Billy TK

aka Billy Te Kahika


Hendrix was Māori. Actually he wasn’t, and it can be pretty easily proven. Still it was once a popular urban myth, and still resurfaces from time to time.

What is certain is that Jimi Hendrix was an icon and model for many young Māori men. In the late 60s and early 70s they could be found up and down the country, playing guitar in the style of the great innovator, often sporting a Hendrix-like afro and flamboyant apparel to match.

Billy TK's Powerhouse with Mahia Blackmore in 1973
The EMI issue of the "lost" HMV album. Recorded in 1972, it was unreleased until 2009.
Billy TK
1975 Live LP 
Billy TK & Powerhouse - Gavin Collinge (bass), Steve Webb (drums), Billy TK (guitar) and John Bilderbeck (guitar)
Billy TK with The Human Instinct
Matariki 2011 Seven Brothers Concert at Te Papa
Billy TK at the Waiheke Blues Festival, 2009
Billy TK's Powerhouse - Funky Trucking
Billy TK circa 1980
Photo credit: Photo by Murray Cammick
Katy Soljak & Billy TK - Sweet Caged Bird
Billy TK with The Human Instinct
Billy TK and Sonny Day, 1975
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
Billy TK's Powerhouse - Race Into The Infinite

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