Auckland folk group The Convairs formed in 1961. The trio of Johnny Bond (vocals, banjo), Michael Dolan (vocals, guitar) and Phil Seth (vocals, guitar) spent 18 months practising together before entering and winning the radio talent show Have A Shot on 1ZB.
As part of their prize they recorded their first single ‘Lemon Tree’ for the Mascot label.
In 1963 the group competed in the television version of Have A Shot where they amassed 30,000 votes and came third – behind a juggler by the name of Terry Cosslett, and the Auckland vocal group The Hi-Brows.
The exposure from Have A Shot led to a five-year record contract with HMV and their very own six-part television series entitled Give My Love An Apple, which was also the title of their debut single on HMV.
The group told the television producer that they knew literally hundreds of songs when in fact they only knew six. Despite that, the television series was a great success and led to a second series, which was called Convairs OnCamera – also the name of their debut album released by HMV in September 1963.
A steady stream of singles were released including ‘Midnight Mary’, ‘Settle Down’ and ‘Little Boxes’, which were all promoted on their own national weekly radio show.
In 1964 the group embarked on a one year tour of Australia where they appeared on the television show Bandstand and headlined at the Tamworth Festival.
Upon returning to New Zealand, Johnny Bond decided to leave and was replaced by Ray Brooks. He appears on the group’s second album The Convairs.
In September 1966, The Convairs single ‘Tomorrow Is A Long Time’ became one of the first New Zealand-recorded discs released in the UK where it was warmly received, with trade paper Record Mirror reviewing it as “a charming version of the Dylan song, treated reverently and commended.”
In late 1966, Phil Seth decided to leave and the trio decided to call it a day, leaving behind an excellent final single ‘Pillar of Society'/‘Ray of Sunshine’ and an unreleased live album.
In 2005 EMI released a 28 track CD called Little Boxes – The Very Best of The Convairs.
The Convairs on Karekare Beach on Auckland's West Coast. The band had stumbled onto a Jennifer Dean bikinis photoshoot whilst doing their own shoot and the two photoshoots were combined for a moment.