Talk of ‘clean fight’ before double stabbing at party
important for children, as is repetition. One of the great children’s songs for me is Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. He just sings it twice but that message is reassurance and children really need that. That everything is going to be alright.’’
This month, Suzy Cato released The Totally Awesome Kiwi Kid’s Album, which celebrates the wealth of kids’ performers we have in New Zealand, with songs from Anika Moa, Moe & Friends and of course, Craig Smith.
She admits to Sunday News that kids might be tough critics but they’re not superficial and as a result, unlike any other genre of music, there’s no age cap for children’s entertainers if they can still continue to produce the goods.
After all, it was all the way back in 1997 that the nation fell in love with Cato and her trademark ‘‘Cya Cya Later’’.
‘‘There’s no age, race or colour that will prevent kids from enjoying something that is good for kids,’’ she says. ‘‘And that’s the beauty of music. It could be anyone singing and it brings people together.’’
Now, at the age of 50, she’s as loved by the nation’s children as ever and admits that’s because she keeps her eye on one single aspect of her performance.
‘‘The key is to really believe it. Kids can see if you aren’t a 100 percent into it. We all have those days when there’s things going on in our lives and we hit the stage and you think, that wasn’tmy best work. But it really is about
believing 110 percent.’’
Children are the perfect consumer when it comes to music. When they love something, there’s an insatiable appetite there that borders on obsession. Just look at this year’s viral hit Baby Shark. It attracted more than 1.6 billion views on YouTube.
It’s perhaps one of the reasons why the likes of Anika Moa keep returning to this area of music. Moa has punctuated the release of many albums aimed at adults, including her latest eponymous offering Anika Moa, to produce amazing songs for children.
Last year, she completed the sell-out The Chop Chop Hiyaaa! Tour for Kiwi kids around the country. This year, Moa is back with the grown-ups touring her sixth studio album.
It’s something that Cato can relate to, admitting: ‘‘Performing for children is a lot of fun, you feel that enthusiasm for it and you just want to do more.’’ NEIGHBOURS heard shouts about a ‘‘clean fight’’ with no weapons before a double stabbing in Auckland that left one man dead.
A 21-year-old man was killed during the incident at a party on Blofield Ave, Mt Roskill, on Friday night, while another person was seriously injured.
One woman said she heard fighting in the street before two women tried to get two men into a car. She said she heard them mention weapons and a clean fight before more fighting.
She called police and ran outside to see one man on the ground being attacked by another. She said she saw a metal object. ‘‘This kind of thing never happens on this street.’’
Police were speaking to witnesses and a person of interest, a spokesperson said.
The party was in a residential street, in a state housing subdivision and neighbours said there were parties at the house every weekend. Another said it wasn’t the first time police had been at the house and, earlier this year, two armed officers were outside the property.
Inspector Kerry Watson confirmed the stabbing. TORIKA CHANDRA/STUFF
‘‘Just after 11 o’clock tonight we got numerous calls for assistance from a street in Mt Roskill,’’ Watson said. ‘‘We were told there was a fight occurring.’’
The first man was found with critical injuries, and ambulance staff were unable to revive him.
A witness said what appeared to be a body could be seen lying on the road in front of a police car. Around the corner on Denny Ave, paramedics helped a person with serious stab wounds. Inspector Watson said the person was taken to hospital in a serious condition.
Officers at the scene had arrested and cuffed a man, a bystander said, although the arrest was not thought to be directly related to the stabbing.
Police said anyone with information could call 09 3026 557 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.