Blerta (''"Bruno Lawrence's Electric Revelation and Travelling Apparition"'') was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

musical and theatrical co-operative active from 1971 until 1975. It was the idea of

Bruno Lawrence David Charles Lawrence (12 February 194110 June 1995) known as Bruno Lawrence was an English-born musician and actor, who was active in the industry in New Zealand and Australia. Initially notable as a musician and founder of 1970s ensemble Bl ...

to arrange a group of musicians, actors and friends, who would travel around New Zealand on a tour to get away from the pressure of the music and movie scene. He organised the travelling group, and in October 1971, they departed on their tour. The group travelled around New Zealand in a very distinctive red bus, concluding in January 1973 at the first large outdoor music festival in New Zealand,

The Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival The Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival was the first large outdoor music festival in New Zealand. It was held on a farm at Ngāruawāhia on the Waikato River, 19 kilometres north-west of Hamilton, for three days from 6 to 8 January 1973. Manag ...

, before heading up the eastern seaboard of Australia, and performing at the 1973

Aquarius Festival The Nimbin Aquarius Festival was a counter-cultural arts and music festival organised by the Australian Union of Students. It was the fourth in a biannual series of festivals, first organised by the National Union of Australian University Stude ...

at the

Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most north-easterly region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence, Richmond, and Tweed rivers. ...

NSW

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

town of Nimbin. The group lived in a commune for many years. Three families lived together, including those of Bruno Lawrence and Geoff Murphy. The group came to the attention of the New Zealand film industry and were employed at times to create work for TVNZ. The group were labelled as hippies during that time and were looked down upon by some in the industry, despite the quality and nature of their work. Nevertheless, the band had a significant hit with their song "Dance All Around The World", which reached #13 in the N.Z. music charts in June 1972. The line-up changed throughout the years that Blerta travelled. Members included Lawrence,

Fane Flaws Fane Michael Flaws (16 May 1951 – 17 June 2021) was a New Zealand musician, songwriter, and artist. Career Flaws was a member of bands including Blerta, Spats, and The Crocodiles. Until joining Blerta he was known by his second name Michael: ...

Beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

Geoff Murphy Geoffrey Peter Murphy (12 October 1938 – 3 December 2018) was a New Zealand filmmaker, producer, director, and screenwriter best known for his work during the renaissance of New Zealand cinema that began in the second half of the 1970s. His s ...

Tony Barry Tony Barry (28 August 1941 – 21 December 2022) was an Australian actor and activist best known for his television and film roles. Personal life Barry was born in Ipswich, Queensland, on 28 August 1941. He had one son. Barry was an environmen ...

Ian Watkin Ian Watkin (25 January 1940 – 18 May 2016) was a New Zealand actor known for the films ''Braindead'' and '' Sleeping Dogs''. Watkin grew up in Greymouth, and started his career in theatre and radio plays, and working as a magazine editor befor ...

and Mick Lieber, as well as many others, of which some had previously worked with Bruno in bands and others joined along the way. The original line up was Bruno Lawrence,

Corben Simpson Corben Simpson is a New Zealand vocalist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as a member of Blerta, and for co-writing and singing the song ''Dance All Around The World,'' which reached No. 13. in the New Zealand music charts in June 1972 ...

, Kemp Turirangi, Geoff Murphy, Alan Moon, Tony Littlejohn, Beaver, Eric Foley, and Chris Seresin. The great adventure and experience of Blerta finished in 1975, with the troupe embarking on one last tour. Although Bruno Lawrence and Geoff Murphy were friends for many years, the two had a falling out five years prior to Lawrence's death. They never reconciled and Murphy was absent from Lawrence's funeral.

Discography

References

External links

AudioCulture profile''Blerta Revisited''
an 80-minute documentary of compiled Blerta footage, made in 2001 (free viewing in six parts on

NZ On Screen NZ On Screen is a state-funded online promotional showcase of New Zealand television and film. Funded by NZ On Air, it provides free worldwide access to NZ-produced television, film and music videos. Content is streamed and the webpages provide ...

)
''The Blerta Years''

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

documentary on Blerta (4 x 20-minute parts)
Entry at muzic.net.nz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blerta Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups disestablished in 1975 APRA Award winners New Zealand musical groups Theatre companies in New Zealand 1971 establishments in New Zealand 1975 disestablishments in New Zealand