Mourners at Ray Columbus' funeral in Auckland. Photo/Dean Purcell.
Mourners at Ray Columbus' funeral in Auckland. Photo/Dean Purcell.
Musical tributes flow for iconic Kiwi entertainer who put NZ music on map.
We met him, most of us, in black and white.
His black mop-top flicking back and forth above a dimpled chin and clean-cut suit as he flung his body into hit single, She's a Mod, preserved for perpetuity by grainy 1960s footage.
But Ray Columbus wasn't black and white.
He was vibrant and generous and loving, and when he began his final journey at St Patrick's Cathedral yesterday it was in a casket painted bright red by his widow, Linda.
Hundreds gathered to say goodbye to the man described as New Zealand's first pop star, rising to fame with his Ray Columbus and the Invaders' hits She's a Mod and Till We Kissed, but who also enjoyed a long career as a TV presenter and manager.
Columbus died aged 74 on Tuesday, following a long period of ill-health.
The father-of-two was yesterday described unfailingly as someone who gave himself to everyone, and several well-known recipients of his guidance shared their affection.
Long time entertainer Max Cryer spoke about Columbus' early forays into music, with one talent quest judge dismissing his schoolboy efforts.
"We hope that judge lived long enough to see that he was wrong."
The young Columbus wore high jeans and quiffed his hair with Brylcreem, but didn't like the names Teddy Boy or bodgie, Cryer said.
"He preferred the term from England, the mod."
At 18 he was working as a tax clerk, but also chasing his musical dreams.
The Invaders were formed, and among members was Billy Karaitiana, who yesterday spoke about his friendship with the famously driven Columbus.
"The thing I liked about Ray, in all the time I knew him, was the positivity ... he was a very good leader. I'm very sorry to see him go, we all loved him very much."
Mourners outside St Patrick's Cathedral in Auckland, where Ray Columbus' funeral took place. Photo/Dean Purcell.
Fittingly, music was a large part of Columbus' farewell.
Protégé songstress Suzanne Lynch sang Wind Beneath My Wings, blowing a kiss to her former manager's casket at the close.
Karaitiana and Zed singer Nathan King performed She's a Mod, and mourners applauded as Columbus was carried from the church to Till We Kissed.
Musician Annie Crummer, who met Columbus aged 9 after he spotted her on a talent show, reached from the pews to touch the casket.
