| Coconut Rough | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New Zealand |
| Genre(s) | new wave pop |
| Years active | 1982-1984 |
| Label(s) | Mushroom Records |
| Associated acts | The Swingers, Midnight Oil |
| Former members | |
| Andrew Snoid Mark Bell Dennis "Choc" Te Whare Stuart Pearce Paul Hewitt Bones Hillman |
|
Coconut Rough were a New Zealand new wave/pop band that began to blossom when lead singer Andrew Snoid decided to leave the popular New Zealand group The Swingers (then based in Australia) in 1982 and return to his native country. There he reunited with old friend and guitarist Mark Bell, whom he had worked with before in the past, and the two formed this new band, along with bassist Dennis "Choc" Te Whare, keyboardist Stuart Pearce and drummer Paul Hewitt. They decided on the name "Coconut Rough" based on a type of sweet treat popular in Australia and New Zealand.
The band's biggest hit was also their first single. 1983's "Sierra Leone" hit the top five in the New Zealand pop charts, though critics disliked the band's overall commercial sound. This coupled with the band's declining success on the charts resulted in the band receiving gradually lessening support from their record label (Mushroom Records); by the time the band released their 1984 debut album, that support was minimal. This contributed heavily to the band's dissolution. The last person to become a member of the band, guitarist and former Swingers bandmate Bones Hillman, eventually became the replacement bassist for the Aussie supergroup Midnight Oil upon Peter Gifford's departure. [1]
| Year | Single | Album | Charted | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "Sierra Leone" | - | - |