Supergroove | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Low Down Dirty Blues Band |
| Origin | Auckland,New Zealand |
| Genres | Funk rock,Rap rock[1] |
| Years active | 1989 (1989)–1997 (1997), 2007 (2007)–present |
| Labels | BMG |
| Members | Che Ness Joe Lonie Tim Stewart Ben Sciascia Karl Steven Ian Jones Nick Atkinson |
| Past members | Paul Russell |
Supergroove is a New Zealandfunk rock music group. Their debut albumTraction was released in 1994. The group disbanded in 1997 but reformed in 2007.
The band was founded on New Year's Eve 1989/1990, having previously been named the Low-Down Dirty Blues Band.[2]
Prior to Supergroove's second albumBackspacer, singer Che Fu and trumpeter Tim Stewart were fired from the band.[3][4][5]
Notable former members include Che Ness, akaChe Fu, now with a successful solo career, Paul Russell, who still studio drums with Che Fu. Two other ex-members, Tim Stewart (trumpet) and Ben Sciascia (guitar) formed a new band in late 2005 called Svelte[6] with Stewart on Lead vocals and Bass. Stewart went on to form Hopetoun Brown, a two-piece band, with fellow ex-Groover, Nick Atkinson - they released their first album in 2015 and also often appear together as the horn section for other performers includingTami Neilson, Dave Dobbyn andDon McGlashan.[7]
Supergroove continued in 2007 on a summer tour, playing alongside popular New Zealand bands such asAtlas,Elemeno P,The Feelers[8] and were one of the headline Kiwi acts of theBig Day Out 2008 in Auckland.[9] The band featured in theUniversity of Otago's, theUniversity of Canterbury's and theUniversity of Waikato's 2008 orientation weeks.[10][11]
Supergroove played at theGroove in the Park 2010 festival held on New Zealand'sWaitangi Day (6 February), at the Western Springs in Auckland. Supergroove also played at theHomegrown Festival in Wellington on 14 March 2009.[12]
Supergroove returned for another reunion tour in April 2025, featuring the original lineup (saxophonist Nick Atkinson, vocalists Karl Steven and Che Fu, drummer Ian Jones, bassist Joe Lonie, guitarist Ben Sciascia and trumpeter Tim Stewart). This tour started on 7 April 2025 in Rotorua and ended 27 April, with 14 shows in 9 venues. Apart from the main centres, they also had shows in Whanganui, Nelson, Invercargill and Havelock North. Troy Kingi, Rubi Du and DJ King Kapisi joined them, not so much as support as "intertwined" into the shows.[13] Support from the public was so strong that several extra nights had to be added.[14]
Current
Former
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [17] | AUS [18] | |||
| 1994 | Traction
| 1 | 46 |
|
| 1996 | Backspacer
| 2 | — |
|
| 2003 | Postage
| 10 | — | |
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [17] | |||
| 1994[19] | Tractor | 2 |
|
| 1996 | GreatMixes
| 34 |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [17] | AUS [18] | ||||
| 1992 | "Here Comes The Supergroove" | 21 | — | Non-album single | |
| 1993 | "You Gotta Know" | 4 | 57 | Traction | |
| "Scorpio Girls" | 3 | — |
| ||
| 1994 | "Can't Get Enough" | 1 | 32 |
| |
| "Sitting Inside My Head" | 6 | — |
| ||
| 1996 | "If I Had My Way" | 7 | — | Backspacer | |
| "5th Wheel" | — | — | |||
| 2003 | "For Whatever Remix" | — | — | Postage | |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Malcolm Welsford – "You Gotta Know" | Best Engineer | Nominated | [20] |
| 1995 | Traction | Album of the Year | Won | [21] |
| "Can't Get Enough" | Single of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Supergroove | Best Group | Won | ||
| Jo Fischer and Matt Noonan – "Can't Get Enough" | Best Video | Won | ||
| Karl Steven & Malcolm Welsford –Traction | Best Producer | Won | ||
| Malcolm Welsford –Traction | Best Engineer | Won | ||
| 1996 | Supergroove | International Achievement | Nominated | [22] |
| Sigi Spath and Jo Fisher – "You Gotta Know" | Best Video | Won | ||
| 1997 | Sigi Spath and Joe Lonie – "If I Had My Way" | Best Video | Won | [23] |
| Malcolm Welsford and Karl Steven –Backspacer | Best Producer | Won | ||
| Malcolm Welsford –Backspacer | Best Engineer | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Supergroove | Legacy Award | Awarded | [24] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
