Blue Smoke - The Lost Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music 1918-1964

It's a Maori melody
Come along and twist with me
Poi poi and twist the night away . . .

It's another Saturday night in 1950s Auckland. Downtown, cabarets ban jiving because the exuberant couples disturb the cautious fox-trotters. Over in Freemans Bay, the Maori Community Centre is the 'jazziest, jumpingest place in the city' where talent quests introduce many future stars.

In Blue Smoke, the first comprehensive illustrated history of New Zealand popular music in the days before rock'n'roll, Chris Bourke brings to life a lost musical world. It's an era of rapid evolution in tastes and technology. Sheet music gives way to radio, while in dance halls the Charleston cuts in on the waltz.

From the patriotic songs of World War I to the Howard Morrison Quartet's 'Battle of Waikato', Blue Smoke chronicles half a century of change. It examines the rise of jazz, swing, country, the Hawaiian sound, and the arrival of rock'n'roll; the development of a local recording industry and the tensions with global giants; the interaction between musicians and the wider community; and the impact of tours by overseas stars.