The four original members of the Hall of Fame group, known for hits such as Melting Pot and Asian Paradise, Debbie Harwood, Annie Crummer, Dianne Swann and Kim Willoughby, will perform in Christchurch, Wellington, Dunedin and Auckland over four weekends.
Their Dunedin show will be held on Sunday, April 28, at Dunedin Town Hall.
The concert series will reunite When the Cat’s Away with old friends Herbs, whose hits like French Letter and Nuclear Waste provided the soundtrack to the anti-nuclear movement in the 1980s.
Almost 40 years on, these two bands maintain legions of fans and are classed as national treasures. This tour will be the first in three decades performed by the original group members.
The shows will also feature original members of the When the Cat’s Away backing band, Brett Adams and Gary Verberne on guitars, Mike Russell on trumpet and Barbara Griffin on keys, as well The Band of Gold.
Founding member Debbie Harwood said the band, whose The Melting Pot Tour in 1988-89 played to more than 85,000 people in one summer, could not wait to take the show out into the mōtū.
"We were absolutely blown away by the love from our audience at the town hall event in Auckland [last year]," Harwood said.
"Walking on stage and seeing those beautiful, smiling faces — the same faces that looked up at us when it all began in 1986 — it was quite overwhelming.
"Unfortunately, we sold out so quickly we couldn’t accommodate everyone and there were a lot of people from out of Auckland who told us they would have loved to have been there. So we’re on our way!"
