The Warratahs

The Warratahs - showing the most recognisable line-up of the group
Wayne Mason, Clinton Brown, Barry Saunders, Nik Brown and Rob Clarkson

The Warratahs' formed in 1986 at well-known Wellington pub and music venue, The Cricketers Arms where they held a residency for two years, carving out a niche with their unique style of country-rock.  Since then they've had many successes including a New Zealand Music Award for Best Country Album; opening for huge international acts such as Billie Joel and country music supergroup The Highwaymen; and in 2016, being inducted into the prestigious Gold Guitar's Hands of Fame.  The Warratahs have celebrated over 30 years since the release of their debut album, The Only Game In Town.  To mark the occasion, they've released Driving Wheel, a special edition compilation CD, which features new single Fast Train.  They're also taking the show on the road with an extensive nationwide tour.  RNZ Music's Trevor Reekie sat down and had a chat with Warratahs frontman Barry Saunders about his journey over the last 30 years.  Barry grew up in Taranaki, before moving to Christchurch with his family as a teenager.  Once there, he attended Hillmorton High School for a couple of years before his father suggested he leave to pursue a career in music.  This was a big deal in 1960s New Zealand, when many people thought artists were just dole bludgers, but Barry took his father's advice and found himself bouncing between playing music and working at the railways.

The Warratahs in the 2000s
Nik Brown, Sid Lambert, Barry Saunders and Mo Newport

The Warratahs in concert 2020
Nik Brown, Alan Norman, Barry Saunders Mike Knapp and Nick Theobald

Original Warratahs - 1986
John Donoghue, Wayne Mason, Barry Saunders,
Marty Jorgensen and Nik Brown

The Warratahs in the 2000s
Nik Brown, Barry Saunders, Alan Norman and Mike Knapp

The Warratahs in the 2000s
Mike Knapp, Barry Saunders, Nik Brown, and Alan Norman

Hands Of My Heart - 1986

The Only Game In Town - 1987

Too Hot To Sleep - 1989

Wildcard - 1990

Fool's Paradise - 1990

Big Sky - 1992

Eventually, Barry moved to the London and began playing in an Irish Country Band - "It was formative because my ancestry on both sides is Irish, it was genetically in me.  I didn't know the music but it was like a computer chip in me that knew what it was.  It was like plugging in.  All those Irish songs have a sense of place and belonging."  At the same time he had an entry level job at record label WEA, sending out records for Derek Taylor - promo man for The Beatles.  One week he forgot to send out Rod Stewart's Sailing, which resulted in radio stations not being able to play it for weeks.  That's where Barry's record label career ended.  He describes his time in London as like "being thrown in a washing machine of alcohol with a bit of music added in".  Regardless, he says it was an important part of his musical development, and Barry knew what he wanted The Warratahs to sound like, even before the band was formed: "It happened when I was trying to get a band together in Sydney." - he was after a softer drum sound and more prominent vocals, quite different to the sound that was popular at the time.  "We recorded some demos and I remember hearing them and thinking this is what I like.'"  When Barry returned to New Zealand, "that feeling was still there" and Barry finally formed The Warratahs in 1986.  They spent their first two years playing Wellington's Cricketers Arms with the original line up of Barry on guitar and vocals, Nik Brown on fiddle and mandolin, Wayne Mason on keyboard and accordion, John Donoghue on bass and Marty Jorgensen on drums.  In 1987 the band scored a record deal after ex-RNZ Music boss John Pilley, who was running a record store at the time, heard them play.  He told Trevor Reekie's Pagan Records to give them a go.  The first song they recorded was the still popular Driving Wheel.  Used to playing punchy, live music they recorded it in the exact same way: hitting the 'on' button and just playing the song.  The album The Only Game In Town was released in February 1988, and was very much a no-frills record.  The first single Hands Of My Heart was targeted at student radio stations and TVNZ played the video between programmes, but it never charted.

The Best Of The Warratahs - 1994

One Of Two Things - 1999

Collection - 2003

Keep On - 2006

Runaway Days - 2018

Drivin' Wheel - 2020

During these early "pre-Americana" years, Barry says the band were playing "rootsy" music but with "sort of poppy songs".  That unique sound that Barry had lusted after all those years ago was finally coming to life: "It was different to what people were doing at the time."  The album had a high strike rate of popular songs including Hands Of My Heart, Maureen and The Only Game In Town, which are all still on the band's setlist: "They're part of our fabric now."  Barry's music is heavily influenced by his upbringing on his family's Taranaki farm, which had a train running through the back of it.  He was raised on country music including Jimmy Rogers, Hank Snow and even the likes of English skiffle singer Lonnie Donegan.  He says of his songwriting, "the most important thing is to just do it.  The second most important thing is trying to finish something.  The world is full of people with half-filled songs and if you don't finish something you lose the kind of spirit or thread to it.  You've got to keep hold of that, you've got to follow it and that's important to me."  Genre-wise, The Warratahs are often described as a country band, but their early live performances came across more like a folk band playing dance music.  "We're a real mish-mash.  I was probably singing like a cowboy back then and we did a lot of country covers.  But songs like Maureen were written more like a soul thing.  It just came out like that once the instrumentation of the band was there, especially with the violin.  Then we had a sound.  I think the fact that we had a sound was part of our success.  You can tell who it is when we start playing, it's a good thing to have on your side."  In 1990 Barry was asked to record the vocals for a TV commercial for The Interislander Ferry.  The whole band ended up joining in and they recorded and starred in what would become an iconic Kiwi ad.  "We'd been offered ads before but this one worked because we toured a lot, the ferry was part of our highway and it all tied together.  And there was the Cook Strait with all its beauty and craziness, it was a part of us and we were a part of it."  A highlight of The Warratah's career was meeting and opening for country legends, The Highwaymen, a super-group consisting of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.  Performing with the group across New Zealand, Barry says they were genuinely nice people.  June Carter-Cash was also on the tour and was the reason The Warratahs ended up recording a cover of Ring of Fire on the album Runaway Days.  Barry spoke to June in Christchurch where she told him the song was originally a ballad and so, alongside singer and drummer, Caroline Easther, they covered it as a ballad.  He says it really brought out the drama of the song.  The last couple of years have been busy for Barry, playing alongside Tami Neilson, Marlon Williams and Delaney Davidson on the Church Tours and being part of The Band's Last Waltz 40th Anniversary Tour.  He says after all these years he still feels the same panic, excitement and love for music he always has.    Barry also recorded an album with Delaney Davidson which was released in 2019.  "The only thing I've learnt from the last 30 years is to get ready for anything."

Additional Warratahs information is available on the Audio Culture website .....

www.audioculture.co.nz/stories/the-warratahs