Born in Sweden, raised in Los Angeles, he billed himself ‘Stig, The Piano Man’, and apart from doing countless gigs, on piano or piano accordion, either solo or in a band, appeared in many movies and commercials, and performed regularly in the resort.
He first appeared in Queenstown in the ’80s, and was musical director for a homegrown musical, Exposed, which toured the country and even packed out an Auckland theatre.
In ’98, he played ‘The Prospector’ in the musical Rush!, based on the 1860s Arrowtown gold rush, written by Arrowtowners David John and the late Kevin Lynch, when it premiered in Dunedin.
His star turn was the haunting Ballad of Millie Hall.
Distinguished-looking with his lived-in face and white beard — he frequently played Santa Claus — he mentored Queenstown’s Wonky Donkey musician/songwriter Craig Smith.
"I used to go to his place in Sumner, Christchurch, and have cups of tea and let him listen to my music and say, ‘What do you think? Where do you think I can improve it before I release it?’, so he was a huge influence and help."
Like many, Smith mentions his deep, rich, "incredible" singing voice.
"I used to call it ‘chocolate over gravel’.
"He covered some people, some of the famous ones like Billy Joel, and often he would do much better versions than the original people who wrote them."
Veteran Queenstown muso Noel Coutts, who often performed with him, even in Warsaw, Poland, says he was "a gentleman, a great character, a good singer, a great entertainer and a good actor".
"With an accordion he wasn’t just on stage, he would get around the room, go behind the bar, that’s what he liked to do."
Another local muso, Nigel Hirst, who’d tune his electric piano, says he "always had a twinkle in his eye. He was a hard liver, he loved to party up".
"The Lady in Red was one of his big songs he loved to do.
"He had shows around the world, he was successful and he carved a good little niche for himself."
Local entertainer Simon Green, who met Eldred when they worked on Rush!, says he recalls a night at Queenstown’s Millennium Hotel, about ’97.
"We ended up drinking I don’t know how many Jack Daniel’s and sitting on the grand piano, and he was playing and we were both singing Harry Chapin songs, and he was the only person I ever met that had even heard of Harry Chapin, and he knew them all.
"We carried on till about 3am."
The pair used to message each other on their birthday — Eldred’s was just a few weeks ago.
"He was a legend," Green says, "and just a consummate entertainer, and intimate — just him and his piano or piano harpsichord or whatever he had.
"If there was a piano around, he was playing it."
Green adds: "He looked in his 70s when he met, and he hadn’t aged a day since then."
