On the Run

I interviewed him in London in 1997. His years in gangs were reflected in the tattoos that covered his limbs, yet he struck me as a thoughtful man, bemused by his success. When Fuemana resettled in New Zealand in late 1997 he found that what was once a joke — an Otara millionaire — now represented his reality.

– Garth Cartwright in an obituary for singer Pauly Fuemana, The Guardian, 4 April 2010

... the album, also titled How Bizarre ... spawned further singles ‘On The Run' and 'Land Of Plenty'. Though these deeply autobiographical pieces showed there was far more range and potential in OMC than their novel No.1 might have suggested, they had little impact as singles outside New Zealand. The album, however, sold well on account of its title track, selling platinum (one million units) in the USA.

– Audioculture writer Nick Bollinger on OMC's first album, 27 May 2013

Pauly turned up here ’cos he had fallen out with [his brother] Phil, I don’t know what had happened, but he said he felt safer here ’cos the building was brick, and no one could come in and bash him from behind, and would I watch his back, and all this sort of carry on. I just thought he was crazy, but I liked him. I had no idea of what his past was, he seemed like one of those stray dogs you see around that had been given a hard time and didn't know who to trust any more. But he was a good guy.

– OMC's Alan Jansson describes Pauly Fuemana, AudioCulture, 20 October 2016

[The video] is excessively glitzy, and devoid of anything resembling personality — Pauly’s or anyone else’s. It completely missed what it was that made Pauly stand out from the international mire.

– Simon Grigg, from OMC's record label Huh!, on this music video, in his 2015 book How Bizarre