Bic Runga

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Bic Runga
Birth name Briolette Kah Bic Runga
Born January 13, 1976 (1976-01-13) (age 32)
Origin Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Genre(s) Pop/Folk
Instrument(s) Vocals
Guitar
Drums
Label(s) Sony / BMG

Briolette Kah Bic Runga MNZM (born 13 January 1976) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter whose first solo album, Drive, debuted at number one in the New Zealand charts, and has since become one of the highest-selling New Zealand artists of all time. Runga has also found success internationally in Australia, the Republic of Ireland and to some extent in the UK.

Regarding the pronunciation of "Bic": "'You say it Bec, rather than Bic,' explains New Zealand singer-songwriter Bic Runga. 'It's Chinese, it's a strange vowel sound which doesn't seem to translate in Australia. It means the colour of jade, which I suppose is just green.'"[1]

Both Elton John and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page can be counted amongst her fans.[2]

In 2006, Runga was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the annual New Zealand Honours List.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Runga was born in Christchurch. Her mother, Sophia Tang, was a Chinese Malaysian lounge singer in Malaysia when she met Joseph Runga, a Māori soldier on leave from Vietnam. They both moved to New Zealand to live.

Runga grew up in Hornby, Christchurch surrounded by a musically-inclined family, and started recording songs with her sisters, Boh and Pearl, when she was only four years old. Runga's older sister Boh is now a vocalist in the New Zealand rock group Stellar*, while Pearl is a session singer.

She learned how to play drums at the age of eleven, and guitar at about fourteen. Runga also learnt to play the keyboard at around this time. She attended Cashmere High School, joining high school bands and performing with local jazz groups by her mid-teens.

[edit] Musical career

[edit] Early releases

Runga and Kelly Horgan entered the 1993 smokefreerockquest in Wellington under the name of "Love Soup". They won third place and a music contract with Pagan Records. Using a QE II Arts Council grant, Runga recorded the first Drive EP in Wellington. Unsatisfied with the direction that her music was being taken, she moved to Auckland in 1994 and spent a year writing and performing.

In 1995, she sent a new demo of "Drive" to Sony Music, who signed Runga in September of that year and bought her Wellington recordings from Pagan Records. Sony had her re-record the song with more instruments, but it was eventually her demo that was used on the upcoming album. It entered the Top 10 in New Zealand and won her the Silver Scroll Songwriting Award in 1996. She next released "Bursting Through", her first single from her upcoming album, also entitled Drive.

[edit] Drive (1997)

Early success eventually led to the release of her album Drive in 1997. Runga's song "Sway", along with a duet with Dan Wilson of Semisonic called "Good Morning Baby", both made their way into the film American Pie. Six singles were released from the album, while "Sway" was released in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Runga has recorded not one, but two songs called "Drive". The first was her own, which appeared on her debut album of the same name. The second was a 1999 collaboration with fellow New Zealanders Strawpeople, providing guest vocals for their cover of The Cars' classic 1984 hit.

[edit] Together in Concert: Live (2000)

In 2000, she toured with Tim Finn and Dave Dobbyn, resulting in a release of a live album of the tour.

[edit] Beautiful Collision (2002)

Runga released her second solo album, Beautiful Collision, in 2002. It entered the New Zealand charts at number one.

[edit] Birds (2005)

Her third studio album, Birds, was released in New Zealand on November 28, 2005. It was her third studio album in a row to enter the New Zealand charts at number one. The first single, "Winning Arrow", can be heard at her official site. Birds has currently gone triple platinum.

[edit] Personal life

Runga moved to New York for a while, but then decided to move back to New Zealand, lived in Paris for a year, and then London. Runga has since returned home to New Zealand.

In January 2007, Runga announced on her MySpace blog that she was pregnant[3]. On Friday 20th July Bic gave birth to a baby boy, the first child for her and her partner, photographer Darryl Ward. Bic's son has been named Joseph, after her late father.

[edit] Discography

Bic Runga performing live in Dublin
Bic Runga performing live in Dublin
 Music Sample:

Bic Runga "Get Some Sleep" (2002)

Sample from the single "Get Some Sleep" by Bic Runga
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Bic Runga "Something Good" (2002)

Sample from the single "Something Good" by Bic Runga
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Bic Runga "Listening for the Weather" (2002)

Sample from the single "Listening for the Weather" by Bic Runga
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

[edit] Studio albums

Year Information Chart positions Sales and certifications
AUS NZ IRL
1997 Drive
  • First studio album
  • Released: August, 1997
  • Format: CD
49
1
 RIANZ: Platinum
2002 Beautiful Collision
41
1
10
 RIANZ: Platinum
2005 Birds
26
1
20
 RIANZ: Platinum

[edit] Live albums

[edit] EPs

[edit] Singles

[edit] Compilations

Bic Runga has made an alternative version of Sway for Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2

[edit] Film career

Runga played a 'Vietnamese lounge singer' in the 2005 film Little Fish, and covered Gene Pitney's "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart".

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Bic from the brink" by Alexa Moses, The Sydney Morning Herald, September 13, 2002
  2. ^ Cheers, Bic - 15 Dec 2006 - NZ Herald: Entertainment News, Reviews and Gossip from New Zealand and around the World
  3. ^ Bic Runga soon to change her tune from rock to lullabies - 03 Feb 2007 - Music news and reviews - NZ Herald

[edit] External links