Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Bic Runga

 
Artist: Bic Runga
See Bic Runga Lyrics
  • Born: 1976
  • Active: '90s, 2000s
  • Genres: Rock
  • Instrument: Vocals
  • Representative Albums: "Drive," "Beautiful Collision," "Try to Remember Everything"
  • Representative Songs: "Sway," "Drive," "Bursting Through"

Biography

A superstar in her native New Zealand while still in her teens, singer/songwriter Bic Runga was born in Christchurch in 1976; the product of a musical family -- her mother was a Malaysian nightclub performer during the 1960s -- she began playing the drums at the age of 11, and within a few years was also singing with local jazz groups. Upon learning guitar and keyboards, Runga began composing her first songs, and in 1994 she relocated to Auckland to pursue a professional music career. In 1995, aged 19, she made her Sony label debut with the single "Drive," which rocketed into the Top Ten on the New Zealand pop charts and garnered her the prestigious 1996 Silver Scroll award, an honor given for excellence in songwriting. After touring in support of Neil and Tim Finn, Runga issued a follow-up single, "Bursting Through," followed in 1997 by the Top Ten smash "Sway." Her self-produced debut LP Drive appeared later that same year and garnered New Zealand's top music awards. In the late '90s, Bic Runga spent some time based in New York City, where she began writing songs for her follow-up album. She continued to work on new songs after returning to New Zealand, and embarked on a NZ tour with Tim Finn and Dave Dobbyn in August and September 2000, resulting in the 2001 release Together in Concert: Live. Runga's Beautiful Collision hit stores in 2002; it was released internationally, and went 4x platinum in New Zealand, inspiring a re-release with a bonus disc the following year. 2003 also saw Runga found the record label Nu Shoo before kicking off another tour. ~ Jason Ankeny & Joslyn Layne, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
Wikipedia: Bic Runga
Top
Bic Runga

Bic Runga performing live in Dublin
Background information
Birth name Briolette Kah Bic Runga
Born 13 January 1976 (1976-01-13) (age 33)
Origin Christchurch, New Zealand
Genres Pop/Folk
Instruments Vocals
Guitar
drums
Labels SonyBMG New Zealand

Briolette Kah Bic Runga MNZM (born 13 January, 1976) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter whose first solo album, Drive, debuted at number one in the New Zealand RIANZ charts, and has since become one of the highest-selling New Zealand artists of all time. Runga has also found success internationally in Australia, the Republic of Ireland and to some extent in the UK.

Regarding the pronunciation of "Bic": "'You say it Bec, rather than Bic,' explains New Zealand singer-songwriter Bic Runga. 'It's Chinese, it's a strange vowel sound which doesn't seem to translate in Australia. It means the colour of jade, which I suppose is just green.'"[1]

Both Elton John and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page can be counted amongst her fans.[2]

In January 2006, The Queen made Runga a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Zealand New Year's Honours List.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Runga was born in Christchurch. Her mother, Sophia Tang, was a Chinese Malaysian lounge singer in Malaysia when she met Joseph Runga, a Māori soldier on leave from Vietnam. They moved to New Zealand to live.

Runga grew up in Hornby, Christchurch surrounded by a musically-inclined family, and started recording songs with her sisters, Boh and Pearl, when she was only four years old. Runga's older sister Boh is now a vocalist in the New Zealand rock group Stellar*, while Pearl is a session singer.

She learned how to play drums at the age of eleven, and guitar at about fourteen. Runga also learned to play the keyboard around this time. She attended Cashmere High School, joining high school bands and performing with local jazz groups by her mid-teens.

Musical career

Early releases

Runga and Kelly Horgan entered the 1993 smokefreerockquest in Wellington under the name of "Love Soup". They won third place and a music contract with Pagan Records. Using a QE II Arts Council grant, Runga recorded the first Drive EP in Wellington. Unsatisfied with the direction that her music was being taken, she moved to Auckland in 1994 and spent a year writing and performing.

In 1995, she sent a new demo of "Drive" to Sony Music, who signed Runga in September of that year and bought her Wellington recordings from Pagan Records. Sony had her re-record the song with more instruments, but it was eventually her demo that was used on the upcoming album. It entered the Top 10 in New Zealand and won her the Silver Scroll Songwriting Award in 1996. She next released "Bursting Through", her first single from her upcoming album, also entitled Drive.

Drive (1997)

Early success eventually led to the release of her album Drive in 1997. Runga's song "Sway", along with a duet with Dan Wilson of Semisonic called "Good Morning Baby", both made their way into the film American Pie and Cruel Intentions. Six singles were released from the album, while "Sway" was released in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Runga has recorded two songs called "Drive". The first was her own, which appeared on her debut album of the same name. The second was a 1999 collaboration with fellow New Zealanders Strawpeople, providing guest vocals for their cover of The Cars' classic 1984 hit.

Together in Concert: Live (2000)

In 2000, she toured with Tim Finn and Dave Dobbyn, resulting in a release of a live album of the tour.

Beautiful Collision (2002)

Runga released her second solo album, Beautiful Collision, in 2002. It entered the New Zealand charts at number one.

Birds (2005)

Her third studio album, Birds, was released in New Zealand on 28 November, 2005. It was her third studio album in a row to enter the New Zealand charts at number one. The first single, "Winning Arrow", can be heard at her official site. Birds has currently gone triple platinum.

Try To Remember Everything (2008)

Released on 29 November, 2008 in her native New Zealand, Try To Remember Everything contains 14 unique recordings. Three years on from the recording of Birds, Try To Remember Everything brings together a collection of unreleased, new and rare Bic Runga recordings from 1996 to 2008. The album was certified Gold in New Zealand on December 14, 2008, selling over 7,500 copies.[3][4]

Personal life

Runga moved to New York for a while, but then decided to move back to New Zealand, lived in Paris for a year, and then London. Runga has since returned home to New Zealand.

In January 2007, Runga announced on her MySpace blog that she was pregnant[5]. On Friday 20 July, Bic gave birth to a baby boy, the first child for her and her partner, photographer Darryl Ward. Bic's son has been named Joseph, after her late father.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Chart peak positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
AUS
[6]
NZ
[7]
UK
[8]
1997 Drive 49 1 -
  • RIANZ certification: 7× Platinum.
2002 Beautiful Collision
  • Second studio album
  • Released: July 1, 2002
  • Format: CD
41 1 55
  • RIANZ certification: 11× Platinum.
2005 Birds
  • Third studio album
  • Released: November 28, 2005
  • Format: CD
26 1 154
  • RIANZ certification: 3× Platinum.

Live albums

EPs

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
AUS
[6]
NZ
[7]
UK
[8]
IRL
1996 "Drive" 7 5 Drive
"Bursting Through" 33
1997 "Sway" 10 7 41 6
"Suddenly Strange" 26
"Roll into One" 48
1998 "Hey" 27
1999 "Good Morning Baby" 15 Single-only
"Sorry" Drive
2002 "Get Some Sleep" 92 3 78 27 Beautiful Collision
"Something Good" 4 12
2003 "Listening for the Weather" 14
2005 "Winning Arrow" 23 6 Birds
2006 "Say After Me"

Compilations

Bic Runga has made an alternative version of Sway for Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2
Try to Remember Everything (2008) is a collection of b-sides, outtakes, demos and live tracks spanning 1996-2008. Includes the new song "Everyone Must Love".

Film career

Runga played a 'Vietnamese lounge singer' in the 2005 film Little Fish, and covered Gene Pitney's "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart".

References

External links


 
 
Learn More
Drive (1998 Album by Bic Runga)
Together in Concert: Live (2001 Album by Tim Finn/Bic Runga/Dave Dobbyn)
Drive [Japan Bonus Tracks] (1998 Album by Bic Runga)

What does BIC mean when your prescription says to take 1 teaspoon BIC? Read answer...
Where are Bic lighters made? Read answer...
What does the BIC stand for in french banks? Read answer...

Help us answer these
What does the phrase Ki runga mean?
What is the banks BIC?
When did buc runga first start to sing?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bic Runga" Read more