Dragon is a New Zealand rock band which was formed in Auckland in January 1972,[1][2] and, from 1975, based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

[6][17][18] Dragon formed in Auckland in January 1972 with a line-up that featured Todd Hunter on bass guitar, guitarist Ray Goodwin, drummer Neil Reynolds and singer/pianist Graeme Collins.

[19][5][20] Despite being one of Auckland's top live attractions by late 1974,[19] neither albums nor related singles had any local chart success,[19] and they recruited Robert Taylor (ex-Mammal) on guitar as they searched for a raunchier pop sound.

[19] By early 1975, manager Graeme Nesbitt (ex-Mammal), who had obtained regular gigs and organised their first New Zealand tours,[8] felt they should tackle the larger Australian market.

[7][8][20] Often courting or creating controversy, the band was rocked by the heroin overdose death of 22-year-old drummer Neil Storey in September 1976.

[19][20] Dragon considered disbanding after Storey's death, but Todd Hunter consulted with Nesbitt who advised him to continue and organised for Kerry Jacobson (ex-Mammal) to join on drums.

[8] Between 1977 and 1979 the Hunter brothers, Taylor, Hewson and Jacobson had a string of major hits on the Australian charts with singles "April Sun in Cuba", "Are You Old Enough?"

[6][3] They attempted a breakthrough into the American market with a tour supporting Johnny Winter, starting in November 1978, but this was foiled after a disastrous show in Dallas, Texas,[19] at which Marc Hunter incited a crowd by suggesting all Texans were "faggots": band members had to dodge flying beer bottles.

[7][8][20] In 1994, Marc Hunter related his version of the Texas show to rock journalist Glenn A. Baker: "I remember seeing someone standing holding a pistol and shouting 'I'm gonna kill you, you son of a bitch' ...

It took ages to clear the pile of debris on the stage – broken glass, bottles, chairs, half a table – but I was totally unaware of this, I thought I was going over really well and I'm standing there in a crucifixion pose with my arms out, really gone, with heaps of eye make-up on, looking like some sort of twisted priest.

Singer and actress Jane Clifton (who played Margo Gaffney in Prisoner) relates a time when she saw them live: "I would see him do the most unspeakable things on stage.

"[22]Soon after returning to Sydney from the US, Marc Hunter was sacked from Dragon in February 1979 due to his drug and alcohol use, which was seriously affecting both his vocal performances and his general health.

Todd Hunter had meanwhile teamed up with his domestic partner (and later second wife) Johanna Pigott, formerly of indie punk group XL Capris, who later fronted the alternative rock band, Scribble.

[6] XL Capris were not commercially successful, although their memorable re-working of crooner Tommy Leonetti's "My City Of Sydney" became a minor cult classic.

[19][5] Paul Hewson moved back to Auckland and joined the Pink Flamingos, who became one of New Zealand's top musical acts in the early 1980s.

[19] Chambers, who quit XTC in 1983 after they were forced to stop touring (due to leader Andy Partridge's debilitating stage fright), had married his Australian girlfriend and settled in Newcastle, New South Wales.

Body and the Beat yielded further successful Australasian singles, notably "Magic" and "Cry",[19] but the 'new' Dragon and the ascendancy of the Hunter-Piggot team also marked the rapidly declining influence of the band's former songwriting powerhouse, Paul Hewson, who only managed one co-writing credit on the album.

Alan Mansfield and New Zealand-born singer-songwriter Sharon O'Neill met on Dragon's Body and the Beat tour: they later became domestic and professional partners.

[27] Paul Hewson left Dragon in late 1984 and returned to New Zealand where he died of an accidental drug overdose on 9 January 1985.

[20][28] During 1984 Hewson had shared an apartment in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, with singer-songwriter Paul Kelly, who had recently arrived from Melbourne, and was trying to relaunch his career.

[19] Dragon performed three songs for 13 July 1985 Oz for Africa concert (part of the global Live Aid program) – "Speak No Evil", "Rain" and "Are You Old Enough?

[30] American drummer Doane Perry replaced Chambers, and Taylor was eventually succeeded by local Sydney guitar ace Tommy Emmanuel.

[19] This line-up went to America to record the Todd Rundgren-produced Dreams of Ordinary Men album in August 1986 and toured Europe with Tina Turner under the name Hunter in 1987.

[27] Dragon briefly split up in 1988 but the Hunter brothers and Alan Mansfield then regrouped with guitarist Randall Waller and drummer Barton Price (ex-Models) for the Bondi Road album released in April 1989 on RCA,[19] it also featured Emmanuel's guitar work.

Todd Hunter worked on Heartbreak High (TV series) from 1994 for six years as Music Composer, he retired from Dragon in 1995 after the release of Incarnations.

[3] A memorial service for him was held at St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney, followed by an all-star benefit concert to raise money to support Marc's widow and child.

[32] Alan Mansfield and Sharon O'Neill continued songwriting including "True Love" co-written with Robert Palmer[33] for his 1999 album Rhythm and Blues.

[34][deprecated source] They both performed with Leo Sayer during his tours in 2006 and 2007, Sharon O'Neill would sing "Young Years" in honour of Marc Hunter.

During a fiery version of "April Sun in Cuba", the late Dragon singer Marc Hunter was incorporated into the chorus via a stirring performance video shown on a huge screen behind the band.