THE FOURMYULA
Nature
(Wayne Mason)
New Zealand 1969
#1 NZ

Original version

Single on HMV, from the 1969 album Creation.

Nature was written by Fourmyula guitarist, keyboardist and founding member Wayne Mason.

In 2001 Nature was voted the top New Zealand song of all time by the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA). In 1970 it had won APRA New Zealand's Silver Scroll Award.

The Fourmyula were a popular and original New Zealand band. They had eleven charting singles in New Zealand 1969-1971 including Come With Me (#2 1968), Alice Is There (#4 1968), I'll Sing You A Song (#3 1969) and Lady Scorpio (#7 1969).

Much of the band's material was written by Wayne Mason with bassist Ali Richardson. The lead singer, who joined when the band was signed to HMV, was Carl Evenson, formerly of The Kal-Q-lated Risk. Also in the band were guitarist Martin Hope and drummer Chris Parry.

See also The Fourmyula's Mr Whippy and Lady Scorpio.

References: Wayne Mason and the Song 'Nature' at NZ History Online; History of The Fourmyula at Bruce Sergent's NZ Music site; Dean Scapolo's NZ Music Charts.
Further reading: Website of Wayne Mason, still an active singer & songwriter; Wikipedia articles on The Fourmyula and Wayne Mason.
THE MUTTONBIRDS
Nature
(Wayne Mason)
New Zealand 1992
#4 NZ

Rocked up version of the NZ 60s classic.

The Muttonbirds, led by former Blam Blam Blam guitarist Don McGlashan, released their debut album in 1991. They had nine charting singles in New Zealand 1992-1996, including their biggest hit Heater (#1 1994).

Reference: Muttonbirds bio at All Music Guide.
MARGARET URLICH
Nature
(Wayne Mason)
Australia 1999

On the album Second Nature, a collection of songs by New Zealand writers. Margaret Urlich is a New Zealand-born singer now based in Australia.

Further reading: MargaretUrlich.com.

Corrections or comments? Contact the writer.