"The Bridge" was a #1 chart hit in 1981 for New Zealand singer Deane Waretini and his backing group The Rising Stars. It was the first MÃÂori language song to reach the number one spot in New Zealand. It was self-released and promoted before being picked up by CBS.
"The Bridge" was sung in MÃÂori language, and set to Nini Rosso's tune "Il Silenzio". The words were written by Waretini's cousin, George Tait, a Te Arawa elder. It pushed John Lennon off the charts when it climbed to the top.
"The Bridge" was originally independently and self-released, and was not picked up by CBS until later. After that it became the first number 1 song to be sung in the MÃÂori language. It stayed at the top of the charts for two weeks.
The song centres around the construction of the Mangere Bridge. Its lyrics refer to the linking of two cultures in New Zealand, MÃÂori and Pakeha.
The song was recorded in the Auckland suburb of Henderson. The session took place in a garage studio that belonged to a country singer. The backing ensemble included musicians from the Blind Institute. The backing group, The Rising Suns, was formerly called The Radars. The trumpet player was Kevin Furey, formerly of Quincy Conserve. Waretini paid the musicians in Kentucky Fried Chicken. "We recorded it just as we played it in the hotels, with heart and soul and feel," he said.
Waretini used a tactic first employed by Gary Havoc & The Hurricanes of self-financing a record. He had a pile of the singles produced, which cost him $96. Some were sent to Radio 1ZB. He then bombarded them with play requests. He also managed to get it played at intermission time at Auckland's Civic Theatre. Another tactic was recruiting a newspaper boy to sell copies to passing people for 50 cents apiece. (His backing band, The Rising Stars, two years later in 1983 would use the same approach in promoting a single.)
"The Bridge" was produced by Allan Witana, and originally released on the Innovations label. A short time later, people were going into record shops looking for "The Bridge". Not long afterwards, CBS sought the single.
On 3 April 1981, the song went to 1, pushing John Lennon's "Woman" from the top spot. It also reached 7 in Australia.
Waretini received $27,000 from CBS and gave up his rights to the song.
An unreleased alternative version by Waretini appears on the ' compilation that was released by His Master's Voice and EMI in 2011.
In 1981, a parody ("The Fridge") recorded by Kevin Blackatini and the Frigids, was released on the RTC label. Kevin Blackatini was actually Radio Hauraki DJ Kevin Black.