By early 1975, manager Graeme Nesbitt (ex-Mammal), who had obtained regular gigs and organised their first New Zealand tours, felt they should tackle the larger Australian market. Nesbitt was unable to travel with them to Australia - he had been arrested for selling drugs. Dragon relocated to Sydney in May 1975, and toured Australia as support act to Status Quo in October. They recorded one single for Polygram "Starkissed" but it was not successful.
The band then sent for keyboard player Paul Hewson who had a reputation, in New Zealand, as a pop songwriter. Hewson had been scouted by Nesbitt when Dragon were still in New Zealand but had declined to join at that time. The group had originally intended to go to Canada, but opted to stay in Australia, settling to Bondi in late 1975, where they secured a residency at the Bondi Lifesaver club,. On the recommendation of fellow NZ expatriate Mike Rudd, CBS house producer Peter Dawkins went to see the group at the Recovery Wine Bar in Camperdown, Sydney in early 1976 and he was so impressed by their performance and Hewson's material that he immediately signed them to a contract with CBS Records. Often courting or creating controversy, the band was rocked by the heroin overdose death of drummer Neil Storey in September 1976, aged 22.
By then, founding member Ray Goodwin had left the group, and their single "This Time" had begun charting. Dragon considered disbanding after Storey's death, but Todd Hunter consulted with Nesbitt who advised him to continue and organised for Kerry Jacobson (ex-Mammal) to join on drums. Between 1977 and 1979, the classic Dragon lineup - the Hunter brothers, Taylor, Hewson and Jacobson - had a string of major hits on the Australian charts with singles "April Sun in Cuba", "Are You Old Enough?" and "Still In Love with You" and albums 'Sunshine', 'Running Free' and 'O Zambezi'.
These releases, and their dynamic concert performances, made them one of Australia's most popular rock acts. They attempted a breakthrough into the American market with a tour supporting Johnny Winter, starting in November 1978, but this was foiled after a disastrous show in Dallas, Texas, at which Marc Hunter incited a crowd by suggesting all Texans were "faggots": band members had to dodge flying beer bottles. In their Seventies heyday Dragon were regulars on the teen-oriented national TV pop show Countdown, which greatly enhanced their sales and popularity, and Marc Hunter hosted the show on several occasions, but the band's darker side, and especially Marc's unpredictable stage behaviour, were often in evidence at their live performances.
Soon after returning to Sydney from the USA, Marc Hunter was sacked from Dragon in February 1979 due to his drug and alcohol use, which was seriously affecting both his vocal performances and his general health. To replace Marc, the band recruited singer Billy Rogers formerly of Perth group Last Chance Cafe and violinist Richard Lee from Melbourne band Sidewinder, and Dragon recorded the commercially unsuccessful 'Power Play' LP before breaking up in December 1979.
Dragon reformed in August 1982 to pay off outstanding debts, not long after Kerry Jacobson left the band for health reasons. He was replaced by noted British drummer Terry Chambers, formerly of XTC,. Chambers, who quit XTC in 1983 after they were forced to stop touring (due to leader Andy Partridge's debilitating stage fright), had married his Australian girlfriend and settled in NSW. Dragon decided to stay together when their second comeback single, "Rain", proved to be a #2 hit in 1983, American keyboard player and Dragon's producer Alan Mansfield also joined. Mansfield had worked for Robert Palmer (including guitar for the "Johnny and Mary" single from Palmer's album 'Clues') and Bette Midler in the late 1970s, by 1982 Mansfield was living in Sydney and produced tracks for Marc Hunter. Marc Hunter convinced Mansfield to also produce Dragon's single "Rain". Dragon's 1984 album 'Body and the Beat' became one of the biggest-selling albums in Australia and New Zealand; they were restored to something close to their late 1970s glory.
'Body and the Beat' yielded further successful Australasian singles, notably "Magic" and "Cry", but the 'new' Dragon and the ascendancy of the Hunter-Piggot team also marked the rapidly declining influence of the band's former songwriting powerhouse, Paul Hewson, who only managed one co-writing credit on the album. Paul Hewson left Dragon in late 1984, and returned to New Zealand, where he died of an accidental drug overdose on 9 January 1985. During 1984 Hewson had shared an apartment in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney with singer-songwriter Paul Kelly, who had recently arrived from Melbourne and was trying relaunch his career, and he and Hewson became close friends. In May 1985, four months after Hewson's death, Kelly released his breakthrough solo album 'Post', which dealt extensively with themes of addiction, and which he dedicated to Hewson's memory Terry Chambers and Robert Taylor left some time after.
Dragon performed three songs for 13 July 1985 Oz for Africa concert (part of the global Live Aid program) - "Speak No Evil", "Rain" and "Are You Old Enough?"; which was broadcast in Australia (on both Seven Network and Nine Network) and on MTV in the US. American drummer Doane Perry replaced Chambers, and Taylor was eventually succeeded by local Sydney guitar ace Tommy Emmanuel. This line-up went to America to record the Todd Rundgren-produced 'Dreams of Ordinary Men' album in 1986 and toured Europe with Tina Turner under the name Hunter in 1987. By this time Mansfield was writing with Sharon O'Neill; they wrote "Western Girls" for 'Dreams of Ordinary Men' and then three tracks for her 1987 solo album 'Danced in the Fire'.
Dragon briefly split up in 1988 but the Hunter brothers and Mansfield then regrouped with guitarist Randall Waller and drummer Barton Price (ex-Models) for the 'Bondi Road' album released in April 1989 on RCA, it also featured Emmanuel's guitar work. 'Bondi Road' reached #18 on the Australian albums charts and the single "Young Years" written by Mansfield and O'Neill also reach #18. The pair had written two other tracks: "Ice in this Town" and "Good Time Girl". Dragon continued to record and tour with varying line-ups centered around the Hunter brothers and Mansfield. They also supported Elton John for his 1990 Australian tour. Todd Hunter worked on Heartbreak High (TV series) from 1994 for six years as Music Composer, he retired from Dragon in 1995 after the release of 'Incarnation's.
Dragon continued on without Todd Hunter. Then, in November 1997, Marc Hunter was diagnosed with severe oesophageal cancer and died on 17 July 1998. A memorial service for him was held at St. Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney, followed by an all-star benefit concert to raise money to support Marc's widow and child. A compilation CD 'Forever Young' was released on Raven Records, highlighting his solo career.Dragon broke up a second time after Marc Hunter's illness had been diagnosed. Todd Hunter continued composing music for TV and film with Heartbreak High to 1999, Walk the Talk (2000 film), Out There (2003 TV series) and Out of the Blue (2008 BBC-TV series). Mansfield and O'Neill continued songwriting including "True Love" co-written with Robert Palmer for his 1999 album 'Rhythm and Blues'. They both performed with Leo Sayer during his tours in 2006 and 2007, O'Neill would sing "Young Years" in honour of Marc Hunter.
Todd Hunter (bass) reformed Dragon in 2006 with a line-up of Mark Williams (vocals, guitar), Bruce Reid (guitar), and Pete Drummond (drums). The new line-up released 'Sunshine to Rain' on the Liberation Blue label. On 1 July 2008, Dragon were inducted by Richard Wilkins into the ARIA Hall of Fame, Dragon were joined on-stage by James Reyne and Ian Moss to perform "April Sun in Cuba" and "Rain". In March 2009, Dragon released a number of previously unreleased material, including live albums. In October 2009, Dragon released 'Happy I Am' on Ozmo Records, distributed internationally by MGM Records.
In September 2011, Dragon released an EP titled 'Chase The Sun' and in November, 'The Great Divide'. The band continues to tour, including the Rhythm and Vines Festival in New Zealand in 2011, The 40th anniversary Tour, The Long Way To The Top, The Red Hot Summer Tour with Jimmy Barnes across 2012/13. A 2-CD set compilation was released in 2012 titled 'The Dragon Years - 40th Anniversary Collection' which peaked at number 21 in New Zealand. In 2012, their single "Are You Old Enough?" was used in the opening credits of Australian television drama series Puberty Blues. Ray Goodwin died in 2022.
Members
Todd Hunter (bass, vocals), Graeme Collins (piano, vocals), Neil Reynolds (drums),
Ray Goodwin (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Ivan Thompson (keyboards), Marc Hunter (vocals),
Neil Storey (drums), Geoff Chunn (drums), Robert Taylor (guitar), Paul Hewson (keyboards),
Kerry Jacobsen (drums), Billy Rogers (harmonica, saxophone, vocals), Richard Lee (violin),
Terry Chambers (drums), Alan Mansfield (keyboards), Doane Perry (drums),
Don Miller-Robinson (guitar), Peter Northcote (guitar),Tommy Emmanuel (guitar),
David Hirschfelder (keyboards), Lee Borkman (keyboards), Andy Sidari (bass, guitar, keyboards), Mike Caen (guitar), Mitch Farmer (drums), John Watson (drums), Mark Williams (vocals, guitar), Bruce Reid (guitar), Pete Drummond (drums)
SINGLES
This Time
| 8 NOV '76 | #26 |
Get That Jive
| 21 MAR '77 | #13 |
Sunshine
| 8 AUG '77 | #36 |
April Sun in Cuba
| 7 NOV '77 | #2 |
Shooting Stars
| 27 FEB '78 | #58 |
Konkaroo
| 1 MAY '78 | #40 |
Are You Old Enough
| 14 AUG '78 | #1 |
Still in Love With You
| 27 NOV '78 | #27 |
Love's Not Enough
| 21 MAY '79 | #37 |
Ramona
| 20 DEC '82 | #79 |
Rain
| 15 AUG '83 | #2 |
Magic
| 28 NOV '83 | #33 |
Cry
| 28 MAY '84 | #17 |
Dreams of Ordinary Men
| 1 SEP '86 | #17 |
Western Girls
| 8 DEC '86 | #58 |
Celebration
| 7 DEC '87 | #11 |
iRver
| 13 JUN '88 | #78 |
Young Years
| 17 APR '89 | #18 |
Here I Am
| 19 JUN '89 | #72 |
Summer
| 9 OCT '89 | #49 |
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_%28band%29
http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/
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