Holidaymakers was a New Zealand musical group from Wellington. The band scored two top ten hits in New Zealand in 1988, including the number-one single "Sweet Lovers", a cover of the
Bill Withers
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...
song "
We Could Be Sweet Lovers".
"Sweet Lovers" was released on Pagan Records and was produced by
Nigel Stone. The song spent six weeks at #1 in summer 1988 and was the highest-selling single in New Zealand in 1988. The follow-up single, "Waiting in the Sunshine", reached #6 in December of that year.
At 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 ...
1988, the group won seven awards. However, the group broke up soon after the release of "Waiting in the Sunshine".
Among the band's members was
Pati Umaga
Fonotī Pati Peni Umaga is a New Zealand musician known for his compositions and musicianship as a bass guitar player, and significant contributions to the music industry, as well as his advocacy for the Pacific and Disabled communities. He work ...
, who went on to work in composition and music education at
Whitireia Polytechnic, and who became an advocate for physical disability after a 2005 accident
paralysed him.
Pati honoured for his work to remove disability stigma
''Stuff.co.nz
Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). As of early 2024, it is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million.
Stuff ...
'', 10 January 2012.
References
Musical groups from Wellington City
New Zealand pop music groups
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