Left: Mick Sauvage, Right: Lee Stewart
Lee & Mick
Left: Mick Sauvage, Right: Lee Stewart
Lee & Mick were a folk duo from Auckland who mainly
entertained by way of the ‘dine and dance’ circuit throughout the Auckland area
from 1966 to 1972. Both of them sang, with Mick singing the harmony. Lee played
guitar and banjo and Mick played guitar and occasionally the 'kazoo' for the
more light-hearted numbers that they often did. They could easily be picked out
in a crowd due to the distinctive tartan jackets that they wore for their
performances.
Most of the material they performed was Scottish and Irish
folk songs, along with ballads and some old-time "evergreens" with the
occasional pop song of the day thrown in. Both of them had immigrated to New
Zealand from the United Kingdom, Lee from Scotland in 1964 and Mick from England
in 1965.
They met at a party of a mutual friend and immediately hit it off when Mick joined in with the harmony to a popular party song Lee was singing at the time. Lee was already playing and singing Scottish folk songs he had learned as a lad growing up through the 1950s, and for a while after arriving in New Zealand, he had performed with another male singer and guitarist as a duo, and also sometimes as a trio with a female singer, calling themselves the Tru-Vetts and performing a mixture of popular folk songs and pop songs. They performed on one particular occasion as a duo, and covered a few popular releases, including Fats Domino’s Good Hearted Man, for which Lee played the blues harmonica. This was at Queen’s Birthday Weekend 1965, at both the Starlight Ballroom and the Eastside Ballroom in Hamilton. The final performance of the Tru-Vetts was as a trio, at the Monument Motel, Otahuhu, Auckland, at Christmas 1965.
Lee & Mick
While performing as the Tru-Vetts, Lee had met Robert Handlin from Kingsway Productions who helped introduce the act to Eddie and Elaine Hegan, and also Mary Throll and Benny Levin, all of whom organised bookings for them around the Auckland entertainment scene, and for a few months in 1965 they had a regular Friday and Saturday night spot at the Bel-Air Coffee Lounge in Queen St, Auckland, alongside rhythm and blues group The Founders and vocalist Ray Cowell.
Lee Stewart and Ross Hasselberg
They also did guest spots at most of the Auckland night clubs, such as, The Monaco, The Oriental Ballroom, The Montmartre, The Galaxie, and others, and performed on the famous summer “Sound Shell Tours” at Rotorua, Mount Maunganui and Whakatane, along with various other artists, including the Kini Quartet, Sylvia Sylvana, and George Tumahai. For their nightclub performances they would usually include an Irish and Scottish number along with a selection of rhythm and blues, folk songs and ballads. On any Thursday or Friday evening during 1966, you could experience Lee & Mick performing an eclectic selection of folk music at the Henry IV Coffee Lounge in Queen St, Auckland, where they had a resident spot.
At one point, they decided to experiment as a trio, and
Otto
Wendt joined the duo for a few months during which time a number of different
genres of music was attempted, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out, and
through the guidance of Eddie Hegan, Lee & Mick continued as a duo and
concentrated on developing their Scottish and Irish music repertoire.
Eventually,
they became recognised as accomplished Celtic folk music
performers, and got the top billing at the1967, St
Patrick’s Day Concert, at the Hibernian Society Hall, Great North Road, Ponsonby,
in Auckland.
During 1966 and 1967, they often performed at the same Celtic oriented functions as the Quare Fellows, another folk duo from Auckland who specialised in Irish folk music and who were also on the concert bill. Both duos often performed at charity functions organised by the Clifford Concert Party for whom the Tru-Vetts had also performed.
Lee & Mick progressively became regular and popular performers for a number of Caledonian Society Clubs, and entertained their members at the numerous events they held throughout Auckland. New Year’s Eve and Robbie Burns Day on the 25th of January were the most demanding, with up to four venues around Auckland being attended on these nights. The Scottish and Irish music presented by Lee & Mick was very well received by those in attendance at the many, and varied venues, where they performed.
With both of them now being married with two children each, the entertainer’s life-style became rather impractical for them, and Lee & Mick gave their last performance together at a private function in Auckland, in December 1972. Lee went on to run a successful mobile disco, and managed a number of break dance groups during the 1980’s and received bookings through Lew Pryme, at Fuller’s Entertainment Bureau. Sadly, Mick passed away in 1983.