Pink Champagne in the Blues Room

Click here to hear Steve and Cheryl's station call.

On their way up to the Bay of Islands Jazz and Blues Festival(11-13 August), Cheryl and Steve O'Connor stopped in at Community Radio Hamilton to chat, play and sing awhile. And what a wonderful visit it was. Even though I had a lousy head cold, and still do, I enjoyed every minute and was so intrigued by the stories they shared. We managed to get an interview recorded which I'll play on air once I edit it, its peppered with them breaking out in songs that feature on their two released cds.

They told of how they met, began their musical careers and what influenced them. Gee, this kinda of interview needs to happen for every blues muso because I bet everyone has an interesting story to tell. As a matter of fact, it was John Lee Hooker that said "the blues is story."

The origins of Pink Champagne can be traced to the Sahara Desert in Libya back in 1977, where they performed to an expatriate social group who got together regularly to play music and put on performances for other expatriates. Steve had played in various blues and rock-oriented bands in the UK and when they came to New Plymouth, New Zealand in 1994, they formed a duo called Two's Blues. The name change to Pink Champagne came about after they were invited to take the ingredients for the drink "Pink Champagne" to a party, it was there that a friend suggested the name be suitable for their band. They thought so and adopted the name- it stuck - they are now composing and perfortheirthier own material, as well as covers of tfavoriteurite songs.

See that Dobro guitar of Steve's - 5000 bucks worth!!!! Wow, you wouldn't want to leave that lying around at the festival Steve!!

And thanks to Steve and Cheryl for that cool tee-shirt I'm wearing, how did they know I'd fit an XL??! The pizza supplied by the staff at Community Radio Hamilton was much appreciated and so necessary for my robusted figure, yummo!

Read more about this great blues duo and listen to samples from their CDs here.

The Latest Album: Stick To Yer Guns
Track Listing:
1 - Come On In (Stonebridge/McGunniess/Jones)
2 - Give It Up Or Let Me Go (B. Raitt)
3 - Do Your Duty (Wilson)
4 - Live Now, Pay Later (C. & S. O'Connor)
5 - Sometimes (C. O'Connor)
6 - Women Be Wise (Sippi Wallace)
7 - You Can Get A Steak At Home (C. & S. O'Connor)

Debut Album: Strike Me Pink
Track Listing:
1 - Pink Champagne (Liggins)
2 - You Can Love Yourself (K. Moore)
3 - Another Rainy Day in Taranaki (C. & S. O'Connor)
4 - Nothin' Clickin' Chicken (Lonnie Johnson)
5 - Five O'Clock Snoring Blues (C. & S. O'Connor)
6 - That's How Much I Love You Baby (more or less) (Edwards/Michaels/Cavallari)
7 - Tall Poppy (C. & S. O'Connor)
8 - God Bless the Child (Holliday and Herzog)
9 - Wild About That Things (Williams)
10 - The Devil Talks To Me Everyday (C. O'Connor)
11 - These Foolish Things (Marvell/Stachey/Link)
12 - Blue Room Blues (Johnson-Dunn)