Thirty musicians passed through the ranks of Herbs in the band’s 45 years. But arguably, it was the singing, musicianship and high-wattage smile of Willie Hona, who has died aged 70, that propelled the band
into the mainstream during its 1980s heyday. Hona was the shortest guy in Herbs but had the biggest voice, one that was at the core of the group’s harmonies on songs such as E Papa, Long Ago and Nuclear Waste. Hokianga-born Hona had been in bands for years before he joined Herbs. His career started in Dargaville’s greatest contribution to Kiwi rock, The Face, which made inroads in Auckland but ended when its other guitarist-singer, Mark Williams, was headhunted for pop stardom. Hona spent the rest of the 70s fronting nightclub bands before getting the call from Herbs in 1983. He stayed, adapted to the band’s reggae leanings and politics, and co-wrote many of their best-known songs.
He left the band in 1988 but returned to the fold in 2012, when Herbs was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame, and again in 2018, when the surviving members reunited for a performance filmed for 2019 documentary Herbs – Songs of Freedom. This shot of Hona in full flight, with band mate Dilworth Karaka, is from the rehearsals for that show.
