Ray Columbus was won over by rock and roll as a child, while selling ice creams at Christchurch's Avon Theatre. The nine-year-old tried to replicate the sounds and moves of Elvis on the big screen. "It was just natural to go from a Fred Astaire childhood, which was my Dad's dream, to all of a sudden dreaming about being old enough to switch to Elvis."
From the age of 14, Columbus began putting together bands. Around 1960 he was offered the lead vocalist job for local dance group The Downbeats. As the group's line-up changed, their sound edged closer to rock'n'roll, partly thanks to the influence of American servicemen in the audience.
Columbus debuted on Christchurch television in 1961, on early light entertainment show
Time out for Talent. The following February the band scored their own programme, the cabaret-style
Club Columbus. Columbus was 19. Many more screen appearances would follow: Columbus would be a staple part of local music and variety shows for at least the next 15 years, including the popular
C'mon, and
Happen Inn. He
also
cameoed in
John O'Shea's moody 1964 feature
Runaway.
After catching the Invaders in concert,
Howard Morrison encouraged the group to go to Auckland. "He was the one who gave me the confidence to go in, boots and all," Columbus recalled.
18 months later the band - now known as Ray Columbus and the Invaders - had taken Auckland by storm, and topped the chart on both sides of the Tasman. Their success was partly thanks to the showmanship of Columbus, their matching zoot suits and pink Fender guitars - not to mention their embrace of the American r&b sound, shortly to conquer the planet thanks to The Beatles.
Then Columbus proposed a stint in Australia, where he began contacting television, radio and magazines. "I would call up and say, 'It's Ray Columbus. I've got the greatest band in the world'. They would say, 'Don't be a bloody bighead'." The Invaders appeared on Australian shows Bandstand and Sing Sing Sing. When they returned home in February 1964, their fourth single, Lennon and McCartney's 'I Wanna Be Your Man' had entered the Australian Top 40, the first time a New Zealand recording charted overseas.
Sixth single '
She's a Mod' initially made little noise in New Zealand. The song was a remake of a track by Brit band The Senators (whose members included future Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham). Columbus perfected his own 'mod's nod', and audiences went wild. An early music video, shot in Australia, helped the contagion spread. 'She's a Mod' has now been remade at least four times - including a punk version, and a chart-topping 1990 collaboration with rappers Double J and Twice the T.
In 1965 The Invaders toured New Zealand alongside Roy Orbison and The Rolling Stones. Invaders guitarist Billy Kristian has said that Orbison labelled The Invaders "the loudest band in the world". The band's wall-of-sound version of '
Till We Kissed' proved their biggest hit, winning the first Loxene Golden Disc Award in 1965. By the end of that year The Invaders were no more. The first of many greatest hits compilations was released in 1966, as was debut solo outing
The Ray Columbus Album.
Columbus began a two year stay in San Francisco. While there he set up his own publishing company, and recorded alongside r&b band The Art Collection. At one gig the band were ordered off stage during one of their encores, by main act The Animals.
After mulling over offers to work on American television shows, Columbus returned home to work on TV's
C'mon, and hosted
Girls - to Watch Music By, a show devoted to local female singers. During this period, together with longtime entertainment businessman Phil Warren, he began managing, recording and sometimes composing for a number of late 60s acts - including The Chicks and popular
C'mon singer Shane.
He was also continuing to release his own material. Columbus-penned single 'Happy In A Sad Kind Of Way' reached number six in the Kiwi charts. Album Hit Tracks was released in 1969; four years later the anti-nuclear title track from album Jangles, Spanners and Banners saw Columbus sharing an APRA songwriting award with pianist Mike Harvey.
His solo recordings were collected in a 1974 greatest hits album, and 2004 CD Ray Columbus - The Solo Years. In 1974 Columbus was made an Officer of the British Empire, and appointed to the board of the QE11 Arts Council.
With the birth of TV2 in 1975, he fronted variety show Ray Columbus Presents New Faces. The following decade he would help create and host the successful That's Country, which showcased performances by local and international country and western singers. The series sold to America's TNN cable network, and a highlights package was later released on DVD. Reflecting on his busy TV career, Columbus later told the Sunday Star-Times that "too much television exposure affects record sales, it affects credibility. "
1999 saw Columbus touring New Zealand with performers from late 60s teen series C'mon. The tour was chronicled in documentary C'mon: on the Road Again. Further 'best of the era' style tours would follow in New Zealand and Australia.
In June 2008 Columbus suffered a serious stroke, which he later told NZPA he was lucky to survive. Columbus later said that his love of music had been crucial in his recovery.
In 2009, Ray Columbus and the Invaders were presented with The Legacy Award at the New Zealand Music Awards, and inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. Two years later Columbus provided many new angles on his life story with the release of book Ray Columbus - The Modfather.
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