Herbs are a New Zealand

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

group founded in 1979 and led by singer-guitarist Dilworth Karaka, the only constant member. Since its foundation Herbs has been multi-ethnic in membership and featured

Samoans Samoans or Samoan people ( sm, tagata Sāmoa) are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between t ...

Tongans Tongans, a Polynesian group, represent more than 98% of the inhabitants of Tonga. The rest are European (the majority are British), mixed European, and other Pacific Islanders. There also are several hundred Chinese. Almost two-thirds of the po ...

Cook Islanders Cook Islanders are residents of the Cook Islands, which is composed of 15 islands and atolls in Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. Cook Islands Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Cook Islands, although more Cook Islands Māori cu ...

, New Zealand europeans and Maori members. The 11th inductee into the

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...

, were once described as "New Zealand's most soulful, heartfelt and consistent contemporary musical voice". It has been said their debut EP '' What's Be Happen?'' "set a standard for Pacific reggae which has arguably never been surpassed".

Politics

The band has always been political, with links to the

Polynesian Panthers The Polynesian Panther Party (PPP) was a revolutionary social justice movement formed to target racial inequalities carried out against indigenous Māori and Pacific Islanders in Auckland, New Zealand. Founded by a group of young Polynesians on 16 ...

and the cover of ''Whats' Be Happen'' (released during the 1981 Springbok tour) being an aerial photo of police action at

Bastion Point Takaparawhau / Bastion Point is a coastal piece of land in Ōrākei, Auckland, New Zealand, overlooking the Waitematā Harbour. The area is significant in New Zealand history as the site of protests in the late 1970s by Māori against forced l ...

in 1978. As well as race relations, the band took a strong stance on nuclear weapons in the Pacific with "French Letter".

History

Herbs produced a stream of reggae hits with some of the country's top talent. In the 1980s and the first half of the '90s, Herbs had 10 top 20 singles hits. Herbs also worked alongside

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, ...

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...

, and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

. Herbs' music is upbeat and clear in its messages. Their 1982 New Zealand hit "French Letter", which spent 11 weeks on the charts, expressed New Zealand's anti-nuclear stance. Fourteen years later, it was re-recorded to garner support for the prevention of nuclear testing at

Mururoa Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll i ...

. Similarly, "No Nukes (The Second Letter)", "Nuclear Waste" and "Light of the Pacific" expressed much the same sentiment. Herbs' third release and first full album ''Long Ago'', which featured the 1984 single of the same name, was produced by well-known New Zealand bass player

Billy Kristian Ray Columbus & the Invaders were a rock group from Christchurch, New Zealand that was active from 1964 to 1966, fronted by the lead vocalist, Ray Columbus, a musician, television host and manager. Part of the new surf music craze, they were th ...

. In 1986, former

Be-Bop Deluxe Be-Bop Deluxe were an English rock band who achieved critical acclaim and moderate commercial success during the mid to late 1970s. History Be-Bop Deluxe Be-Bop Deluxe was founded in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, by singer, guitaris ...

bassist/vocalist

Charlie Tumahai Charles Turu Tumahai (14 January 1949 – 21 December 1995) was a New Zealand singer, bass player and songwriter who was a member of several noted rock groups in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. He is best known internationally as the bass ...

joined the group, having been a session musician for various international acts. In 1986, "

Slice of Heaven "Slice of Heaven" is a single by New Zealand singer-songwriter Dave Dobbyn with the band Herbs, released in 1986 on the soundtrack of the animated motion picture, '' Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tail Tale''. The single reached 1 on the New Zealand ...

" with

Dave Dobbyn Sir David Joseph Dobbyn (born 3 January 1957) is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then ...

reached number one on both the New Zealand and Australian charts. In 1989,

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowd ...

joined them for "Parihaka" and, in 1992, Annie Crummer fronted the hit single "See What Love Can Do". Around this time the band forged into producing, providing instrumentation for Samoan singing sensation John Parker. The album titled ''Another Girl'' produced a local hit, a reggae-funk inspired cover of the maori folk song "E Papa". In 1989, the band was assisted by

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

member

, who produced, played slide guitar and sung on the band's ''Homegrown'' album, which featured a cover of "

Walk Away Renee Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...

", originally recorded by

The Left Banke The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, " Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroq ...

. Walsh announced he had joined Herbs, but the union lasted less than a year. Walsh gives credit to the members taking him to 'the ruins at

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...

', where he had 'a moment of clarity' – for inspiring him to pursue sobriety. They also provided two songs to the 1990 film, ''

The Shrimp on the Barbie ''The Shrimp on the Barbie'', released in Australia as ''The Boyfriend from Hell'', is a 1990 comedy film directed by Michael Gottlieb (under the pseudonym Alan Smithee) and starring Cheech Marin. The title is derived from a line in a 1980s s ...

'': A cover of the Peggy Lee song "Mañana (Is Good Enough for Me)" and "Listen". Herbs are considered pioneers of the

Pacific reggae Pacific reggae is a style of reggae music found in the Pacific. This style is found in Polynesia (including New Zealand and Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about ...

sound, having paved the way for contemporary

New Zealand reggae New Zealand reggae is the New Zealand variation of the musical genre reggae. It is a large and well established part of New Zealand music, and includes some of the country's most successful and highly acclaimed bands. History Reggae bands in New ...

groups such as

Fat Freddy's Drop Fat Freddy's Drop is a New Zealand seven-piece band from Wellington, whose musical style has been characterised as any combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues, and techno. Originally a jam band formed in the late 1990s by mus ...

Katchafire Katchafire are an all Māori New Zealand roots reggae band from Hamilton, New Zealand. History Katchafire formed in Hamilton in 1997, originally as a Bob Marley tribute band.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)Katchafire keeping NZ reggae scene ...

The Black Seeds The Black Seeds are a reggae inspired musical group from Wellington, New Zealand.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)The Black Seeds, rooted in reggae, '' Jamaica Observer'', 27 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013 Their rocksteady song "O ...

, and Trinity Roots. Although their last album of new material was released in 1990, Herbs still perform in New Zealand and Australia, with guitarist Dilworth Karaka the last remaining member of the original line-up that released ''Whats' Be Happen?'' in 1981. Of the 2013 line-up, Karaka, keyboardist Tama Lundon (joined 1983) and percussionist Thom Nepia (joined 1985) remain from the band's late 1980s commercial peak. "Homegrown" is featured on the soundtrack of ''

Once Were Warriors ''Once Were Warriors'' is New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling first novel, published in 1990. It tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and portrays the reality of domestic violence in New Zealand. It was the basis of a 1 ...

''. Tama Renata died in November 2018.

Members

Herbs lineups

;Other former members *Dave Pou – bass guitar *John Berkley – bass guitar *Alan Foulkes – percussion *Kristen Hapi – drums *Juanito Muzzio – percussion *Grant Pukeroa – vocals/drums *Max Hohepa – vocals/bass guitar *Lionel Nelson – vocals *Ned Webster – drums *Ryan Monga – drums

Past members

*Toni Fonoti – vocals/percussion *Spencer Fusimalohi – vocals/guitar *Fred Faleauto (deceased) – vocals/drums *Dave Pou – bass guitar *John Berkley – bass guitar *Phil Toms – vocals/bass guitar *Morrie Watene – vocals/saxophone *Alan Foulkes – percussion *Carl Perkins (deceased) – vocals/percussion *Jack Allen – vocals/bass guitar *Willie Hona – vocals/guitar *

(deceased) – vocals/bass guitar *Gordon Joll – drums *

– vocals/guitar *Kristen Hapi – drums *Juanito Muzzio – percussion *Grant Pukeroa – vocals/drums *Max Hohepa – vocals/bass guitar *Lionel Nelson – vocals *Ned Webster – drums *Ryan Monga – drums *Tama Renata (deceased) – vocals/guitar *Thom Nepia (deceased)

Discography

Albums

Singles

Critical reception and awards

RIANZ Awards

The

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

are awarded annually by the

RIANZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

in New Zealand.

Aotearoa Music Awards

The

Aotearoa Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant tha ...

(previously known as ''New Zealand Music Awards'' (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in

New Zealand music The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including ...

and have been presented annually since 1965. ! , - , 2012 , , Herbs , ,

, , , , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbs APRA Award winners New Zealand reggae musical groups Polynesian-New Zealand culture in Auckland Pacific reggae Māori-language singers