Ray Columbus

Ray Columbus
OBE
Born 1942 (age 7374)
Genres Pop music
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Vocals
Labels Zodiac
Associated acts Ray Columbus & The Invaders

Raymond John Patrick "Ray" Columbus OBE (born 1942) is a New Zealand singer, television host, music manager and entertainer, with a career spanning six decades. As the lead singer of Ray Columbus & the Invaders his most well known hit was "She's A Mod" released in 1964. This became a number one hit in Australia, the first song from a New Zealand group to reach the top of the charts in another country. Since then, he has been a solo artist, television host, and has diversified into music management.[1][2] In the late 1990s he managed the rock band Zed.

In April 2014, he was reported to be terminally ill.[3]

Honours and awards

In 1973, Columbus received the Benny Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc, the highest honour available to a New Zealand variety entertainer.[4] In the 1974 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to entertainment.[5]

References

  1. Ray Columbus website Home
  2. Ray Columbus website Biography
  3. "Family flock to terminally-ill Columbus". Stuff/Fairfax. 16 April 2014.
  4. "Variety Artists Club of NZ Benny Award Recipients".
  5. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46312. p. 6831. 15 June 1974. Retrieved 12 January 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.