Ray Columbus and the Invaders were the first NZ band to have major international success when their early 60s hit 'She's A Mod' topped the charts in Australia. Though actually written by a Brit, Mod has become a much-covered Kiwi classic. The band's place in NZ music history was cemented when the single 'Till We Kissed' won the first Loxene Golden Disc Award in 1965 - but the band disbanded the same year, with Columbus going on to a successful solo career. At the Music Awards in 2009, the Invaders were inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame.
'Till We Kissed
Another black and white prototype music video from Ray Columbus and the Invaders. Ray and the band planned and directed this one themselves, at Peach Studios in Auckland. The song is a ballad, and it's a more restrained performance than the clip for She's a Mod, but the 1960s zoot suits and aloof rock star poses are still there. 'Till We Kissed' was a Top 10 hit, and won the first ever Loxene Golden Disc Award in 1965.
She's a Mod
Not exactly a music video, more a prototype. This promo film clip for the Kiwi classic was taken from the band's appearance on the Aussie TV show Bandstand in 1964. It's black and white and very basic, but the band has zoot suits; high slung guitars, as was the way of the time; and all the right moves. A very young-looking Ray Columbus has the beginnings of a Beatles hair-do, and is forever captured in time doing the legendary 'mod's nod'. This was the first time a film clip of a band performing was used for promo purposes in NZ.