Mourners wish this Sailor smooth seas

Graham Brazier's coffin is carried from St Matthew in the City church. Photo / Greg Bowker

Graham Brazier, the front man of Hello Sailor, was remembered by those who knew him best at his funeral in Auckland yesterday.

Brazier died last week, aged 63.

He had been at a rehabilitation centre after suffering a heart attack while holidaying in the Bay of Islands.

It was a full house for his farewell at St Matthew in the City, the church overflowing with family, friends and fellow musicians.

Sheltering under umbrellas, hundreds ventured out on a wet and wild day to wish this "Sailor" - as one-time father-in-law Les Mills said - "fair winds and smooth seas".

Among the familiar faces were Dave Dobbyn, Peter Urlich and Jordan Luck.

Bandmate Harry Lyon struggled with tears as he searched for words to describe the hole left by the gregarious Brazier, just two years after the death of fellow "Sailor" Dave McArtney.

Graham Brazier in 2007. Photo / Richard Robinson

Urlich said they had all lost two huge pillars with the passing of the pair.

But besides the tears and moments of silence as those who knew Brazier beyond the stage persona struggled for words, there was also, of course, music.

In an ode to Hello Sailor's inseparable founders, Lyon sang the McArtney-penned Gutter Black at the end of the service. Earlier, Hammond Gamble performed Billy Bold, a song Brazier had written for his Liverpudlian father - who became the founder of the New Zealand Communist Party.

Brazier's 99-year-old mother, Christina, who fostered her son's lifelong obsession with literature and poetry, was at his funeral.

That passion for not just music, but the written word in any form, was a common thread in people's memories of Brazier. They recalled his intellect and love of words, which would lead him to spend much of his final years in his mother's antiquarian bookstore, Brazier Books.

Brazier will receive a full musical farewell next Friday, with Auckland's Powerstation hosting Hello Sailor's 40th Anniversary Concert: Salute To Mr B.