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 lived above his mother's bookshop in

Dominion Road Dominion Road is an arterial road in Auckland, New Zealand, running north–south across most of the Auckland isthmus. It is a major public transport route that carries 50,000 bus passengers each week, making it one of the few roads in Auckland ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and he collected first editions.

Early life

His childhood was fashioned seeing

R.A.K. Mason Ronald Allison Kells Mason (10 January 1905 – 13 July 1971) was a New Zealand poet. Described by Allen Curnow as New Zealand's "first wholly original, unmistakably gifted poet", he was born in Penrose, Auckland on 10 January 1905. He wa ...

Rex Fairburn Arthur Rex Dugard Fairburn (2 February 1904 – 25 March 1957), commonly known by his initials A. R. D. Fairburn and otherwise as Rex, was a New Zealand poet who was born and died in Auckland. Fairburn was born in Auckland in 1904. His grandfa ...

Kevin Ireland Kevin Mark Ireland (né Jowsey; 18 July 1933 – 19 May 2023) was a New Zealand poet, short story writer, novelist and librettist.

and other writers in the shop. Graham left Mt Roskill Grammar at age 15 for his first job at

Whitcombe & Tombs Whitcoulls is a major New Zealand book, stationery, gift, games & toy retail chain. Formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs, it has 54 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerville Wilkie in 1871. The companies mer ...

. He began writing songs when he was 19.

Career

Although Brazier claimed he turned down an offer to join

The Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

post-

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredicta ...

, it was stated by Doors ex-manager and biographer,

Danny Sugerman Daniel Stephen Sugerman (October 11, 1954 – January 5, 2005) was the second manager of the Los Angeles-based rock band the Doors. He wrote several books about Jim Morrison and the Doors, including ''No One Here Gets Out Alive'' (co-authored with ...

, to be "somewhat exaggerated". Two Brazier associated songs are included in the official top 100 New Zealand songs. They are " Blue Lady" alongside his first band, Hello Sailor, as well as "Billy Bold" from his solo career. It was reported on 7 October 2012 that Brazier was charged with assaulting his two former partners. He pleaded guilty to two counts of male assaults female and one count of common assault. Brazier suffered a heart attack in August 2015, and died in Auckland on 4 September 2015. Brazier's posthumous solo album ''Left Turn at Midnite'', completed after Brazier's death by close friend producer

Alan Jansson OMC, or Otara Millionaires Club, were a New Zealand music group, then duo, with vocalist Pauly Fuemana later becoming the sole member. OMC was best known for the 1995 hit " How Bizarre", named one of the greatest New Zealand songs of all time b ...

, was released in May 2017.

Solo discography

*''Inside Out'' (Polygram), 1981 *''Brazier'' (CBS), 1987 (spent one week in the NZ album chart at No. 49 in February 1988) *''East of Eden'' (Wildside) March 2004 *''Left Turn at Midnite'' (Ripe Coconut) May 2017

Awards

Aotearoa Music Awards

The

Aotearoa 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 ...

(previously known as ''New Zealand Music Awards'' (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in

New Zealand music The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including b ...

and have been presented annually since 1965. ! , - , 2011 , , Graham Brazier(as part of Hello Sailor) , ,

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...

, , , , , -

References

New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Brazier, Graham 1952 births 2015 deaths APRA Award winners New Zealand male singer-songwriters New Zealand singer-songwriters New Zealand rock singers People educated at Mount Roskill Grammar School 20th-century New Zealand male musicians 20th-century New Zealand male singers 21st-century New Zealand male singers