Prince Tui Teka

Teka was from Ruatahuna in the Ureweras (1937), and had a musical childhood. His mother played mouth organ and clarinet, and his father was a saxophonist with a bush band. After learning guitar and saxophone at woolshed dances with teenage bands, Teka moved to Sydney and began a six-year stand with the Maori Volcanics showband on the Japan and Pacific circuit. The 'Prince' title was adopted when Teka joined the Maori Troubadours: 'In those days Elvis was the king of rock'n'roll so we thought up New Zealand's prince of entertainment.' In the 1970s Teka performed solo in Sydney and southeast Asian clubs, his extravagant stage wardrobe including rhinestone jackets and embroidered shirts cut for his one hundred and forty kilogram frame. His cabaret set was enlivened with downhome jokes: Nat King Cole ('I'm his half-brother Charcoal'). His over-sized choreography added to the fun, as Teka found later when he dieted down forty kilograms on medical advice: "I had no stomach to wiggle." By 1981 he had returned to Tokomaru Bay ('I began to feel homesick') and became a household name during the next year with E Ipo, and two albums with Teka originals including Real Love and Oh Mum. Prince Tui teka passed away in 1985 after heart difficulties.