What happened that day?
See historic events for any day of the year by entering the date below. Why not try your birthday?
Kiwi of the Week
Today in History
18 January
1980 'Montego Bay' hits number one
Upper Hutt's Jon Stevens made it back-to-back No.1 singles when ‘Montego Bay’
bumped ‘Jezebel’ from the top of the New Zealand charts. He would later become lead singer
for Australian bands Noiseworks and INXS.
Stevens became the pin-up boy of New Zealand pop with his double success during the summer of 1979-80. ‘Jezebel’, his first single, was recorded in October 1979 and reached No.1 in early December. ‘Montego Bay’, a cover of Bobby Bloom's 1970 hit, gave Stevens a rare double. It remained at the top of the charts for seven weeks. More success followed with the release of his debut album, Jezebel (1980), which cemented Stevens's position as New Zealand's premier solo male artist of the time.
Like many New Zealand musicians, Stevens crossed the Tasman to try his luck in Australia. In 1985, he was a founding member of the Australian rock band Noiseworks, which enjoyed some success on the Australian charts before disbanding in 1992. He then enjoyed two highly acclaimed stints playing Judas in Australian productions of Jesus Christ Superstar. Following the death of INXS frontman Michael Hutchence, Stevens later had a brief and relatively unsuccessful stint as the singer's replacement.
Image: Jon Stevens (Australian Music Online)
Internal links
This Week in History
