Where is the group omc from

He hung out with gangs and criminals and his childhood was punctuated with spells in borstal. The Fuemanas were a musical clan. Elder brother Phillip was a producer, fundamental to the pioneering South Auckland soul sounds of the early 90s. Alan Jansson grew up in Wellington and in the late 70s, inspired by punk and new wave, he formed the Steroids in which he played guitar. When Jansson moved the studio to Freemans Bay in , it was renamed Uptown. After the initial singles gained traction — especially in the Australian club scene — Jansson was encouraged by Andrew Penhallow of Australian label Volition to put together a compilation that would showcase this burgeoning Polynesian movement.

Though the name was initially just a joke — millionaires being conspicuously scarce on the working class streets of Otara — it turned out to be prescient. The album was preceded by a national tour featuring many of the Proud artists, that lost money but boosted their profile.

After the tour the original OMC fell apart, with Pauly taking the name. He turned up late one night at Alan Jansson's door asking if Jansson would work with him on new recordings. Pauly enthused over Jansson's work on Proud.

Pauly guested as a vocalist on Shift Left , the debut album of Auckland saxophone virtuoso Nathan Haines, before settling down to work with Jansson on a new single. PolyGram in New Zealand were reluctant to go with the quirky single but had their hand forced by the enthusiastic reaction when Grigg and Jansson took the initiative and presented the record directly to PolyGram Australia.

The single won the immediate support of urban Auckland station Mai FM. By the end of January, it was No. It was released in Australia in March , where it also headed to the top of the charts. Though the record initially seemed to have flopped in Britain, a BBC Radio One host Chris Evans happened to hear it on a visit to Australia and began to play it heavily on his prime time breakfast show.

As it began its ascent of the British charts, Pauly was summoned to London for a television appearance on that cultural institution Top of The Pops. No sooner had he completed the 20, mile round-trip, he was called to London again. And so began a pattern of globetrotting that would keep Fuemana moving around the world for the next few years, promoting his hit.

The song eventually became the biggest hit ever written and recorded in New Zealand by a New Zealand artist, made the Top 10 in 15 countries, and reached No. Though these deeply autobiographical pieces showed there was far more range and potential in OMC than their novel No. The album, however, sold well on account of its title track, selling platinum one million units in the USA. It quickly became a huge summer hit, selling 35, copies, demonstrating that Fuemana and Jansson had managed to create an indigenous hip-hop sound that reflected Auckland's status as the world's largest Polynesian city.

Fuemana went out to promote it on its extraordinary run of international success. I interviewed him in London in His years in gangs were reflected in the tattoos that covered his limbs, yet he struck me as a thoughtful man, bemused by his success.

When Fuemana resettled in New Zealand in late he found that what was once a joke — an Otara millionaire — now represented his reality. Expensive cars were just part of the lavish spending. Jansson then sued Fuemana over royalties, so effectively ending OMC. Some of the split royalties from the song go to Fuemana's widow Kirstine, the mother of their six children. There's a running gag of Fuemana offering musicians he had just met - including the odd hotel pianist - a job in his touring band.

It also tells of how the charismatic Fuemana could turn on the charm - and turn it off in instant, his violent temper unleashed even on his closest collaborators, including Grigg, who he often addressed as a "white devil" when he was lashing out.

That combustibility is possibly the biggest revelation for anyone who witnessed Fuemana's rocket-powered rise and then slow sad fall. Good and bad. Sometimes the volatility was incredibly positive. But he was a terribly hard person to work with. Pauly had a persona - the charismatic thing which was very embracing of people In a situation it would just flip instantly. Grigg hopes the book will be seen as the story of the New Zealand song that conquered the world.

Grigg doesn't think he is speaking ill of the dead in his account - if Fuemana had still been alive he might have considered writing a book with his involvement. Or he might not. Grigg hadn't communicated with Fuemana for some years before his death. He's aware that his book is not likely to go down well with Fuemana's family and supporters. Still, Grigg is steeling himself for some flak. I didn't want to upset the family.

But Pauly was public property as well and he was the guy who decided to go out there and be a pop star. It's not supposed to me the Pauly story. But someone has to be on the cover. He is the guy who did it. He still did it.