Taranaki Danceland

This acetate recording was produced in 1962, and was played on the Taranaki airwaves to promote Taranaki Danceland. Taranaki Danceland was instituted by Colin King and his big band The Harmonisers. It featured large Saturday night dances with upwards of 1000 people held weekly at different venues including the Stratford War Memorial Hall, New Plymouth's Trades Hall, the "Agri" Hall or the Star Gym. Originally from Waitara, Colin left school at age 15 to work as a mechanic’s apprentice. Not long after this he quit to form a band with schoolmates Bob Crow, Dennis Taylor and Keith Kramer. By the time Colin was aged 16 the band were playing six nights a week all over Taranaki. Unfortunately the rising popularity of television and other forms of entertainment meant the weekly dances eventually ceased, although listening to this advert definitely makes an evening spent dancing to Colin’s smooth voice and The Harmoniser’s catchy tunes sound like a great idea!