Dragon are a New Zealand rock band which was formed in Auckland in January 1972, and, from 1975, based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The band was originally fronted by singer Graeme Collins, but rose to fame with singer Marc Hunter and is currently led by his brother, bass player and co-founder Todd Hunter. Their name "Dragon" came from a consultation of I Ching cards by Collins. The group performed, and released material, under the name Hunter in Europe and the United States during 1987. peaked at No. 9 in New Zealand and No. 2 in Australia; "Are You Old Enough?" reached No. 6 in New Zealand and No. 1 in Australia in 1978; reached No. 35 and No. 27 in each country respectively that same year. a No. 2 hit in 1983, while other, more minor hits were written by the Hunters and/or Alan Mansfield, frequently in collaboration with any combination of Pigott, Mansfield's partner Sharon O'Neill, Marc Hunter's partner Wendy Hunter, or producers Todd Rundgren and David Hirschfelder. obtained evidence that Dragon members were clients. and Hewson also suffered from debilitating scoliosis and arthritis, the pain of which reportedly contributed to his heroin use. The band also undertook a famously disastrous 1978 tour of the US, supporting Johnny Winter, which ended when Marc Hunter abused a Texan audience as "faggots" and the band were pelted off stage, while Winter's band were said to have taken bets about how long it would be before Hunter was shot.
History
1972–1975: Early years
Dragon formed in Auckland in January 1972 with a line-up that featured Todd Hunter on bass guitar, guitarist Ray Goodwin, drummer Neil Reynolds and IvanThompson on keys. Despite being one of Auckland's top live attractions by late 1974, On the recommendation of fellow New Zealand expatriate Mike Rudd, CBS house producer Peter Dawkins went to see the group at the Recovery Wine Bar in Camperdown, Sydney, in early 1976 and he was so impressed by their performance and Hewson's material that he immediately signed them to a contract with CBS Records.|Marc Hunter |1994
In their 1970s heyday Dragon were regulars on the teen-oriented national TV pop show Countdown, which greatly enhanced their sales and popularity, with Marc Hunter hosting the show on several occasions, but the band's darker side, especially Marc's unpredictable stage behaviour, were often in evidence at their live performances. Singer and actress Jane Clifton (who played Margo Gaffney in Prisoner) relates a time when she saw them live:
Soon after returning to Sydney from the US, Marc Hunter was sacked from Dragon in February 1979 due to his drug and alcohol use, which was seriously affecting both his vocal performances and his general health. American keyboard player and Dragon's producer Alan Mansfield also joined. by 1982 Alan Mansfield was living in Sydney and produced tracks for Marc Hunter. Marc Hunter convinced Mansfield to also produce Dragon's single "Rain". Their public profile was further raised by Marc Hunter's solo album, Communication. Its title track became a moderate hit in Australia and featured a loosely cabaret-oriented video-clip filmed in Amsterdam in which Marc – resplendent in a bright red cowboy hat – was flanked by two women who also danced away under red Stetsons. Body and the Beat yielded further successful Australasian singles, notably "Magic" and "Cry",
Paul Hewson left Dragon in late 1984 and returned to New Zealand where he died of an accidental drug overdose on 9 January 1985.<!-- Jen Jewel Brown aka Jenny Hunter Brown was Todd Hunter's first wife and wrote this poem in memory of her friend Paul Hewson --> During 1984 Hewson had shared an apartment in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, with singer-songwriter Paul Kelly, who had recently arrived from Melbourne, and was trying to relaunch his career. He and Hewson became close friends. In May 1985, four months after Hewson's death, Kelly released his breakthrough solo album Post, which dealt extensively with themes of addiction and was dedicated to Hewson's memory. Terry Chambers and Robert Taylor left some time after. American drummer Doane Perry replaced Chambers, and Taylor was eventually succeeded by local Sydney guitar ace Tommy Emmanuel. also reached No. 18. Alan Mansfield and Sharon O'Neill continued songwriting including "True Love" co-written with Robert Palmer for his 1999 album Rhythm and Blues. They both performed with Leo Sayer during his tours in 2006 and 2007, Sharon O'Neill would sing "Young Years" in honour of Marc Hunter.
In March 2009, Dragon released online albums of previously unreleased material, including live albums. In October 2009, they released Happy I Am on Ozmo Records, distributed internationally by MGM Records.
In September 2011, Dragon released an EP titled Chase The Sun and in November, The Great Divide. The band continues to tour, including the Rhythm and Vines Festival in New Zealand in 2011, The 40th anniversary Tour, The Long Way to the Top, The Red Hot Summer Tour with Jimmy Barnes across 2012/13. A 2-CD set compilation was released in 2012 titled The Dragon Years – 40th Anniversary Collection which peaked at number 21 in New Zealand.
In 2012, their single "Are You Old Enough?" was used in the opening credits of Australian television drama series Puberty Blues.
Alan Mansfield, the group's keyboardist from 1983 to 1997, died on 16 October 2024 at the age of 72.
Robert Taylor, the group's guitarist from 1974 to their first split in 1979, then again from 1982 to his final departure in 1985, died on 4 November 2025, at the age of 74.
Personnel
Below are current and former members of Dragon listed in chronological order.
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| 2011
| Dragon
| New Zealand Music Hall of Fame
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|
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ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. Dragon were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.
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| rowspan="3" | 1987
| rowspan="2" | Dreams of Ordinary Men
| Highest Selling Album
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| Best Adult Contemporary Album
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| "Dreams of Ordinary Men"
| Highest Selling Single
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| 1990
| Bondi Road
| Best Adult Contemporary Album
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| 2008
| Dragon
| ARIA Hall of Fame
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King of Pop Awards
The King of Pop Awards were voted by the readers of TV Week. The King of Pop award started in 1967 and ran through to 1978.
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| 1977
| themselves
| Most Popular New Group
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| 1978
| themselves
| Outstanding Local Achievement
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Countdown Music Awards
Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974–1987, it presented music awards from 1979–1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.
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| 1983
| "Rain"
| Best Australian Single
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| 1984
| Body and the Beat
| Best Australian Album
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References
External links
- www.DragonOnLine.com.au
- Dragon Bio at AudioCulture
- Dragon biography by Jason Ankeny, discography and album reviews, credits & releases at AllMusic
- Dragon at Facebook
- Dragon Bio & Discography fansite www.Sergent.com.au/mMsic/Dragon
- Dragon albums to be listened on Spotify
- Dragon albums to be listened on YouTube