Coup D'Etat 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 ...

band active between 1980 and 1982. Members included Harry Lyon, previously (and subsequently) of Hello Sailor,

Jan Preston Jan Preston is a pianist, composer and songwriter, known as Australasia's Queen of Boogie Piano due to her mastery of the 1930s boogie-woogie piano style. Originally classically trained, she has released over ten solo albums, often featuring her ...

and Neil Hannan of

Red Mole :''See also the International Marxist Group (Germany). The International Marxist Group (IMG) was a Trotskyist group in Britain between 1968 and 1982. It was the British Section of the Fourth International. It had around 1,000 members and supporte ...

, and drummer Paul Dunningham. Originally, Preston and Hannan were members of the band Wolfgang with drummer Steve Osborne. Harry Lyon joined the band, which was then re-named Coup D'Etat.

History

The band is best known for their New Zealand top ten hit "Doctor I Like Your Medicine" (written and sung by Lyon), which won Single of the Year at the 1981 New Zealand Music Awards. Neither their first single "No Music On My Radio" (sung by Preston), nor later single "Permanent Hire" (sung by Lyon) equalled the success of "Doctor I Like Your Medicine". Their self-titled album, released in 1981, reached 14 in the national charts. Preston left the band in 1981. The band reformed with a new lineup in 1982, but soon afterwards broke up permanently.

Legacy

Lyon joined fellow ex-Hello Sailor member

Graham Brazier Graham Philip Brazier (6 May 1952 – 4 September 2015) was a New Zealand musician and songwriter. He first came to prominence in the band Hello Sailor. After Hello Sailor, he formed a band called the Legionnaires. When he was growing up, he l ...

's band The Leigonnaires, which eventually led to a full Hello Sailor reunion. Paul Dunningham joined Mi-Sex. Preston went on to have a lengthy solo career as a boogie-woogie pianist and singer.

Discography

Albums * (1981) ''Coup D'etat'' / Vertigo Records Singles * (1980) "Doctor I Like Your Medicine" / Vertigo Records * (1980) "No Music On My Radio" / Vertigo Records

References

New Zealand musical groups {{NewZealand-band-stub