December 10, 2025 • 10 mins
Singer Frankie Stevens joins Nick Mills in the studio for a chat before his event at Carols in the Park at Harcourt Park in Upper Hutt this Saturday.
Then we are treated to his rendition of Blue Christmas - live in the studio.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talks d B.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
He's come to town. He's come to town for a couple
of big gigs. Frankie Stevens in the house.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
How you doing, good morning, I'm doing good, Nick, thanks
very much.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
So what happened last night? You had a bit of
a gig around town?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (00:24):
I didn't.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
They have a Christmas thing or the Speaker of the
House does Jerry Brownley. And Jerry called me a month
or so back and asked if i'd come along and
do a bit of a gig at Parliament. It was
a couple of hundred plus people that worked there, a
few MPs, you know, etc. And it was a good night,
actually really good night, good food, good booze, all on
the taxplayer beautiful.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
We don't want to hear about that. I'll have to
start up questioning you taxpayer mostly. So tell me, Frankie Stevens,
what you're doing right now, because I see all the
time you're doing gigs with the highwaymen. Is that a
full time gig? Is that what you're going to know?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
No, that's maybe once maybe twice a year if we
lucky and it depends if we're still alive, really, because
I mean the oldest is eighty three and the youngest
is seventy two, and I'm kind of the second oldest.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Who's eighty three year old?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Great Bartlett is he eighty three? Eighty three years of age? Mate,
He's unbelievable and he's playing. He's playing as well as
he ever has. His mind is as sharp as like
all of us were not as speedy or as fast
as we used to be.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
But you speak for yourself. I'm fine. Well, you were
a lot younger, so tell me. I mean, I love
Brendan Dugan. You know, I've never been him, but I
was a kid when he was like remember those TV shows,
you're overseas, you're over and making your fortunes overseas. When
he started, when TV first became a big thing in
New Zealand, he was on all the shows.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Absolutely. No, Brendan is the youngest out of the four
of us. Actually I'm having his seventy two, So no,
he's great. He's has that distinguishable voice that kind of
you know, a beautiful country singer and popular songs as well.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
So you know, now you've never been in part from
when you were seventeen or sixteen years old been part
of a band. You've always been the show man. You're
the star, You're the show How are you getting around
not being being one of many? Should I say?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Well, I haven't been one of many for years? Really,
I suppose like you said. I started off at fourteen
at Headton College with the Insect, which became the Formula
when I left, and they're one of the great band's
original bands out of New Zealand. And I went to
Australia and joined Peter Nelson in the Castways. Peter Nelson
was their lead singer and he left and I took
(02:36):
his place, and that was at the age of sixteen.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
How did you get to England? How did that start?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
That was a invitation from Gordon Mills, which who was
Tom Jones and Ingle but Humperdinks manager. He gave me
a card when they were in Sydney in the late
sixties when time came over, I think it was about
sixty sixty nine and I got to meet them and
we had a few drinks and had a good time
(03:03):
and he gave me his card. He said, you ever
get to London? And I was intending to go there anyway,
and he was the first one I looked up, and
in the end he ended up signing me.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
One of our listeners know about the TV show What
was it called that that you went on and you say,
tell us, tell us, I mean that was in Europe. Massive.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Well that was the equivalent I suppose of the idol
American idol, but it was in Britain. It was called
Opportunity Knox, which they had one in New Zealand too, apparently.
And that was a guy called Huey Green, an American
guy or Canadian maybe he was Canadian actually, and he
(03:44):
was the man who put it all together. And that
was that was huge. I wanted something like six times.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Six times record a record because you have to go
on each week and you have each week.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Well it was a record for a New Zealand record.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
It was a rush.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
A guy called Bobby Crush who I beat, was the
was the guy who had the record I think ten
or twelve times. He was a piano player and yeah,
and I took him off. So so yeah, it was
fantastic because you know, I mean it was the whole
of Great Britain and gave you that kind of in
your lounge stuff every week.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Why don't singers retire? Why don't they just say I've
had enough? You know? Do you still love it?
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I don't do it as much as I used to obviously,
but yeah absolutely. I mean performing and singing is part
of your DNA. It's what you brought up with and
and you had it when you were I had it
when I was younger as well. I mean it was
part of me. I knew I was going to do it.
So but I mean, look at you. Look at all
the old dudes are still around the Rolling Stones, you.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Know, right, Stuart.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
I mean you know, we're all of similar ages and
they're still going. But we swore when we were young
rocket rollers that would either die before we got to
a certain age or or we'd retire get out of it.
But nobody has.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Is there anything you haven't achieved that you really wanted
to achieve? I mean, you've played the Great show Room
and Why, the Big Cabaret, X and Vegas, You've done
it all. Is there anything that you say when you
look back on your career and say, gosh, I wish
i'd done that. I never quite did that.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
I think having a hit record in the States would
have been would have been most probably a regret, but
that's easier said than done. I got into the charts
in the States in the top one hundred, but I
think around about forty something got up to and then
sort of faded away, and that was a song called
(05:39):
good Looking Woman. I think it was. But no, no,
not really. Overall, I think it's been a pretty damn
good life.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
No real complaints this week in Big Show, last night,
Big Show on Saturday night. Tell us about the show
you're hosting, and tell us about it.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Well, that's the City of Song and Upper Hat's been
going for many many years. I was part of the
original one and it's carried on in Upper Heart. It's
definitely a family show, a lot of school kids performing
choirs and so on and so forth. There's a young
man who was on the voice from Upper Hut. He's
on as well, Diamond Diaveras. I mean, it's just a
(06:19):
great afternoon that starts at five o'clock and it goes
through to about eight eight thirty, and it's just a
great family night. You said on the weather will be fine,
will be beautiful, Sit on the grass and listen to
some great music.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Well, talking about listening to some great music. Let's take
a short break and come back and you can, you know,
serenade me. Oh that'd be. But when did we first meet?
What year was it? We first met? Long time ago,
long time ago.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Christmas well out, I'll be so.
Speaker 5 (07:05):
Just think to you all about you, Gimer singer Auti Green,
Christmas dream won't be the same deal over give you
(07:32):
the windows, boom.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
The snow for I'm calling. That's when those every Scott falling.
You'll be.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
All right.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
With your crew Listmas of that blue love Christmas.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Oh then yeah, you'll be.
Speaker 5 (08:36):
All right.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
With your Christmas. And I have a blooms bub me Christmas.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Amazing, Thanks brother Christmas. We're gonna get the Christmas field
going on Morning to Morning's Frankie Stevens. Carol's in the Park,
High Will Park, Upper Hot Saturday the thirteenth at December
five to nine pm. It's a family, family deal. It's
like everyone comes along, has a good time. How will
you feel back at home?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
It's always good to go back home.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
You know.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
I'm in the Upper Hut. It will always be my home. Yeah,
that's where we were brought up. That's where all the
bones are laid to rest up there as well.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
So and got a lot.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Of friends, a lot of family is still up in
the Upper Hut, and it's the place I go back
to for a little bit of peace for it every
now and then, and then I shoot off to Tadanucki
and go home.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Yeah, pretty tough time for you at the moment ago
family things going on. So you know, I can see
the stress in your face and I understand. Lots of love.
Thanks mate, Yeah, lots of love. That's all I can say.
Take a short break and come back and rack the show.
Thanks Frankie Stevens for coming in and dropping in and
singing us, giving us some Cristpas spirit with all that's
(10:00):
going on in its life right now.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news Talks It'd Be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talks d B.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
He's come to town. He's come to town for a couple
of big gigs. Frankie Stevens in the house.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
How you doing, good morning, I'm doing good, Nick, thanks
very much.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
So what happened last night? You had a bit of
a gig around town?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (00:24):
I didn't.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
They have a Christmas thing or the Speaker of the
House does Jerry Brownley. And Jerry called me a month
or so back and asked if i'd come along and
do a bit of a gig at Parliament. It was
a couple of hundred plus people that worked there, a
few MPs, you know, etc. And it was a good night,
actually really good night, good food, good booze, all on
the taxplayer beautiful.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
We don't want to hear about that. I'll have to
start up questioning you taxpayer mostly. So tell me, Frankie Stevens,
what you're doing right now, because I see all the
time you're doing gigs with the highwaymen. Is that a
full time gig? Is that what you're going to know?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
No, that's maybe once maybe twice a year if we
lucky and it depends if we're still alive, really, because
I mean the oldest is eighty three and the youngest
is seventy two, and I'm kind of the second oldest.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Who's eighty three year old?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Great Bartlett is he eighty three? Eighty three years of age? Mate,
He's unbelievable and he's playing. He's playing as well as
he ever has. His mind is as sharp as like
all of us were not as speedy or as fast
as we used to be.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
But you speak for yourself. I'm fine. Well, you were
a lot younger, so tell me. I mean, I love
Brendan Dugan. You know, I've never been him, but I
was a kid when he was like remember those TV shows,
you're overseas, you're over and making your fortunes overseas. When
he started, when TV first became a big thing in
New Zealand, he was on all the shows.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Absolutely. No, Brendan is the youngest out of the four
of us. Actually I'm having his seventy two, So no,
he's great. He's has that distinguishable voice that kind of
you know, a beautiful country singer and popular songs as well.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
So you know, now you've never been in part from
when you were seventeen or sixteen years old been part
of a band. You've always been the show man. You're
the star, You're the show How are you getting around
not being being one of many? Should I say?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Well, I haven't been one of many for years? Really,
I suppose like you said. I started off at fourteen
at Headton College with the Insect, which became the Formula
when I left, and they're one of the great band's
original bands out of New Zealand. And I went to
Australia and joined Peter Nelson in the Castways. Peter Nelson
was their lead singer and he left and I took
(02:36):
his place, and that was at the age of sixteen.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
How did you get to England? How did that start?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
That was a invitation from Gordon Mills, which who was
Tom Jones and Ingle but Humperdinks manager. He gave me
a card when they were in Sydney in the late
sixties when time came over, I think it was about
sixty sixty nine and I got to meet them and
we had a few drinks and had a good time
(03:03):
and he gave me his card. He said, you ever
get to London? And I was intending to go there anyway,
and he was the first one I looked up, and
in the end he ended up signing me.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
One of our listeners know about the TV show What
was it called that that you went on and you say,
tell us, tell us, I mean that was in Europe. Massive.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Well that was the equivalent I suppose of the idol
American idol, but it was in Britain. It was called
Opportunity Knox, which they had one in New Zealand too, apparently.
And that was a guy called Huey Green, an American
guy or Canadian maybe he was Canadian actually, and he
(03:44):
was the man who put it all together. And that
was that was huge. I wanted something like six times.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Six times record a record because you have to go
on each week and you have each week.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Well it was a record for a New Zealand record.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
It was a rush.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
A guy called Bobby Crush who I beat, was the
was the guy who had the record I think ten
or twelve times. He was a piano player and yeah,
and I took him off. So so yeah, it was
fantastic because you know, I mean it was the whole
of Great Britain and gave you that kind of in
your lounge stuff every week.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Why don't singers retire? Why don't they just say I've
had enough? You know? Do you still love it?
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I don't do it as much as I used to obviously,
but yeah absolutely. I mean performing and singing is part
of your DNA. It's what you brought up with and
and you had it when you were I had it
when I was younger as well. I mean it was
part of me. I knew I was going to do it.
So but I mean, look at you. Look at all
the old dudes are still around the Rolling Stones, you.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Know, right, Stuart.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
I mean you know, we're all of similar ages and
they're still going. But we swore when we were young
rocket rollers that would either die before we got to
a certain age or or we'd retire get out of it.
But nobody has.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Is there anything you haven't achieved that you really wanted
to achieve? I mean, you've played the Great show Room
and Why, the Big Cabaret, X and Vegas, You've done
it all. Is there anything that you say when you
look back on your career and say, gosh, I wish
i'd done that. I never quite did that.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
I think having a hit record in the States would
have been would have been most probably a regret, but
that's easier said than done. I got into the charts
in the States in the top one hundred, but I
think around about forty something got up to and then
sort of faded away, and that was a song called
(05:39):
good Looking Woman. I think it was. But no, no,
not really. Overall, I think it's been a pretty damn
good life.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
No real complaints this week in Big Show, last night,
Big Show on Saturday night. Tell us about the show
you're hosting, and tell us about it.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Well, that's the City of Song and Upper Hat's been
going for many many years. I was part of the
original one and it's carried on in Upper Heart. It's
definitely a family show, a lot of school kids performing
choirs and so on and so forth. There's a young
man who was on the voice from Upper Hut. He's
on as well, Diamond Diaveras. I mean, it's just a
(06:19):
great afternoon that starts at five o'clock and it goes
through to about eight eight thirty, and it's just a
great family night. You said on the weather will be fine,
will be beautiful, Sit on the grass and listen to
some great music.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Well, talking about listening to some great music. Let's take
a short break and come back and you can, you know,
serenade me. Oh that'd be. But when did we first meet?
What year was it? We first met? Long time ago,
long time ago.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Christmas well out, I'll be so.
Speaker 5 (07:05):
Just think to you all about you, Gimer singer Auti Green,
Christmas dream won't be the same deal over give you
(07:32):
the windows, boom.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
The snow for I'm calling. That's when those every Scott falling.
You'll be.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
All right.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
With your crew Listmas of that blue love Christmas.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Oh then yeah, you'll be.
Speaker 5 (08:36):
All right.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
With your Christmas. And I have a blooms bub me Christmas.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Amazing, Thanks brother Christmas. We're gonna get the Christmas field
going on Morning to Morning's Frankie Stevens. Carol's in the Park,
High Will Park, Upper Hot Saturday the thirteenth at December
five to nine pm. It's a family, family deal. It's
like everyone comes along, has a good time. How will
you feel back at home?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
It's always good to go back home.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
You know.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
I'm in the Upper Hut. It will always be my home. Yeah,
that's where we were brought up. That's where all the
bones are laid to rest up there as well.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
So and got a lot.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Of friends, a lot of family is still up in
the Upper Hut, and it's the place I go back
to for a little bit of peace for it every
now and then, and then I shoot off to Tadanucki
and go home.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Yeah, pretty tough time for you at the moment ago
family things going on. So you know, I can see
the stress in your face and I understand. Lots of love.
Thanks mate, Yeah, lots of love. That's all I can say.
Take a short break and come back and rack the show.
Thanks Frankie Stevens for coming in and dropping in and
singing us, giving us some Cristpas spirit with all that's
(10:00):
going on in its life right now.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news Talks It'd Be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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