As the lead singer of surf music band Ray Columbus & the Invaders, his best-known hit was "She's A Mod" in 1964.

Columbus attended Xavier College in Christchurch and studied tap, but was more interested in the rock and roll of the era and formed his first band, The Dominoes, in 1959.

However, "She's A Mod" became a number one hit in Australia – the first song from a New Zealand group to reach the top of the charts in another country.

Returning to New Zealand, he hosted numerous television pop shows, including Ray Columbus presents New Faces, C'mon, Happen Inn and That's Country (which he co-created and helped sell to a US cable network).

[4] Columbus died at his Snells Beach, North Auckland residence in November 2016 aged 74, after a "four-year battle with ill health".