Al Hunter is a New Zealand country music singer-songwriter whose debut album, ''Neon Cowboy'', released in 1987, "made country hip". Hunter was a soul singer in such Auckland bands of the late 1960s and '70s as Killing Floor, Cruise Lane, Chapeaux and the Hunter McCallum Band before embracing country music. His debut album was produced by Stuart Pearce and Dave Marett on a budget CBS had provided for a single. It was recorded in Australia at Greystoke Music Studios and included contributions from

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 he ...

. Hunter's following two albums were released by Pagan in the 1990s. Respected New Zealand rock historian John Dix wrote, "Wellington had

the Warratahs The Warratahs are a band from Wellington, New Zealand. Band members Early line-ups * Barry Saunders (vocals/guitar) * Wayne Mason (keyboards/vocals) * Nik Brown (fiddle) * John Donahue (bass) * Marty Jorgensen (drums) * Clinton Brown ( ...

; Auckland had the indomitable Al Hunter. In 1993 Pagan released ''The Singer'', cementing Hunter's rep as a genuine country rock talent."John Dix, ''Stranded in Paradise: New Zealand Rock and Roll, 1955 to the Modern Era'', Penguin Books, 2005, Eight tracks from Hunter's 1997 release ''Cold Hard Winter'' reappeared on the compilation album ''Troubadours – NZ Singer-Songwriter Series: Vol 1'', which also featured eight tracks each from

Glen Moffatt Glen Moffatt is a New Zealand country music singer-songwriter who relocated to Brisbane, Australia, in 2002. Moffatt was born in Hastings and raised in Napier. He was a newspaper journalist before moving to Auckland at the end of 1991. New Zeal ...

and

Red McKelvie Red McKelvie was a New Zealand singer-songwriter-instrumentalist and session musician who has been described as "Australasia's greatest pop guitarist". He has appeared on albums by Richard Clapton (including the Australian hit "Girls on the Ave ...

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Al Living people New Zealand male songwriters Year of birth missing (living people)