| OMC | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Otara Millionaires Club |
| Origin | Otara, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Genres | Pop rock |
| Years active | 1993–2010 |
| Labels | huh! Polydor |
| Past members | |
| Alan Jansson Pauly Fuemana |
|
OMC, or Otara Millionaires Club, was a music group from Auckland, New Zealand best known for their 1996 hit "How Bizarre", named one of the greatest New Zealand songs of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association. The full name of the band is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Otara's status as one of the poorest suburbs of Auckland.
Contents |
The Otara Millionaires Club was originally formed in 1993 by Phil Fuemana, who was previously in the bands "Houseparty" and "Fuemana".[1] Fuemana and his younger brother, Pauly Fuemana, recorded two tracks as the new band for producer Alan Jansson's Urban Pacifica collection Proud.[1] Pauly suggested that they shorten the band's name to just the initials, and thereafter, he and Jansson were "OMC". Pauly became the public face of the band and its primary performer, serving as the frontman and playing several instruments during performances and tours. However, the music was created by both of them, with Jansson co-writing all of the tracks and handling most of the arrangement and production duties in the studio.
Signed to Simon Grigg's huh! label, OMC released the single "How Bizarre" in New Zealand in late 1995. It was an immediate smash hit even without a video, reaching number one in early 1996 and staying there for three weeks. It sold over 35,000 copies, a figure still not exceeded in New Zealand. That same year, "How Bizarre" went to number one in Australia for five weeks, sold over 150,000 singles, and was certified as a platinum single. Later in the year the single went to number 5 in the UK Singles Chart[2] and number one in countries across Europe and much of the rest of the world.
Their debut album, also entitled How Bizarre followed later that year. Their third single, "On the Run", reached #56 on the UK in 1997.[2] In 1997 and 1998, "How Bizarre" spent 36 weeks on the United States Billboard 's Hot 100 Airplay chart, peaking at #4. The song never charted on the regular Billboard Hot 100 as it was not released as a commercially available single there. It also became a BMI-certified "million airplay" song two years in a row. The album went on to sell in excess of a million copies in the United States alone, as well as charting in many other countries. Between 1995 and 2000, OMC are estimated to have sold between three and four million records worldwide, and "How Bizarre" is the biggest selling record ever to be released by an act originating from and recorded in New Zealand.
"How Bizarre" was followed by the singles "Land of Plenty" which reached the top 5 in the New Zealand charts; "Right On" which achieved platinum-status in New Zealand; and "On The Run" which was a minor international hit in the Netherlands and the UK. By 1998, Fuemana and Jansson had had a falling out over royalties, which ended up in court. After a settlement, it was agreed Fuemana could continue to use the duo's name as a solo artist.
In 2002, their song "How Bizarre" reached #71 on the 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders hosted by William Shatner.
On 31 January 2010, following several years of declining health, Pauly Fuemana died at North Shore Hospital in Auckland. He was 40 years old. "How Bizarre" briefly topped the charts again in New Zealand following news of his death.[3]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | NZ [4] |
SWI [5] |
US [6] |
|||
| How Bizarre |
|
44 | 5 | 35 | 40 | |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | AUT | BEL (Vl) |
BEL (Wa) |
CAN | FRA | NED | NOR | NZ | SWE | SUI | UK [2] |
||||
| 1995 | "How Bizarre" | 1 | 1 | 14 | 32 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
|
How Bizarre |
| 1996 | "Land of Plenty" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | ||
| "Right On" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | — | — | — |
|
||
| 1997 | "On the Run" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 98 | — | 30 | — | — | 56 | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||||