Shane - The Town Of Tuxley Toymaker Part 1 (1968)

(Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb)
 New Zealand

Single on Zodiac. YouTube The title on this version is The Town Of Tuxley Toymaker Part 1 which differs from earlier versions.

British-born NZ singer and songwriter Shane (b. Trevor Hales, known as Shane Hales) had been in bands including The Pleazers and Shane Group. He took over as host of TV’s C’mon after Mr Lee Grant left for England.

His version of Terry Knight’s Saint Paul was a top-selling single, followed by a cover of Elton John’s Lady Samantha (1969, #3 NZ). Shane released a number of albums and singles through to the 80s, including a 1970 single with Zonk!, a studio band assembled for the purpose of recording one single, Heya, also released in the US.

Shane had a stint in the UK in the 70s, including time with his heavy rock/punk bands Midnite Wolf and Killa-Hz. Back in NZ he played Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, and in the 90s he was a breakfast host at Auckland station Kool 93 (now The Sound).

References, further reading: 1. Shane’s own website had a chronology of his career [archived page]. 3. Bruce Sergent’s page on Shane covers his career from the early days, along with several sleeve shots. See also Bruce’s page on Pleazers. 4. Shane profile and gallery at Audioculture. 5. See also Audioculture’s page on the Zonk! project.