LONG before the advent of television and the internet, music competitions were conducted in cinemas in the Capital City and the Suva Civic Centre.
From the ‘60s right through to the early ‘90s, family members of competitors and diehard music fans would fork out 50 cents to $2 to go and watch bands battle for supremacy. Whoever emerged winner would be the toast of the town and conversations around the tanoa until the next comp would feature tall tales of super-human music prowess.
There would be stories about drummers and guitarists who played with such velocity and power that their hands and feet were a blur and the mountainous pile of broken drum skins and strings on stage told of their Herculean strength.The legend of vocalists would speak of those who sang without a microphone and yet their voices – every word and subtle nuance — were audible across the length and breadth of Suva.
Before Join the Band, Kaila! Star Search and the Vodafone MIC show, a local non-governmental organisation ran one of the few music contests where aspiring singers and musicians that went on to make a name for themselves began their career. Nek Mohammed was a well-known feature of the music scene during the ‘70s and ‘80s. Apart from being a musician himself, he also organised and compered the contests.
“I was quite involved in staging musical events — particularly the Suva Jaycees Talent Quest,” he said.
“Most times they used to be held at the Phoenix Theatre (Rodwell Rd) and, on a few occasions, at the New Lilac Theatre (Waimanu Rd),” he said.
Mr Mohammed said the music competition not only attracted interest from music lovers, there was significant support from the Suva business community.
“Our main sponsor was Carreras of Fiji who would pay for advertising, printing materials and other things.
“Other sponsors were Air Pacific (now Fiji Airways) and Air New Zealand — they used to donate return air tickets to Auckland or Sydney for the eventual winners.”
After conducting heats at the Phoenix Theatre and New Lilac Cinema, the finals were held in style at the Suva Civic Centre with the venue packed to the rafters.
“We would do six heats with eight participants over six weeks and out of that the first and second place winners would go into the finals.
“We would hire a band that would back up the contestants and they would hold rehearsals and prepare the contestants for the finals — it was a lot of work but it was worth it.”
Musicianship, during this era, developed quite rapidly because musicians were forced to learn and master a whole range of genres within a very limited time.
“Each finalist had to sing two songs and in-between we would have a couple of guest artists.
“Some of the winners that I remember were Jimmy Nathu, Sakiusa Bulicokocoko and Saimone Vuatalevu.”
Nathu would go on to perform with one of Suva City’s premier bands at the time — Sangfroid Ride. He also recorded and performed with the cream of Fiji’s music scene and still continues to hold shows today for charity.
Vuatalevu formed one of Fiji’s longest running bands — the Quin Tikis — and has recorded Hindi songs and a string of hit albums. Bulicokocoko is regarded as Fiji’s most acclaimed musician and vocalist, he passed away in Hawaii in 2007.
Apart from putting together the competitions, Mohammed, a guitarist, also performed at the Bali Hai Nightclub on Rodwell Rd in Suva next to the Phoenix Theatre with Maxie’s Mules which featured the guitar prowess of Maxie Columbus.
He also formed his own group called the South Seas Band and performed around Suva.
“There were a few other bands around at the time like Empire Old Boys with Karna Karan their lead guitarist. The other was The Shadows with Krishna Murti who is a fantastic guitarist and he still plays here in Auckland.”
Mohammed also recorded a few songs at the then Fiji Broadcasting Commission (now Fiji Broadcasting Corporation) with local singer Nitya Nand Maiku (now resides in San Fransisco).
