Born entertainer, generous mentor of talent
Raymond John Patrick ‘‘Ray’’ Columbus, singer, entertainer: b November 4, 1942, Christchurch; m (1) Le’Vonne Engel (diss), 1s, 1d, (2) Linda; d. November 28, 2016, aged 74.
Kiwi ‘Modfather’ Ray Columbus was the first Kiwi to record an overseas No 1 single, gave the world a signature dance move, and mentored a host of successful local entertainers as a manager.
He is perhaps best remembered for his 1964 hit She’s A Mod, which has been remade several times since.
A popular figure in the New Zealand music industry, Columbus received a string of major awards in his career, and played support gigs to the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Roy Orbison, Shirley Bassey and the Hollies before launching a successful management and TV career.
He was recognised as pioneering the pathway to musical success here long before reality TV shows like X Factor and New Zealand’s Got Talent.
Columbus was ‘‘ahead of everyone else with what he was doing’’, his long-time friend singer Suzanne Lynch says. ‘‘I think Ray and the Invaders [his band] raised the bar for New Zealand music.’’
‘‘A lot of people did really well in this business, and it was singularly due to Ray’s advice,’’ said Lynch. ‘‘He took care of a lot of people’s careers, and a lot of well-known artists have a lot to thank him for.
‘‘He has been my manager and mentor right through my career; he’s been like my big brother,’’ she said. ‘‘What he taught me was professionalism ... he’s always been a shining example of what a professional musician should be.’’
Among those Columbus discovered or managed were Tina Cross, the Rumour, and The Chicks, which Lynch was in at just 14 years old.
Another was Ben Campbell of duo Zed and Shane. ‘‘Ray was my godfather. He took me under his wing and taught me everything I know,’’ said Campbell.
‘‘He was a phenomenal influence. I don’t think a lot of people understand how much he influenced the New Zealand music industry not just as an artist but also as someone who was always supportive of upcoming artists.
‘‘Ray deserves a huge amount of credit for the impact he has had on the immediate people in his life and also the local industry. There wasn’t a bad bone in his body. He was so positive and talented and just thought the best of everybody.’’
Ray Columbus was born in Woolston, Christchurch, one of seven children to parents Jack and Cressey. His father was a drinker and not around much. He attributed his adored mother as the one who held the family together. She taught him to take responsibility, ‘‘don’t cheat and don’t lie’’.
‘‘I learned that when I was six years old, and I live by those tenets every day,’’ he said in a 2011 interview.
The family were poor but Columbus said poverty was never a word he knew about when he was growing up. Everyone in his neighbourhood was ‘‘doing it tough’’, he said.
As a child Columbus was besotted with singing and tap dancing.
He once recalled his father telling him telling him when he was six ‘‘you’re gonna be Fred Astaire’’.
‘‘I don’t even know who Fred Astaire is, but from this moment it’s settled in my mind that that’s who I’m going to be.’’
He was a showman from his early years. There are stories of his school days in Christchurch, troubling the Brothers at Xavier College when he arrived with traces of lipstick on his face, from fans at his prize-winning tap dancing competitions.
Small and cute, he was both loved and bullied, but he wouldn’t be cowed. ‘‘The other kids call me a sissy but I don’t care,’’ he recalled in his 2011 memoir Ray Columbus: The Modfather – The Life and Times of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Pioneer. ‘‘I come from a big family and any attention is good as far as I’m concerned.’’
At nine he was selling icecreams at Christchurch’s Avon Theatre where he was wooed to rock’n’roll by Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock.
He soon exchanged the dream of becoming Fred Astaire to rocking like the King.
In 1959 at the age of 17, he formed his first band, The Dominoes, but got his first break when he was asked to fill in for the lead singer in the Downbeats Band. He soon became the permanent lead singer and the band went on to become known Ray and the Drifters.
His voice and charismatic stage presence brought local fame and in 1962 Columbus was offered his own TV show, Club Columbus.
After taking advice from Howard Morrison, he moved to Auckland and renamed the group Ray Columbus and the Invaders – the line-up that would bring his international success. Complete with state-of-the-art Fender guitars, stylish dance moves and equally sharp outfits, they were the epitome of Mod cool.
They split their time between Auckland and Sydney, building their profile before hitting superstardom with She’s a Mod in June 1964. It went to No 1 in Australia.
Columbus teamed the song with a new dance move, the Mods Nod, which became his trademark.
It still resonates with crowds. Lynch said: ‘‘Even now, if I break out into the Mod Nod on stage, everyone laughs and does it too.’’
She’s a Mod was written by UK musician Terry Beale for his band The Senators, a group which featured future Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, but it only became a global hit with Ray Columbus.
Beale and Columbus remained friends throughout their careers.
Columbus broke new ground writing his own songs. His second album with the Invaders, Original Numbers, was the first local album of entirely self written songs.
Despite the success of She’s A Mod, his greatest chart success was the song Till We Kissed, which sold more than 50,000 copies in 1965.
Although Ray Columbus and the Invaders only played together for another two years, till 1966, they achieved lasting fame.
When the band split, Columbus spent years living in the US, presented television shows – Ray Columbus Presents New Faces, C’Mon, Happen Inn and Sing.
He also co-created and hosted That’s Country and helped sell the series to a US cable network.
Other career highlights include three Royal Command Performances and he was MC and headliner at the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games.
He was the first pop star in the British Commonwealth to receive an OBE.
In Columbus’s memoir he revealed his own battle with the bottle, which he managed to get under control with the help of his second wife, Linda.
He also spoke about a trauma he endured when, at the age of 15, a group of women tried to rape him.
He was working in a dairy and minding the shop one night while the owner went out with three women friends. When they got back the group were all drunk, and they attacked the tiny lad (he never grew taller than 168cm, or 5’ 6’’).
The incident ‘‘has definitely affected my life’’, he said in an interview years later.
By Simon Day, Mike Alexander, David Gadd and Bess Manson
Sources: Sunday-Star Times (Anthony Hubbard), Ben Campbell, Suzanne Lynch.