Th' Dudes were a late 1970s / early 1980s pop/rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. Hits include "Walking in Light", "Right First Time", " Be Mine Tonight" and "Bliss".
The band was formed by Morris, Urlich, Coleman and Dobbyn, students at Sacred Heart College in Auckland, which was the same school that Neil and Tim Finn went to. The band name derived from the "Lone Groover" comic strip in the English music paper, NME. The band's sound was heavily influenced by the British scene, especially The Beatles, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones, and later by the Punk and New Wave sounds of Iggy Pop, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Roxy Music, The Stranglers and The Clash. Starting off as a covers band that played surf clubs and private parties, Th' Dudes quickly earned a reputation as an energetic and skilful outfit featuring dual guitar work from Dobbyn and Morris, a tight no-nonsense rhythm section and charismatic vocalist Urlich. Slowly the repertoire featured more originals and their status rose to the point where Th' Dudes were acclaimed NZ Group of the Year in 1979. They eventually disbanded in mid 1980. The mid-1990s saw a resurgence of interest in Th' Dudes in New Zealand as "classic hits" and "classic rock" radio became more prevalent, and the compositional, performance and production qualities of the band's records endured. Bliss: 20 Essential New Zealand Classics and other compilations showcased New Zealand post-punk acts which epitomized the Kiwi rock genre. Their song, "Bliss", attained particular popularity and has since established itself as New Zealand's unofficial national drinking song. In October 2006 Th' Dudes embarked on a tour of New Zealand as part of Radio Hauraki's 40th anniversary celebrations. The original tour was 11 dates, but quickly expanded to 17 shows due to demand. Due to a dispute with the holders of the band's master tapes, Stebbing Studios Ltd, the band was unable to release any product to support the tour. Instead, they compiled a six-track CD of demo and alternate versions of their biggest hits, culled from the band's own collections. This CD was available only at shows on the tour and was called Pubs, Parks, Theatres, Clubs, Church Halls, Gardens, Lounges & Band Rotundas. In late 2007 Th' Dudes embarked on the "Summer of Love" tour of popular NZ holiday destinations: Mangawhai ; Mount Maunganui ; Coroglen ; Waihi Beach ; Lake Hawea, Riwaka ; and New Plymouth. Chances of the band doing more any shows are said to be "very slim". In 2008 the band sued Stebbing Studios for non-payment of royalties. The band sought to show that they were not paid royalties for sales of their music due to their songs being recorded in downtime at Stebbing, while studio owner Eldred Stebbing claimed production costs had not been met. The dispute was resolved to both parties' mutual satisfaction in November 2008. Ian Morris died suddenly in Napier on 7 October 2010. Prior to his death Morris produced records and wrote advertising music, after having had a brief solo career under the stage name Tex Pistol. Morris is survived by his twin daughters Julia and Maude. In 2019, the band announced a new tour of New Zealand, with dates from April 9-25, 2020. The group will be joined by Ian Morris's brother, Rikki Morris.
