Th' Dudes

This article is about the New Zealand rock band. For the Canadian rock band, see The Dudes.

Th' Dudes are a New Zealand rock band that was formed in the late 1970s in Auckland, New Zealand. Hits include "Walking in Light", "Right First Time", "Be Mine Tonight" and "Bliss".

Th'Dudes
Th' Dudes at the Cricketers' Arms, Wellington, New Zealand. 1980.
Background information
Origin	Auckland, New Zealand
Genres	Post-punk, punk rock, rock, pub rock
Years active	1975–1980, 2006–2008, 2019-present
Members	Dave Dobbyn Rikki Morris Peter Urlich Lez White Bruce Hambling
Past members	Ian Morris (deceased) Peter Coleman

History

1975–1980

The band was formed by Morris, Urlich, Coleman and Dobbyn, students at Sacred Heart College in Auckland. The band name derived from the "Lone Groover" comic strip in the English music paper, NME. The band's sound was heavily influenced by the British scene, especially The Beatles, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones, and later by the Punk and New Wave sounds of Iggy Pop, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Roxy Music, The Stranglers and The Clash.^{[citation needed]}

Starting off as a covers band that played surf clubs and private parties, Th' Dudes quickly earned a reputation as an energetic and skilful outfit featuring dual guitar work from Dobbyn and Morris, a tight no-nonsense rhythm section (Peter Coleman on bass, later replaced by Lez White, and drummer Bruce Hambling) and charismatic vocalist Urlich. Slowly the repertoire featured more originals and their status rose to the point where Th' Dudes were acclaimed NZ Group of the Year in 1979.^{[citation needed]} The group disbanded in 1980.^{[citation needed]}

1990s-present

The mid-1990s saw a resurgence of interest in Th' Dudes in New Zealand, when "classic hits" and "classic rock" radio became more prevalent, and the compositional, performance and production qualities of the band's records endured. Bliss: 20 Essential New Zealand Classics and other compilations showcased New Zealand post-punk acts which epitomized the Kiwi rock genre. Th' Dudes', "Bliss", attained particular popularity and has since established itself as New Zealand's unofficial national drinking song.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2006, Th' Dudes embarked on a tour of New Zealand as part of Radio Hauraki's 40th anniversary celebrations.^[1] The original tour was 11 dates, but quickly expanded to 17 shows due to demand.^{[citation needed]} The band compiled a six-track album of demo and alternate versions of their biggest hits, culled from the band's own collections. This CD was available only at shows on the tour and was called Pubs, Parks, Theatres, Clubs, Church Halls, Gardens, Lounges & Band Rotundas.

In late 2007, Th' Dudes embarked on the "Summer of Love" tour.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, the band sued Stebbing Studios for non-payment of royalties. The band sought to show that they were not paid royalties for sales of their music due to their songs being recorded in downtime at Stebbing, but studio owner Eldred Stebbing claimed production costs had not been met.^[2][3] The dispute was resolved to both parties' mutual satisfaction^[4] in November 2008.

In 2019, the band announced a new tour of New Zealand, with dates from 9–25 April 2020, but it was postponed until November due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ian Morris's brother, Rikki Morris joined the group for the tour.

Ian Morris died suddenly in Napier on 7 October 2010.^[5] Prior to his death, Morris produced records and wrote advertising music, after having had a brief solo career under the stage name Tex Pistol. He is survived by his twin daughters, Julia and Maude.

Members

• Dave Dobbyn – vocals, guitars
• Ian Morris (deceased) – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
• Peter Urlich – drums (changing to vocals later)
• Peter Coleman, (Replaced by Lez White 1978) – bass
• Lez White - bass
• Bruce Hambling – drums
• Rikki Morris - guitar, vocals

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with New Zealand chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		NZ [6]
Right First Time	Released: June 1979 Label: Key (L 36685) Format: LP, Cassette	17
Where Are the Boys?	Released: July 1980 Label: Key (L 37018) Format: LP, Cassette	–

Live albums

List of live albums, with New Zealand chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		NZ [6]
Th' 2006 Reunion Tour Live	Released: December 2006 Label: Red Trolley Records (RTCD002) Format: CD	39

Compilation albums

List of compilation albums, with New Zealand chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		NZ [6]
So You Wanna Be a Rock'n'Roll Star	Released: June 1982 Label: Key (L 20041) Format: LP, Cassette	27
Where Are the Girls?: Th' Definitive Collection	Released: August 2001 Label: Festival Mushroom Records (DUDES2001) Format: CD	31
Bliss On Wax	Released: May 2020 Label: Stebbing Recording Centre Ltd. (910523) Format: CD, LP, streaming, DD	7

Demo albums

List of demo albums

Title	Album details
Pubs, Parks, Theatres, Clubs, Church Halls, Gardens, Lounges & Band Rotundas	Released: 2006 Label: self-released Format: CD

Singles

List of singles with selected New Zealand positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		NZ [6]
1979	"Be Mine Tonight" / "That Look in Your Eyes"	36	Right First Time
	"Right First Time" / "Tonight Again"	34
	"Walking in Light" / "Bad Boy Billy"	50	Where Are the Boys
1980	"Bliss" / "On the Rox"	25
2010	"Bliss 2010" (vs. Jolyon Petch & Sam Hill)	–	Non-album single

Awards and nominations

Aotearoa Music Awards

The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously known as New Zealand Music Awards (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in New Zealand music and have been presented annually since 1965.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2019	Th' Dudes	New Zealand Music Hall of Fame	inductee	[7]