Shane Hales

Real Life With John Cowan

Shane Hales, known by the stage name Shane, grew up in Surrey, England, before moving to Australia and then New Zealand. He started his career in 1966 as a member of the Australian band The Pleazers before forming his own band, Shane. He became a regular singer on the television pop programme C'mon and was part of the C'mon 1968 national tour. His cover of Terry Knight's Saint Paul flew to the top of the charts and won the 1969 Loxene Golden Disc award for best New Zealand record of the year. Shane's debut album, Rainy Day Man, was released at the end of 1969 and a second album, Natural Man, was released the following year.

Interest began to pick up for Shane internationally and he embarked on an overseas tour. While he was touring, he received word of the death of his fiancée in a car crash in New Zealand. He used the recording of his third album, Straight Straight Straight, as catharsis. He returned to Europe soon after the album's release, where he formed a new band, Killa-Hz.

Shane was appointed a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to entertainment, in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours. He has continued to perform music regularly into the 2010s and beyond.

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