Butler 55th Anniversary @ The Boathouse, Nelson

BUTLER BIO

Butler was formed in Christchurch in 1970 by a bunch of street kids from Rotorua who had come south looking for adventure – Steve Apirana , Heidi (Matt Warren ), Hori Sinnot and Angel Adams .

With the support of Andrew Thompson (the son of the minister at St Johns Church in Latimer Square where they hung out) they got a band together which lasted till 1976 .

During that time Andrew remained their manager .

Their music was a fusion of psychedelia and blues and

they played all around New Zealand and supported such bands as Osibisa, Average White Band, Daddy Cool and Dragon and at the Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival they supported Black Sabbath .

They released 1 album and 1 single .

These days 2 members are still with us . Hori died in 2012 and Angel died in 2017 .

The 2 remaining members are :

Steve Apirana who, with his wife Ainsley , live in Australia and gig together all around the world and are very popular in Europe .

Matt Warren (Heidi) lives in Rotorua and has a band “The Hangi Stones” which was formed in 1994 and are still gigging regularly .

The rhythm section for this tour are Peter Brittenden (drums), Tony Bayley (bass guitar) and Ainsley Apirana

( guitar and flute) .