KEY POINTS:
Cor, what a spunk John Rowles was in his first flush of fame. And didn't he just know it. That quiff, those sideboards, that voice, the limos, the cigars, the gold chains, the Brylcreem: what a dude.
"I don't want to make it sound like I had seven women for breakfast," smirks the Maori boy from Kawerau, now in his 60s and looking a bit jowly and nostalgic. As well he might: those were the days and he ain't headlining shows in Las Vegas no more. Rotovegas, maybe, but even then it's tough going.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The Inside New Zealand documentary The Secret of John Rowles, playing on TV3 this Thursday, introduces us to the dilemma of the ageing pop star. Rowles was New Zealand's first big international music success story when in 1968 his first hit, If I Only Had Time, went to number 2 in the British pop charts.
In 1970 he created a classic with Cheryl Moana Marie, the perennial pub-singalong favourite which frequently follows Pokarekare Ana and Ten Guitars.
At the height of his fame he was a big star, rubbing shoulders with Elvis Presley and Marlon Brando in Hawaii and Las Vegas, earning ten times as much as the prime minister and hailed as a hero in his home country.
Rowles' music might seem like high naffery now, but that's all the more reason his life story makes an epic yarn.
The Secret of John Rowles covers all the grand themes: ambition, hubris, racial prejudice - and groupies: "That Robbie Williams? He's got nothing on me mate."
This documentary must have been a labour of love: I don't know when I last saw such a beautifully researched piece. Most New Zealand documentaries are cobbled together from about three interviews but this has contributions from a cast of thousands from cuzzy bros to showbiz legends, including Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, Neil Finn, Greg Johnston, Pio Terei, Willy Jackson, Gray Bartlett, Ray Columbus, Howard Morrison, Peter Urlich, Hinewehi Mohi and Alan Duff.
This one was five years in the making, but it was worth the wait.
There are some glorious moments: Mike Chunn singing Share your Marijuana with Me, Howard Morrison admitting how envious he was of Knowles, and the real Cheryl Moana Marie saying how much she hated being the girl in the song.
But it manages to escape "Where are they now?"-type blandness by segueing into thoughtful questions about Maori identity and how we treat our heroes.
It is trendy these days to talk about "telling our own stories" and usually this means heavy-going introspective pieces - the equivalent of home movies of interest only to you and your mum.
As Mike Chunn says in The Secret of John Rowles: "There is far too much emphasis on integrity of music versus music as entertainment."
His observation applies equally to documentary-making. Since John Rowles was a showman, it is not surprising The Secret of John Rowles is so entertaining.
- Inside New Zealand: The Secret of John Rowles plays on TV3 this Thursday at 9.30pm.
