Patea Club London-bound

Tu Tangata, Issue 21, 1 December 1984, Page 53

Patea Club London-bound

The Patea Maori Club are off to Europe in January 1985 to perform in London and Midem, France. They then travel to New York for a post Te Maori Exhibition concert and also perform in Los Angeles and Honululu before returning home.

Currently the club is fundraising for the trip which was started by a request from the Greater London Council. The club’s current single is Hei Konei Ra, a string and synthesizer arrangement

with once again lyrics by Ngoi Pewhairangi and tune by Dalvanius Prime. The first album by the Patea Maori Club is to be released in February. A school tour in the Auckland region is currently underway with plans to extend it if necessary.

Patea Club spokesman, Dalvanius says the bad publicity which caused the cancellation of the last eight dates in the last club tour still plagues them. He says the news stories then, painted a

distorted picture of the Patea Maori Club by saying that cannabis had been found on the club’s tour bus. He says eight cannabis seeds were found on the support band’s bus and this band freely acknowledged the Patea Maori Club were not involved. However Dalvanius says most of the media weren’t interested in correcting the impression that the maori club were involved in drugs. “I would say that the bad publicity has cost us thousands as well as demeaning the mana of the club.” He says both the Minister of Police and the local member of parliament, Koro Wetere were written to to help clear the club’s name and the result has been that while no police prosecution has taken place, the bad publicity remains. But on the bright side, Dalvanius thanks club supporters especially those who bought Poi E which has netted the club twenty thousand dollars. (Dal says the government got the other twenty thousand in sales tax). And to further keep him at home, Dalvanius started a new job last month as a detached youth worker in Patea. It’s a three year appointment with plans for a cultural youth centre and arts orientated projects for the youth of nine marae in south Taranaki.