Daniel Rae Costello
| Daniel Rae Costello | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961 (age 52–53) |
| Origin | Suva, Fiji |
| Occupations | Musician |
Daniel Rae Costello (born 1961 in Suva[1]) is a renowned Pacific musician. His mother, Jessie Rae was of a Samoan/Rotuman and Scottish descent whereas his father, Dan Costello. was Irish and both were born in Fiji. He was brought up in Tavua. His father owned a cattle ranch. He moved with his family to Lautoka since he was 5 and has been there since. He and his younger brother Vince started a band called The Fleet Swingers when he was in Grade 7. His brother was the lead singer.
Personal life
He along with his brother attended high school in Whangarei, New Zealand. He enjoyed taking part in sports when he was in NZ, taking much interest in rugby, soccer and athletics and even represented North Auckland in the Under 17 soccer team. He completed his last year of school back in Fiji at Marist Brothers High School in Suva. He also won the schools talent contest that year and was asked to perform at Suva Grammar School as a guest artist and that's where he met his future wife, Corrina
After winning a few talent contest, he joined a small group called The Beachcomber Boys who performed daily at the Beachcomber Island Resort.
Music
In 1979, he recorded his first solo-album called "Tropical Sunset" which wasn't much of a success but a year later, his album, Lania which was a huge success in Fiji and around the pacific. After his mother died in 1985, he changed his name to Daniel Rae Costello. He moved to Australia a few years later because of the 1987 Coup where he wrote two songs, Samba and Take me to the Island and returned to Fiji and started his own Studio and Production Suite called "Tango Sound Productions" and recorded his first big hit album, Samba. Since 1978, he has recorded 30 albums to date in the last 30 years. He is now an accomplished songwriter, composer, arranger, audio engineer, vocalist, musician and producer in the pacific region. He recently recorded an album with Toni Willé from the Dutch group Pussycat, called Let The World Sing. The first single, originally a hit for Pussycat Georgie gained numerous airplays on Fiji radio.