Sailor, released in late 1977 produced three hit singles in "Gutter Black", "Blue Lady" and “Lying in the Sand”. The subsequent national tour proved equally successful, paving the way for the emergence of New Zealand's pub rock circuit. 
 After spending much of 1978 in Los Angeles, the group returned home to promote their second album, Pacifica Amour, playing to capacity houses. After an exhausting six-month 1979 tour of Australia Brazier, McArtney and Lyon agreed to pursue solo projects and in February 1980, the band dissolved. 
 In 1985 Hello Sailor re-formed and continued to perform and record, releasing Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion (1985), The Album (1995), When Your Lights Are Out (2006) and Surrey Crescent Moon (2012).