Sounds Series 2024 Announce Massive Lineup For Three New Zealand Festivals

The Human League, Go West, Nik Kershaw, Mockers, Choirboys

Five of the world’s greatest hitmakers from the ‘80s will play New Zealand’s largest-ever Sounds Series, in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch from 29 February – 3 March 2024.

Selwyn Sounds, Hutt Sounds, and a brand-new Auckland Sounds present unmissable one-day festivals featuring UK legends The Human League, Go West, Nik Kershaw, plus Australian rockers Choirboys, and New Zealand’s own pop maestros The Mockers.

Headlining band, The Human League state, “Where does the time go? By the time we see you all next it will have been seven years since we last played in New Zealand, but we couldn’t be happier to be coming back and headlining the ‘Sounds Series’ festivals in February and March 2024. We really cannot wait to come to your beautiful country again and we really hope you will come and join us in either Auckland, Christchurch or Hutt. See you in 2024!”

Get ready to dance away to smash hits like The Human League with Don’t You Want Me Baby, Human, and (Keep Feeling) Fascination; Go West gems like We Close Our Eyes, The King of Wishful Thinking, and Don’t Look Down.

Who can forget Live Aid favourite Nik Kershaw with The Riddle, I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, and Wouldn’t It Be Good, The Mockers with Forever Tuesday Morning, One Black Friday, and Swear It’s True; or Choirboys anthems Run To Paradise and Boys Will Be Boys.

This fantastic lineup of artists has generated 16 Top 20 hit singles on the NZ chart alone, and an array of classic albums.

Sounds Series dates and venues are:

AUCKLAND SOUNDS, Thursday 29 February 2024, Eventfinda Stadium (formerly North Shore Events Centre), from 6pm.

SELWYN SOUNDS, Saturday 2 March 2024, Lincoln Domain, Selwyn, Christchurch, from 11am.

HUTT SOUNDS, Sunday 3 March 2024, Brewtown, Upper Hutt, Wellington from 2pm.

Access all information for Sounds Series 2024 at soundsnz.co.nz

48-hour presale tickets are on sale from 8am 3 July, with general sale from 8am Wednesday 5 July, at soundsnz.co.nz

Sounds Series 2024 is proudly presented by promoters 3 Coins Gentlemen and Plus1, and media partner The Breeze.

Each festival offers a huge range of food with a dazzling array of food vendors offering a world of delicacies and full bar facilities.

VIP options are also available for each event.

The Lowdown on the 2024 Sounds Series lineup:

The Human League

In 1981, The Human League’s refreshed lineup of Phil Oakley, Joanne Catherall and Susan Anne Sulley released the ground-breaking LP Dare - one of the greatest albums of all time. Featuring the immortal pop classic Don’t You Want Me, and hit singles Love Action, Sound Of The Crowd, and Open Your Heart.

Their success was particularly rapid for still-teenage Joanne Catherall and Susan Anne Sulley. The day after they performed Don’t You Want Me on the hit TV show Top of the Pops, they rushed back home to Sheffield to complete school exams.

Many more hits were to come. Innovative albums and fantastic singles like (Keep Feeling) Fascination, The Lebabon, Human, and Oakley’s own Together in Electric Dreams. It’s a go-to playlist that discerning music lovers return to year after year. Their spectacular and uplifting live show has been produced and well-honed for the very best US and Europe festivals.

The Sounds Series is proud to have The Human League headlining!

Go West

Go West’s Peter Cox and Richard Drummie had an immediate impact on the pop charts when their debut single We Close Our Eyes was released in the spring of 1985. It reached number five in the UK charts and became a top 10 hit in the USA. This was quickly followed by three more hits, Call Me, Goodbye Girl and Don’t Look Down.

The album Go West sold 2 million copies worldwide and remained on the UK chart for 83 weeks, establishing them as one of the finest song-writing partnerships to emerge in the 80s. In 1986 they won the BRIT Award for ‘Best British Newcomer’.

More international chart success followed, notably King of Wishful Thinking, the opening song in the hit box-office film Pretty Woman - the soundtrack sold a staggering 10 million copies. Both King of Wishful Thinking and subsequent hit Faithful, from the Indian Summer album received ASCAP and BMI Awards for record-breaking record sales and radio plays.

Six albums and 20 million sales later, Go West are stronger than ever, entertaining audiences at huge festivals worldwide.

Nik Kershaw

UK legend Nik Kershaw heads to New Zealand for only the second time since his 1985 tour - when he skyrocketed to fame with the chart-topping album The Riddle and performing on Live Aid to a worldwide audience of billions, as well as sold-out New Zealand shows.

Get ready to experience Nik Kershaw and band performing his classics like Wouldn't It Be Good, The Riddle, Human Racing, Wide Boy and I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me.

Nik is also a sought-after producer and songwriter - he wrote the UK number 1 The One And Only for Chesney Hawkes, which often appears in Nik’s own setlist.

Elton John has called Nik Kershaw “one of the best songwriters of a generation”, and we’re privileged to have Nik in our Sounds Series lineup.

The Mockers

Kiwi hit-makers The Mockers reform their classic lineup to proudly perform their pop gems like Forever Tuesday Morning, Swear It’s True, One Black Friday, My Girl Thinks She’s Cleopatra, Shield Yourself, and many more.

In celebration of 40 years since Forever Tuesday Morning - reuniting are Andrew Fagan, Brett Adams, plus Geoff Hayden travelling from London, and Australian-based Tim Wedde.

The Mockers enjoyed three Top 10 albums and six hit singles and played to huge crowds across the country throughout the 1980s, riding a wave of New Wave pop success. They disbanded in the late 80s, but in 2017 returned better than ever to charm old fans and win over many new ones, with a NZ tour and a live album and DVD, which returned them to the charts for the first time in 30 years.

Choirboys

Charismatic Australian rockers Choirboys are ready to turn it up and rock out with enthusiastic Kiwi fans at the Sounds Series. Look forward to all the Choirboys hits like Run to Paradise, Boys Will Be Boys and Struggle Town. 30 years on they are still rocking, performing, and entertaining thousands.

The Choirboys are one of the classic Australian rock bands to emerge from the 1980s, singer Mark Gable and the boys have gone out to record more than 10 acclaimed albums. Their sound is an ever-evolving transition, never forgetting their rock n roll roots - the formative years playing around home base - Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

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