Alastair Riddell (born 1952) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter.

Background

Riddell is a musician and a film maker. He has a singing style that was likened to a combination of

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

. Prior to 1974, he was in a band called Orb with Eddie Rayner. Then later, the two of them were in Space Waltz. In 1968, Riddell started a newsletter called "Bluesnews" and also organised the First National Blues Convention, held at Mollers Farm in

Oratia Oratia is a semi-rural locality on the western edge of metropolitan West Auckland in New Zealand. It is approximately to the south west of Auckland CBD (Central Business District), and sits at the eastern edge of the Waitākere Ranges Herit ...

, Auckland.

Career

Original Sun

In 1967, Original Sun Blues Band was formed by the original line-up consisting of Riddell on rhythm guitar and vocals, his brother Ron on drums, Peter Kershaw on bass guitar and vocals, and Henry Jackson on lead guitar. The band was influenced by

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers were an English blues rock band led by multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter John Mayall. The band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues musicians. Many of the best known bands t ...

and

American blues American Blues was an American 1960s Texas-based rock music, rock band which played a psychedelic rock, psychedelic style of blues rock music influenced by the 13th Floor Elevators. They are most notable for including two future members of the b ...

, with the band's name a nod to

Son House Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American Delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a prea ...

. After Kershaw and Jackson left the band, the name was shortened to Original Sun and consisted of Alastair (guitar/vocals), Ron (drums), and Peter Cuddihy (bass). The new line-up took on the more adventurous blues sounds of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

and

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

. There are no known recordings of the band.

Orb

In 1971, while studying at

Auckland University The University of Auckland (; Māori language, Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public university, public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the Unive ...

, Riddell formed the

Psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

Art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

band Orb. They played some of Riddell's original songs, including "Seabird" which would later feature on the Space Waltz album. Orb consisted of Riddell on rhythm guitar, synthesizer, and vocals,

Eddie Rayner Anthony Edward Charles Rayner (born 19 November 1952) is a New Zealand musician who spent ten years as a keyboardist in the band Split Enz. He has also played in the groups Orb, Space Waltz, Crowded House, the Makers, The Angels in 1986-1987 ...

on keyboards, Paul Emlyn Crowther on drums, Paul (Wally) Wilkinson on lead guitar, and Peter Kershaw on bass guitar. They played the Art's Festival in 1972.

Space Waltz

In 1974, Riddell formed the

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

band Space Waltz. The group appeared on the television talent quest ''New Faces'' and created a stir with their image. They did not win the finals, but attracted attention from rock fans. They were noticed by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

and promptly signed to the label. Their single "Out on the Street" was a number-one hit in New Zealand.New Zealand Music Commission, Te Reo Reka O Aotearo
Alastair Riddell Releases New Single
/ref> The album ''Space Waltz'', which was released by EMI in 1975, featured Riddell,

, Greg Clark, Peter Cuddihy, and

Brent Eccles Brent Eccles is a New Zealand drummer best known as a member of Australian rock band The Angels. He has also drummed in The Breed, Vox Pop, Stewart & The Belmonts, Streetalk, Space Waltz Space Waltz are a New Zealand glam rock band formed in ...

, with backing vocals from

The Yandall Sisters The Yandall Sisters were a popular New Zealand-born Samoan all-female singing group of the 1970s, who made a major contribution to music in New Zealand. The members of the group were Caroline, Mary and Adele Yandall, and later younger sister Pauli ...

Post Space Waltz

In 1977, the single "Wonder Ones" / "Oh Ron" was released on the

Mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is Sexual dimorphism, sexually ...

label. 'The Wonder Ones' band featuring Alastair Riddell on guitar and vocals, Tony McMaster on bass, Paul Baeyertz on keyboards and Paul Dunningham on drums, toured New Zealand between July 1977 and February 1978 including performing at the first Nambassa Music Festival held at Waihi and at The Great Western Music Festival at Oratia in January 1978 . Paul Dunningham had also played at the start of 1977 with Riddell's band Stuart And The Belmonts who were resident at the Stage Door nightclub in Auckland. The 'Wonder Ones' lineup also played on Riddell's album which was recorded at Glyn Tucker's Mandrill Recording Studio in 1977. In 1978, the self titled album ''Alastair Riddell'' was also released on the Mandrill label. Riddell toured with The Alastair Riddell Band until 1979. The Alastair Riddell Band consisted of Riddell on lead guitar, synthesizer, and vocals, John Treseder on guitar, Gavin Beardsmore on bass, Noel Lamberton on drums and Ruth Hall on backing vocals. He twice declined invitations to join Split Enz, the first time to replace guitarist Wally Wilkinson in 1975, and then again in 1977 when Phil Judd left the band, with Neil Finn subsequently taking the position.

1980s

In 1983, he contributed electronic drums to the number-one hit " Poi E" by

Pātea Māori Club Pātea Māori Club is a New Zealand cultural group and performance act formed in the South Taranaki District, South Taranaki town of Patea, Pātea in 1967 as the Pātea Methodist Māori Club. In 1983, the group began to release Māori language, ...

. Incidentally, The Yandall Sisters who sang backup on the Space Waltz album appeared on another track of the album that the hit was on. Both "Poi E" and "Out on the Street" appear on the soundtrack for

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. Known for quirky comedy films and expanding his career as a voice actor and producer on numerous projects, he ...

's 2010 film, ''

Boy A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy ...

''.National Library of Australi
2002, 1974, English, Sound, Recorded music edition, Space waltz (sound recording) / by Alastair Riddell.
/ref>

Later years

In 2012, Riddell directed ''The Last Stop'', a short film set in 1950s New Zealand which featured his wife Vanessa. Also that year he released a single, "Last Of The Golden Weather". He joined a brief David Bowie tribute tour in 2016 with Jordan Luck, Finn Andrews, Eddie Rayner and others, the same year "Fraulein Love" featured in the trailer for

's 2016 film '' Hunt for the Wilderpeople''.

Personal life

Riddell married English model Vanessa in the 1980s. The couple have four children and live in the West Auckland suburb of Titirangi. In November 2024, Riddell disclosed that he was battling

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

Discography (selective)

Film work

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riddell, Alastair Living people 1952 births New Zealand male songwriters New Zealand film score composers New Zealand film directors New Zealand male film score composers People educated at Kelston Boys' High School