Todd Hunter
Encyclopedia
Todd Stuart Hunter is a New Zealand
musician and composer known for his involvement in the band Dragon
. Their best known songs are "April Sun in Cuba", "Are You Old Enough?", "Still in Love With You", and "Rain". Hunter also composed music for film The Girl Who Came Late
(1991) and TV series Heartbreak High
(1994–1999).
On 1 July 2008 the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) recognised Dragon's iconic status when they were inducted into their Hall of Fame
.
in 1972 with Graeme Collins (piano, vocals), Neil Reynolds (drums) and Ray Goodwin (guitar, keyboards, vocals); the group was soon joined by Hunter's younger brother Marc Hunter
(vocals) and moved to Australia in 1975. The band toured Australasia
, America
and Europe
and their songs from that time, "April Sun In Cuba", "Are You Old Enough?" and "Still in Love With You" are still played on radio.
. Hunter and Brown co-wrote "Politics" and "Company" for Dragon's album O Zambezi (1978). Brown introduced Hunter to violinist Richard Lee who then played violin on "Civilization" for O Zambezi as a session musician before joining Dragon in February 1979. Follow up album Power Play (1979) had disappointing sales by comparison, and despite Dragon having sold over a million records in the 1970s, they first broke up on New Year's Eve
of 1979.
for bands like the infamous NZ punk
band Toy Love
and others. He produced two albums for XL Capris
, a Sydney-based punk
band, which contained future partner
vocalist, bass guitarist Johanna Pigott
, Hunter joined the band and played guitar in 1981.
), which went to #2 in 1983.
Around this time Hunter (usually with Pigott) became involved with film and TV scoring and found that he was far more suited to the discipline of working in a studio to a deadline than playing in a live band. Pigott (co-creator, screenwriter and performer) and Hunter (guitarist and songwriter) were involved in Australian ABC-TV
series Sweet and Sour
(1984). Hunter's first wife, Jen Brown also wrote "Hip Romeo" for Sweet and Sour.
Nevertheless, Dragon toured Europe
with Tina Turner
in 1986–1987 promoting the Dreams Of Ordinary Men album produced by Todd Rundgren
. At that time the band consisted of Marc Hunter (lead vocal), Hunter on bass, legendary guitar player Tommy Emmanuel
, Alan Mansfield from Robert Palmer's band on keyboards and Doane Perry
from Jethro Tull
on drums.
On that tour Hunter hauled a large road case containing a portable studio through Europe and on it he wrote and recorded the scores for many imaginary movies. It was on that same Box that the Dragon hit single "Celebrate" was recorded in hotel rooms around the world with David Hershfelder producing. In 1987 while on tour (Dragon was briefly called Hunter) with Turner, John Farnham
asked Hunter and Pigott to write a song for his next album. They wrote "Age Of Reason", which went to #1 in Australia for four weeks from 30 July and was a top 10 hit in Germany
and Canada
in 1989. "Age Of Reason" won the APRA
'Most Performed Australasian Popular Song' of the year award
for 1989. After selling another million records worldwide in the 1980s Dragon disbanded again in 1995.
and wrote (or co-wrote with Pigott) and recorded all the underscoring. The theme song was nominated for 1994 APRA Television Theme of the Year. Hunter and Pigott also wrote over 20 songs for the series (mostly performed by Abi Tucker
, Fleur Beaupert or themselves). Other TV series Hunter worked on included Headstart
and Out There.
Hunter and Pigott composed original music for film: The Girl Who Came Late
aka Daydream Believer (1991), and Alex aka Alex: The Spirit of a Champion (1993). "Alex (theme)" aka "Aotearoa" was written by Hunter and "For the Rest of My Life" by Hunter and Pigott.
In 2008 Hunter worked on the BBC/Southern Star TV serial 'Out of the Blue' in conjunction with composer Stephen Rae and is currently scoring the series Pride Of Australia.
on 1 July 2008, Hunter stated that they had switched from acoustic performances to fully electric because fans were singing so loud the band couldn't be heard. Dragon have just released the first studio album of new songs for 20 years entitled "Happy I Am".
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
musician and composer known for his involvement in the band Dragon
Dragon (band)
Dragon is a popular New Zealand rock band, they were formed in Auckland, New Zealand in January 1972 and relocated to Sydney, Australia in May 1975. They were previously led by singer Marc Hunter and are currently led by his brother bass player Todd Hunter...
. Their best known songs are "April Sun in Cuba", "Are You Old Enough?", "Still in Love With You", and "Rain". Hunter also composed music for film The Girl Who Came Late
The Girl Who Came Late
The Girl Who Came Late aka Daydream Believer is a 1991 Australian romantic comedy film starring Miranda Otto, Martin Kemp and Gia Carides; and directed by Kathy Mueller. Otto was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award for "Best Actress in a Lead Role"...
(1991) and TV series Heartbreak High
Heartbreak High
Heartbreak High is an Australian television series that ran for seven years from 1994 to 1999. The series dealt with the students of Hartley High, a tough high school in a multi-racial area of Sydney, and proved to be a more gritty and fast-paced show than many of its contemporaries...
(1994–1999).
On 1 July 2008 the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) recognised Dragon's iconic status when they were inducted into their Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
.
Dragon - 1970s
Hunter (bass guitar, vocals) formed DragonDragon (band)
Dragon is a popular New Zealand rock band, they were formed in Auckland, New Zealand in January 1972 and relocated to Sydney, Australia in May 1975. They were previously led by singer Marc Hunter and are currently led by his brother bass player Todd Hunter...
in 1972 with Graeme Collins (piano, vocals), Neil Reynolds (drums) and Ray Goodwin (guitar, keyboards, vocals); the group was soon joined by Hunter's younger brother Marc Hunter
Marc Hunter
Marc Alexander Hunter was a New Zealand rock and pop singer best known as the lead vocalist with Dragon, a band formed by his older brother Todd in Auckland in 1973....
(vocals) and moved to Australia in 1975. The band toured Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
, America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and their songs from that time, "April Sun In Cuba", "Are You Old Enough?" and "Still in Love With You" are still played on radio.
Jen Brown
Hunter's first wife was poet, artist, writer Jen Jewel Brown (aka Jennifer Hunter Brown) who had written Million Dollar Riff (1975) a book describing Australian band Skyhooks prior to their first tour of USUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Hunter and Brown co-wrote "Politics" and "Company" for Dragon's album O Zambezi (1978). Brown introduced Hunter to violinist Richard Lee who then played violin on "Civilization" for O Zambezi as a session musician before joining Dragon in February 1979. Follow up album Power Play (1979) had disappointing sales by comparison, and despite Dragon having sold over a million records in the 1970s, they first broke up on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
of 1979.
Johanna Pigott
After the first demise of Dragon, Hunter became a record producerRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
for bands like the infamous NZ punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Toy Love
Toy Love
Toy Love was a New Zealand New Wave/punk rock band fronted by Chris Knox. Other members were guitarist Alec Bathgate, bass player Paul Kean, drummer Mike Dooley, and keyboard player Jane Walker...
and others. He produced two albums for XL Capris
XL Capris
XL Capris were an Australian indie-punk band formed in Sydney in 1978 by Julie Anderson, Tim Gooding, Johanna Pigott and Kimble Rendall.Their best known single was a punk version of Tommy Leonetti's "My City of Sydney"...
, a Sydney-based punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band, which contained future partner
Domestic partnership
A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union...
vocalist, bass guitarist Johanna Pigott
Johanna Pigott
Johanna Paton Pigott is an Australian musician, singer/songwriter and screenwriter. Her best known hit songs are Dragon's "Rain" which peaked at #2 on the Australia singles charts in 1983 and John Farnham's "Age of Reason". "Rain" was co-written with partner Dragon's Todd Hunter and his brother...
, Hunter joined the band and played guitar in 1981.
Dragon - 1980s
When Dragon reformed in 1982, Hunter and Pigott co-wrote the song "Rain" (with Marc HunterMarc Hunter
Marc Alexander Hunter was a New Zealand rock and pop singer best known as the lead vocalist with Dragon, a band formed by his older brother Todd in Auckland in 1973....
), which went to #2 in 1983.
Around this time Hunter (usually with Pigott) became involved with film and TV scoring and found that he was far more suited to the discipline of working in a studio to a deadline than playing in a live band. Pigott (co-creator, screenwriter and performer) and Hunter (guitarist and songwriter) were involved in Australian ABC-TV
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
series Sweet and Sour
Sweet and Sour (TV series)
Sweet and Sour is an Australian television series which screened on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1984. It was created by Tim Gooding and Johanna Pigott and was produced internally for the ABC by Jan Chapman...
(1984). Hunter's first wife, Jen Brown also wrote "Hip Romeo" for Sweet and Sour.
Nevertheless, Dragon toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
in 1986–1987 promoting the Dreams Of Ordinary Men album produced by Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
. At that time the band consisted of Marc Hunter (lead vocal), Hunter on bass, legendary guitar player Tommy Emmanuel
Tommy Emmanuel
William Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...
, Alan Mansfield from Robert Palmer's band on keyboards and Doane Perry
Doane Perry
Doane Ethredge Perry is an American musician, composer and author. He has been working since 1984 as drummer and percussionist with Grammy award winning band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...
from Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
on drums.
On that tour Hunter hauled a large road case containing a portable studio through Europe and on it he wrote and recorded the scores for many imaginary movies. It was on that same Box that the Dragon hit single "Celebrate" was recorded in hotel rooms around the world with David Hershfelder producing. In 1987 while on tour (Dragon was briefly called Hunter) with Turner, John Farnham
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
asked Hunter and Pigott to write a song for his next album. They wrote "Age Of Reason", which went to #1 in Australia for four weeks from 30 July and was a top 10 hit in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1989. "Age Of Reason" won the APRA
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
'Most Performed Australasian Popular Song' of the year award
APRA Awards
The APRA Music Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia and New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually....
for 1989. After selling another million records worldwide in the 1980s Dragon disbanded again in 1995.
Film and TV scoring
From 1994 to 1999 Hunter was the composer for the hit TV Series Heartbreak HighHeartbreak High
Heartbreak High is an Australian television series that ran for seven years from 1994 to 1999. The series dealt with the students of Hartley High, a tough high school in a multi-racial area of Sydney, and proved to be a more gritty and fast-paced show than many of its contemporaries...
and wrote (or co-wrote with Pigott) and recorded all the underscoring. The theme song was nominated for 1994 APRA Television Theme of the Year. Hunter and Pigott also wrote over 20 songs for the series (mostly performed by Abi Tucker
Abi Tucker
Abigail Anne Tucker is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress, best known for acting roles in television shows such as Heartbreak High, The Secret Life of Us and in McLeod's Daughters.-Career:...
, Fleur Beaupert or themselves). Other TV series Hunter worked on included Headstart
Head Start (TV series)
Head Start is an Australian television drama series that ran for forty episodes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2001.-Story:...
and Out There.
Hunter and Pigott composed original music for film: The Girl Who Came Late
The Girl Who Came Late
The Girl Who Came Late aka Daydream Believer is a 1991 Australian romantic comedy film starring Miranda Otto, Martin Kemp and Gia Carides; and directed by Kathy Mueller. Otto was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award for "Best Actress in a Lead Role"...
aka Daydream Believer (1991), and Alex aka Alex: The Spirit of a Champion (1993). "Alex (theme)" aka "Aotearoa" was written by Hunter and "For the Rest of My Life" by Hunter and Pigott.
In 2008 Hunter worked on the BBC/Southern Star TV serial 'Out of the Blue' in conjunction with composer Stephen Rae and is currently scoring the series Pride Of Australia.
Dragon - 2000s
In 2006 Hunter reformed Dragon with Mark Williams, Bruce Reid and Pete Drummond; they recorded Sunshine to Rain for Liberation Blue Records. Dragon toured Australia to promote their 2008 CD Dragon Remembers which was an affectionate look at great Australian Anthems recorded by friends and colleagues no longer with us. Dragon were inducted into the ARIA Hall of FameARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
on 1 July 2008, Hunter stated that they had switched from acoustic performances to fully electric because fans were singing so loud the band couldn't be heard. Dragon have just released the first studio album of new songs for 20 years entitled "Happy I Am".