Marc Hunter

Marc Alexander Hunter (7 September 1953 – 17 July 1998) was a New Zealand rock and pop singer best known as the lead vocalist with Dragon, a band formed by his older brother Todd Hunter in Auckland in 1973. He was also with the band The Party Boys.

Early life

Born in Taumarunui, Marc joined Dragon in 1974 and the band recorded two albums of progressive rock for Vertigo Records. The band moved to Sydney, Australia, in 1975. After suffering the heroin-related death of drummer Neil Storey, Dragon became a pop-rock act and went on to become one of Australia's biggest-selling bands, scoring a number of hit singles and successful albums, most notably 1978's O Zambezi. In the meantime, Hunter developed a serious heroin addiction. Recklessly outspoken and volatile on-stage, during the band's 1978 United States tour supporting Johnny Winter he called the audience "faggots" at a show in Texas. The following year, he was fired from the band.

Career

Hunter bounced back immediately with his 1979 solo album Fiji Bitter featuring the hit single "Island Nights". Two years later the album Big City Talk and single of the same name were also hits and in 1982 Dragon reformed for a tour, deciding to stay together when the single "Rain" became a hit. The 1984 album Body and the Beat was a big hit across Australia and New Zealand and the title track of Hunter's solo album Communication (1985) was also a moderate hit. While on a break between Dragon tours (during which Hunter's former bandmate Paul Hewson died unexpectedly in January 1985), Hunter joined the Party Boys for a sold-out national tour, recording the album You Need Professional Help.