Ma-V-Elle is a three-piece New Zealand
girl group best known for their top-40 singles in the New Zealand charts in the mid 1990s. The group consists of Lavina Williams, Marina Davis and Maybelle Galuvao.
Background
The group formed at
James Cook High School
James Cook High School is a state co-ed secondary school in the South Auckland suburb of Manurewa, New Zealand.
School structure
The school's colours are royal blue and gold.
History
James Cook High School was opened in February 1968. Like ...
,
Manurewa
Manurewa is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand. It was part of Manukau City before the creation of the Auckland super city in 2010. It is located south of the Manukau City Centre, and southeast of Auckland CBD. The suburb is b ...
in the mid 1990s. Ma-V-Elle's name comes from the first names of the three members - Marina, Lavina and Maybelle. The group was originally managed by
Tim Mahon.
Their debut album ''Spoken To'' was released in 1997, with the trio touring nationally and internationally, including two performances at
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959.
History
The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...
in London.
Member Marina Davis left in 1998 for religious reasons, with Maybelle and Lavina continuing as a duo. The group released their second album, ''Angel'' in 1999, with a heavier,
drum and bass-inspired sound.
Both Maybelle Galuvao and Lavina Williams were nominated for the Most Promising Female Vocalist award at the
2000 New Zealand Music Awards, losing to Vanessa Kelly of
Deep Obsession.
In 2000 the duo recorded a version of "
I Only Want to Be with You
"I Only Want to Be with You" is a song written by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde. The debut solo single released by British singer Dusty Springfield under her long-time producer Johnny Franz, "I Only Want to Be with You" peaked at number 4 on th ...
" that was used as the station identification jingle for
TV2. Ma-V-Elle eventually split later in 2000, with members focusing on their solo careers and families.
Ma-V-Elle performed together for the first time in 13 years with a surprise reunion at the 2013
Pacific Music Awards
The Pacific Music Awards are an annual New Zealand music award ceremony since 2005 that honours excellence in Pacific music in New Zealand. The awards honour musicians who primarily work in the Pacific Island style of music from the Cook Islands, ...
. The group released new single "Let's Go (To the Sky)" and performed at the
Parachute music festival in January 2014.
Members
Maybelle Galuvao is married to former professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
footballer
Joe Galuvao
Joe Galuvao (born 8 July 1978) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s in the NRL. A Samoa and New Zealand international second row forward, he played for the Auckland Warriors, Parramatta Eel ...
. In 2014, Maybelle entered as a third contestant on The Voice where she joined Kylie Minogue's team after the live auditions.
Lavina Williams is the older sister of singers
Emily Williams
Emily Williams (born 8 October 1984) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame in 2005 on the third season of ''Australian Idol'' and became the runner-up of the competition. After ''Idol'', Williams signed with Sony B ...
and
J. Williams. In 2006 Lavina was in the top 12 of ''
Australian Idol''. She finished in eighth place. From 2004 to 2006 she played the role of Shenzi in the Australian run of ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...
'' musical. She later reprised the role in a 2011 Singapore season of the show.
Marina Davis made it to the Home Visits round of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' Australia in 2011 as part of the Over-25s group before she was eliminated.
Discography
Albums
* ''Spoken To'' (1997)
* ''Angel'' (1999)
Singles
References
{{authority control
New Zealand pop music groups
All-female bands
New Zealand girl groups