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Tina Harrod

Tina Harrod was born in Christchurch in New Zealand with an ancestry that certainly indicated she might one day become a professional singer. He father was part Fijian and her great grand parents were from Wales and from her very early days she was surrounded by a rich musical legacy.

It was no surprise then when at the tender age of five Tina began singing in a local church choir as well as taking dancing classes with a ballet group. The seeds had already been sown for a promising career in singing or dancing but for the next dozen or so years Tina was to become more of a listener than a performer.

During her teenage years Tina stopped both singing and dancing but began listening to a wide range of popular Black music as well as the current disco craze inspired by movies such as "Saturday Night Fever". At the age of seventeen she decided on a major move to Sydney where she soon took up waitressing and barwork.

It was in this new environment that her desire to sing and perform was rekindled and she began playing in a band called Modern Man with Andrew Kippel, the son of the famous Australian sculptor. This was the late 1980's in Sydney, a time when the local club and pub music scene was thriving and all kinds of exciting new bands were emerging.

Tina was obviously caught up in the euphoria of this period and began auditioning and singing back up vocals in a number of different groups. By the age of twenty four she had joined the Honey Bees, an all girl trio doing three part harmonies and singing soul in the style of Chaka Khan and other contemporary soul sisters. The group gigged regularly at venues such as Metropolis and Round Midnight and quickly developed a solid following on the Sydney club scene.

As well as performing regularly Tina made a point of catching many of the other emerging local bands and it was during this exploration that she came across Jackie Orszaczky & The Godmothers. Jackie's driving funk and soul outfit were high on the list of Sydney club favourites at the time with their infectious James Brown style grooves and they immediately captivated Tina's attention.

After hearing the band it was only natural that Tina sought out their many influences and she soon began to immerse herself in the music of the classic soul period - listening to artists such as Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Nina Simone, The Staple Singers, Etta James, Lee Dorsey, Allan Toussaint, Johnny Guitar Watson, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Maceo Parker, Vicky Anderson Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Sly & The Family Stone etc.

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