When Tina Cross turned 60 in January this year, she was on stage in front of several thousand people singing with her girl band The LadyKillers. As the entire audience sang happy birthday to her, the North Shore musical icon decided this was a defining moment in her life…and started pondering on another.
It’s hard to believe, but it was 40 years ago next month that the then 20-year-old songstress was asked by Kiwi musical doyen Carl Doy to sing ‘Nothing but Dreams’ at the Pacific Song Contest. At the time ‘this was an extremely important competition amongst pop music song writers; the win in front of millions of television viewers in a dress chosen to ‘wow’ saw Tina catapulted into the public eye…and cemented her dream of making performing her life’s work.
“At that moment in January, I realised that I couldn’t let my most pivotal moment pass by without a celebration,” Tina says now. “Turning 60 has seen me celebrate 44 years as a singer and entertainer in the business. I sat Carl down and asked him to help me mark 40 years since I sang ‘Nothing but Dreams’. As usual, he was right behind me.”
The pair will perform at The PumpHouse Theatre in Takapuna on October 25, ironically just a few metres from where in 1995 Tina and her husband were involved in an horrific car accident that saw her break ribs and endure facial injuries after starring in the opening night of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Since then, she has starred in music theatre as diverse as Cats, Miss Saigon and Once Were Warriors, fronted bands and famously sang the vocals for New Zealand soap Shortland St.
Audiences at The PumpHouse should expect a dynamic repertoire from the duo, including ‘Nothing But Dreams’, ‘Memory (from Cats), ‘Tarakihi’ (best known via Kiri Te Kanawa), ‘Here You Come Again’ (Dolly Parton), ‘Always Remember Us This Way’ (Lady Gaga), and the song Cross wrote and gifted to the Women’s Refuge – ‘Walk Away’.
Carl will accompany Tina on a grand piano, and the duo will be joined by a four piece-band and two guest singers – Russell Harrison and Jane Horder. Carl has recorded more than 20 piano albums since ‘Piano by Candlelight’ in the 1980s, which set records with triple-platinum sales in New Zealand and a million albums sold in the USA. He has worked with Yulia, Elizabeth Marvelly and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and the late Sir Howard Morrison and Rob Guest.
When you ask Tina what’s she’s been up to lately, she smiles widely. From Te Aupouri and Ngati Porou background, she is at level 4 in her study of te reo Māori, and hopes to be fluent in the future. Her role as an anti-domestic violence advocate for Women’s Refuge and Shine has seen her donate a song to each, and she enjoys performing with the Lady Killers around the country.
“When you reach 60, you can start to question your career and what’s ahead,” the mother-of-two admits. “I’ve been very lucky to be able to do anything I wanted to do in my career – even now – but winning the Pacific Song Contest was a real highlight, particularly being able to pip Australia at the post by two points to take home the title! Come and celebrate that with us 40 years later.”
Tickets for the October 25 show starting at 7.30pm at The PumpHouse Theatre are available at www.pumphouse.co.nz. Tickets cost $49, and concessions are available.
