Strawpeople are 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. They were created by Paul Casserly and Mark Tierney after they had met while working at the

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 ...

university radio station now known as 95 bFM. Over the years, Strawpeople has brought together various New Zealand songwriters, vocalists and musicians in a collaborative effort and achieved some success. The album ''Broadcast'' reached number seven on the New Zealand charts and stayed in the top 40 for 51 consecutive weeks. Single "Sweet Disorder" from that album won the 1995 APRA Silver Scroll Award as well as the 'Songwriting' trophy at the 1996 New Zealand Music Awards. "Sweet Disorder" was voted one of the

APRA Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time The APRA Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time is a selection of New Zealand songs as voted in 2001 by members of the Australasian Performing Right Association. The top 30 of this selection was used to create the ''Nature's Best'' CD and the re ...

, and was included on the related

Nature's Best 2 ''Nature's Best 2'' is a two-disc compilation album of 35 New Zealand popular music songs, numbers 31-65 on the APRA 75th Anniversary Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time. See '' Nature's Best'' for more information on the selection process of thi ...

CD. Their fourth album ''Vicarious'' became their most commercially successful album, climbing to number four on the New Zealand albums chart and winning "Album of the Year" at the 1997 New Zealand Music Awards. In 2000, the band had their highest-charting single in New Zealand when their cover of

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), ...

' "

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

", featuring vocals from fellow New Zealand musician

Bic Runga Briolette Kah Bic Runga (born 13 January 1976), recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the Recording Industry Association of New Ze ...

, reached number seven on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

. Many albums also featured other covers of songs such as

John Hiatt John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...

Have a Little Faith in Me "Have a Little Faith in Me" is a song written and performed by John Hiatt that appears on his 1987 album '' Bring the Family''. His version of the song has also appeared on the soundtracks of the movies '' Look Who’s Talking Now'' (1993), ''B ...

and The Church's

Under the Milky Way "Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band The Church (band), The Church, released on 15 February 1988, and appears on their fifth studio album ''Starfish (album), Starfish''. The song was written by bass guitarist a ...

.Strawpeople , Artists at muzic.net.nz
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Vocalists

The Strawpeople, being a studio based recording outfit, have had a revolving door lineup of vocalists, normally female and from New Zealand. Notable vocalists include Leza Corban,

Stephanie Tauevihi Stephanie Ann Tauevihi is a New Zealand songwriter, singer and actress, known for her work as the fictional character, Donna Heka, in the New Zealand television series ''Shortland Street''. She also played a Real estate Agent in one episode of sh ...

Fiona McDonald Fiona Maude McDonald (born 1965) is a New Zealand pop singer and television personality. Singer McDonald's first involvement with music came through singing jingles for Auckland student radio station bFM. From that work she was asked to joi ...

(a vocalist from New Zealand band

The Headless Chickens The Headless Chickens was a New Zealand band. Going against the grain of the Dunedin sound that dominated the Flying Nun Records roster at the time, the Headless Chickens made extensive use of electronic instruments in their music. History Th ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{Authority control APRA Award winners Musical groups from Auckland New Zealand electronic music groups Electronic music duos