1979 was a good year for Th’ Dudes. After three years of building a large and loyal following in New Zealand, they delivered a debut album that was a critical and commercial success. The group toured 22 high schools to promote the album, often causing Beatles-style hysteria among the young, impressionable girls. Critics also fawned over the group: the Christchurch Star called Th’ Dudes “the best power pop group we have,” The Sunday Times said Right First
Time is the most impressive album ever recorded in New Zealand,” and the album’s first single, “Be Mine Tonight” was voted song of the year at the National Music Awards.

By 1980 however, the group was in disarray. Encouraged by their fast-talking manager Charley Gray, the group had been demanding star treatment wherever they went, often paying more for their dressing rooms and booze than they were actually paid to play. When the group toured in 1979, they used an imported sound system and employed the largest crew of any band in
the country. In addition to their mounting debt were the usual trappings of success: booze, girls, and ego clashes between the group’s two principal songwriters Dave Dobbyn and Ian Morris. The group lasted just long enough to record their second album, and then they were gone.

Dave Dobbyn, who wrote and sang “Be Mine Tonight” went on to have a successful solo career in the ‘80s. His heartbreaking ballad “Loyal” is still commonly heard in pubs all over New Zealand

-Mark Griffey