His first success came with a band, Th’ Dudes, which he formed while still in school. Their hit song “Be Mine Tonight” won single of the year in 1979 in New Zealand, while singles “Walking in Light” and “Bliss” became popular anthems. After Th’ Dudes folded, Dobbyn formed pop group DD Smash. The band’s first album Cool Bananas debuted in the New Zealand charts at number one. The band’s hit singles included “Devil you Know”, “Outlook for Thursday”, and the violin-tinged “Whaling”. When DD Smash folded, Dobbyn began a successful solo career, by writing the soundtrack music for the animated feature film Footrot Flats: The Dog’s Tale in 1986. The film yielded two hit singles: “Oughta Be in Love” and the chart-topping “Slice of Heaven”, recorded with the band Herbs. After the release of the film, Slice of Heaven became one of Dobbyn’s best-known songs, frequently used in tourism advertisements aired on Australian television that encouraged people to visit New Zealand. As a result, many Australians jokingly referred to the song as the New Zealand National anthem. At the 2001 New Zealand Music Awards Dobbyn won a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2005 and 2006 he won “Songwriter Of The Year” and “Best Male Solo Artist” respectively, both for his work on his 2005 album Available Light |
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