Sam McCarthy is a New Zealand songwriter and pop vocalist. He is best known for his work in

Kids of 88 Kids of 88 were a New Zealand New wave music, new wave duo based in Auckland, New Zealand, consisting of Jordan Arts and Sam McCarthy (singer), Sam McCarthy. They are best known for their 2009 single, "My House (Kids of 88 song), My House". The ...

and

Goodnight Nurse Goodnight Nurse was a New Zealand pop punk band formed in Auckland in 2001. The group began as a trio, then changed to a four-piece prior to the release of their second album. It consisted of lead vocalist Joel Little, guitarist and back up v ...

Early life

McCarthy was brought up in Auckland in the suburb of Weymouth. He was educated at Weymouth Primary School and St Peter's College. He and Jordan Arts met at St Peter's and quickly realised that they were on the same wavelength. They were in the same English class. McCarthy has said: "As an icebreaking exercise we were told to bring in our favourite song. Everyone brought in

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American nu metal band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto (drummer), John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers (bassist), Sam ...

, but the thing that linked Jordan and myself is that we were wanky enough to bring in

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 ...

songs. We were both trying to be as cool as possible so we rummaged through our parents' CD collection as opposed to our own".Vicki Anderson, "Kids of 88", ''The Press'', 13 August 2010, p. 14. With Jordan Arts, David Wong, Graham Scherer and Michael Pomare, McCarthy was a member of "Incursa", a St Peter's College band which won the Smokefreerockquest in 2004.

Career

Members from Incursa went on to form punk icons

False Start In sports, a false start is a disallowed start, usually due to a movement by a participant before (or in some cases after) being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start. Depending on the sport and the event, a false start can resu ...

and

, which McCarthy still belongs to as a guitarist. Arts and McCarthy then formed

.Tom Fitzsimons, "The kids are alright", ''Dominion Post'', 12 August 2010, p. 3. In releasing the first Kids of 88 album, Sugarpills, McCarthy said that the duo tried to produce a variety of material rather than just the familiarly slutty " My House" and " Just A Little Bit" (released earlier as singles). Their style is broadly a fusion of

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

and 1980's style

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

. They describe it as "a cross between a late 80's police drama intro theme and a sophisticated super hussy". A reviewer has said "while reminiscent of early 80s

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

, they aren't a direct copy of their antecedents. There's also a touch of 2010

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

swagger and

adrenaline Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands a ...

, where dance can't ignore what's been achieved in R&B and

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

". McCarthy and Arts produced the album themselves and worked with a simple technical set-up out of a bedroom. At the 2010 New Zealand Music Awards, Kids of 88 won "Single of the Year" and (with Tim Van Dammen) "Music Video of the Year" for their single Just a Little Bit. In 2013, McCarthy wrote and recorded "Don't Let Me Go" with Harry Styles, from One Direction. In 2016, McCarthy began recording

music under the pseudonym BOYBOY. He released three songs, "Boy", "None of Your Love" and VIces".

Discography

Albums

With Goodnight Nurse

* ''Always and Never'' (2006) Festival * ''Keep Me on Your Side'' (2008) Warner

With Kids of 88

* ''Sugarpills'' (2010) Dryden Street/Sony Music * ''Modern Love'' (2012) Dryden Street/Sony Music

Singles

With Incursa

* "Find Out" (2004)

Awards and nominations

, - , 2006 , Goodnight Nurse ,

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 ...

– People's Choice Award , , - , 2009 , Kids of 88/"My House" ,

– Single of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" , 2010 , Kids of 88/"Just a Little Bit" ,

– Single of the Year , , - , Kids of 88 ,

– People's Choice Award ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Sam 1988 births Living people New Zealand rock musicians New Zealand male guitarists New Zealand pop singers New Zealand male singer-songwriters New Zealand singer-songwriters Musicians from Auckland People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland 21st-century New Zealand male singers 21st-century New Zealand guitarists Goodnight Nurse members