Give It A Whirl 6 - Land of Plenty (Episode Six)

The final episode of pop music series Give It a Whirl finds the 1990s New Zealand music industry in a confident position, with a range of acts either cracking international charts or making music that expresses Aotearoa's Pacific character. Fiona McDonald adds her pop sparkle to Headless Chickens' dark vibes and 'Cruise Control' hits number one. Wellington rockers Shihad mix metal and Flying Nun, and Upper Hutt Posse fly the flag for homegrown hip hop that is blatantly political, and proud of it. In 1997 OMC make Kiwi history when their genre bending, slow burn single 'How Bizarre' cracks the UK and America. 

It just caught the subconscious of people I guess. It just yeah, sort of got in there and bedded in, and you couldn't get it out. I always remember singing that hook over and over and over again to myself, and thinking 'gosh this is fantastic, it really works'.I think it was just the melody and the hook.

– 'How Bizarre' producer Alan Jansson on the song's appeal

Key Cast & Crew

Steven Orsbourn

Cinematographer

Mark Everton

Director, Writer, Interviewer

Richard Driver

Producer, Series Development

Colin Hogg

Writer, Story Consultant

Samuel Richards

Sound Mix

Neil Finn

Subject