Public Address | Cafe | Random Play: Pauly Fuemana: How . . . sad

Sacha

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:50:08 +1300

Herald adds an anecdote from Murray Thom to a rehash of their earlier story.

As How Bizarre reached the top of the United States charts, Pauly Fuemana was celebrating another treasured moment at home – the birth of his eldest son, Angelo.
The singer's two highlights of 1996 came together in…

Robbie Siataga

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:27:25 +1300

OK i'll drop it, suffice to say i 've heard a fair amount of stories, most not fit for print mind you, but the thing is, i do think there are valuable lessons to be learnt from the truth and that whatever that is, it should come out.

if not…

Simon Grigg

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:04:07 +1300

Robbie, I don't really want to go into all this here, but suffice to say that Phil was a pretty wonderful guy who did great things not only for his community but every aspiring kid who has a notion to make music in NZ. As are Tony and Christina.

That…

Robbie Siataga

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:59:09 +1300

family bias you reckon Simon ?..but still, benefit of the doubt must be given.

Simon Grigg

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:09:17 +1300

Don't know how true any of it is

hammer-meet-nail

Sacha

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:32:29 +1300

There's another story in the Sunday News today. Don't know how true any of it is, but mentions some of Pauly's dealings with the music industry as well as his last days with family.

Snap.

Robbie Siataga

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:05:35 +1300

How Bizarre the single and album sold more than four million copies and netted $11 million in royalties. Pauly said in 2007 he received $5 million of that.
He splashed out on rock star trappings like a Hummer, and gave vehicles and cash to friends and family. But Pauly was…

Robbie Siataga

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:20:24 +1300

Fair enough, cheers.

Just wanted to know if there were any lessons from his tragic passing that youngers wishing to follow in his footsteps might learn from.

Got any good advice...anybody ?

Simon Grigg

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:12:33 +1300

He didnt want to elaborate, which is unlike him :), so was wondering if anybody knew what he was on about...Simon ?

I'm guessing he didn't want to elaborate because it was just hot air and anger at his early passing. Pauly's management audited Universal several times and there are…

Robbie Siataga

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:37:36 +1300

What was DLT talking about on 3 news ? Something about being disgusted with how Pauly was treated by the music industry and in particular his record company ?

He didnt want to elaborate, which is unlike him :), so was wondering if anybody knew what he was on about...Simon…

Danielle

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:16:22 +1300

overhypes the ghetto

Yeah, just a tad.

Sacha

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:08:43 +1300

Reuters overhypes the ghetto:

The Otara Millionaires Club was originally a rap group named for a suburb of Auckland where offshoots of Los Angeles' Crips and Bloods gangs reigned amid fenced-off schools, run-down buildings and curfews. Brandishing machetes, the preferred means of settling gang disputes, the band would throw bottles…

Sacha

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:01:14 +1300

getting a call at midday from the UK which put us back on a plane to the UK later that day

Did you cancel out the jet lag?

Rich Lock

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:13:51 +1300

Thanks, Simon.

I suspected you probably had some involvement, and would at least know what I was talking about.

Simon Grigg

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:34:40 +1300

It was Give It A Whirl, a six parter put together by Visionary in 2004.

I was the person being interviewed, and yes, we went backwards and forwards four or five times in 5 weeks, including once arriving back in NZ on a Sunday morn, getting a call at midday…

Sacha

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:45:08 +1300

You're probably right. Again, can't see a clip online though.

JP Hansen

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:09:27 +1300

I'm betting it was Rocked the Nation: 100 NZ Music moments – a 6 part TV3 series from 2008, fronted by Karyn Hay. How Bizarre was one of the Top 10 moments, I'm certain.

I found a review of the Crowded House concert I recalled earlier, it was on 27…

Sacha

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:11:55 +1300

Rich, was it "Give it a Whirl"? Can't see it online but there's a dvd out there somewhere.

Robbie Siataga

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:45:12 +1300

Sad news alright.

OMC was the support act, and out came a fearsome looking man, dressed in traditional polynesian garb, brandishing a machete and rapping a fairly hardcore song with the refrain "I'm just another coconut"

ahhh the good old days, but that sounds like it might have been Pasifikan…

Rich Lock

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:31:17 +1300

If memory serves, there was a three or four part series broadcast a few years back called something like 'a history of New Zealand music'.

There was a section in one episode that focussed on 'how bizarre', including some interviews. I recall one of the interviewees mentioning that the reason…

Sacha

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:08:23 +1300

John Campbell did a great job tonight of getting amongst the mourners at the Fuemana family home and talking with those who knew Pauly and his impact at close quarters. Masterful context, maximum respect.

George Darroch

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:23:08 +1300

Simon Grigg has a beautiful Jane Ussher portrait of Fuemana on his blog.

GemmaG

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:19:04 +1300

Graham, thank you. Thank you for writing this for us. This devastating news is an untimely opportunity to celebrate the importance of the Fuemana name in our musical & cultural history, which, as you and others have written, stretches back more than two full decades... and takes me back to late…

Kyle Matthews

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:50:15 +1300

It's funny talking to my American friends too, to realise that many of them remember "How Bizarre" as part of the soundtrack to their college years. That a song that felt so completely Kiwi could be adopted by other people in a completely different cultural context without losing its essential…

Andre Alessi

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:38:11 +1300

What's been running through my mind most since I heard the news was the fact that he was a 40 year old father of five. It just seems too young, no matter who you are, and to leave five kids without a dad. I'm not often moved by the tragedies…

JP Hansen

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:35:05 +1300

Thanks for that piece, Graham.

If I'm getting my bands mixed up, apologies in advance, but this is what plays out in my memory...

First I can recall hearing of OMC, I and a few other University mates had headed off from Central / West Auckland to catch a free…

andin

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:53:27 +1300

Wow dead at 40. That is tragic.
Condolences and best wishes to the family and friends.
I hope they will one day be able to let someone share the story of these brothers with the a wider audience.
I hope their grief is not too unbearable.
Because of that one…

Andre

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:51:19 +1300

I loved OMCs album and didn't know Pauly. I vividly remember hearing "How Bizarre" for the first time on New Years Eve Day in Mapua Camground before attending N-Train. It was on high-rotate on the radio and I thought it was an amazing song. After three plays over 2 hours…

Russell Brown

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:37:34 +1300

Just dug out the Winter 94 Planet magazine, which has an interview with Pauly's older brother, Phil, about the Proud tour and album, where the first incarcation of OMC appeared.

Pauly doesn't feature in the story, but I met him the day I went out to do the story (Phil…

Sylvie Zlami

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:44:13 +1300

Thanks for your wonderful tribute Graham.

Tristan

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:40:49 +1300

Since we are trading memories

I remember driving down to the east coast to build a house for Habitat for Humanity during university. We had a person from canada with us and I played his CD. Two things stick out

1. She knew How Bizzar but didn't know it was…

Just thinking

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:02:55 +1300

I was in a Club in Prague and the song brought on a new meaning.

Geoff Lealand

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:54:46 +1300

Driving down I95 from Connecticut to New Jersey in 2007. Hearing a 1990s NZ hit song on the radio – How Bizarre.

Such moments are memorable moments. Gazing upon a small bin of NZ-imported, very wrinkled tamarillos in a supermarket in Toledo, Ohio in July 2007, whilst Bic Runga's Sway…

Sacha

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:37:00 +1300

Otara Millionaires Club

Always impressed by the ballsy confidence of that name and the determination behind it. Inspiring.

Craig Ranapia

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:18:02 +1300

he’d had accusations of “sell-out” on his phone

*sigh* First, lovely tribute Mr. R. but that really steams my sprouts. Until we all get over the bullshit that being a commercially successful artist is some kind of moral degeneracy, nobody should be weeping any crocodile tears over the endless tales…

Russell Brown

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:51:07 +1300

Thanks Graham. Like you, I mostly knew Pauly in a professional context, but I've thought more about him as the day's gone on.

I'll write more later, but for now, people might be interested in the pre-stardom Otara Millionaires Club on the groundbreaking Proud compilation.

It's here on Amplifier.

Sofie Bribiesca

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:16:51 +1300

because I never knew the man except for the songs,

Same. All I have read above, is deeply moving and your words Graham, brought tears to my eyes. I am sure his parents would be deeply moved also. For Pauly Fuemana, may he R.I.P. For Pauly's Family, my deepest condolences.…

Islander

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:33:58 +1300

I'd second John Campbell about "Land of Plenty"...that and "How Bizarre" are an amazing legacy for anyone to leave...

And thanks Graham-

because I never knew the man except for the songs, I'm playing them right now, joyously-

Dinah Dunavan

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:06:29 +1300

Driving down I95 from Connecticut to New Jersey in 2007. Hearing a 1990s NZ hit song on the radio – How Bizarre.

John Campbell

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:33:49 +1300

Lovely, Graham. Lovely. I always thought that album contained a handful of great songs: How Bizarre, Land of Plenty, Right On. And I always felt Pauly's voice in Land of Plenty was beautifully right in its New Zealandness. (It appealed both to my mawkish sentiment and my latent nationalism.) That's…

Jackie Clark

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:53:45 +1300

Thank you for that beautiful heartfelt piece, Graham. Your writing, as usual, is eloquent and sincere, and utterly utterly spellbinding. And it reflects what many will feel, I think. Sad, even if they didn't meet the man.

George Darroch

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:44:58 +1300

This song was on Mai constantly throughout the 90s, and blasted through Mangere, at the Town Centre, at the pools, through car and house windows... if there was a soundtrack to my youth, this song would feature pretty prominently.

And it felt so, so good to have a hit from…

Simon Grigg

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:45:26 +1300

Cheers Graham. I'm a little lost for words today as many are.

But it's only fair to note that, as you briefly mention, the media people who gave Pauly his biggest break were Dylan Taite, who did an extended piece on Paul for TVNZ which ran on the 6 O'Clock…

Geoff Lealand

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:44:22 +1300

Thank you, Grahame. A lovely dedication. One great song is far, far better than no great songs.

philipmatthews

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:53:21 +1300

Very touching. By the end of your piece I was thinking of that quote from J D Salinger that has circulated in the past few days. The story is that in 1984, Ian Hamilton approached Salinger with the intention of writing his biography. Salinger turned him down, saying he had…

Public Address

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:53:21 +1300

Discussion from blog post.