To mark yesterday’s announcement of a massive national theatre tour, Rolling Stone AU/NZ caught up with Ché Fu for a wide-ranging interview.
Ché is hitting the road to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Navigator.
Ché Fu & the Kratez will play shows in Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington, Palmerston North, Napier, Auckland, Rotorua, and Hamilton this October (see full dates below), marking 25 years of his iconic album.
Tickets to the tour go on sale on Monday, August 3rd at 12pm local time.
In our interview ahead of the tour, Ché looked back at his career journey to this point.
When asked how he’s managed to sustain his legendary career through the decades, he replied, “As I get older, having these little habits and mechanisms has helped me stay in the game.
“When I was a young man, we used to joke about how funny it would be in the future when cafes played hip-hop. We’ve lived to see that come to pass.
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“Me, King Kapisi, Dam Native, Teremoana, Upper Hutt Posse — when we started, they used to have slogans on the radio like ‘No rap, no crap’.”
“The establishment didn’t want to let us do it until it became internationally undeniable. We pushed through that,” he added.
Elsewhere in the interview, Ché revealed one of his most surprising biggest fans.
“I got this letter from [the late Māori rights activist and politician] Tariana Turia. The reason why I say that is it freaked me out how well she knew my tunes. She broke them down to me.
“As a songwriter, it’s really beautiful and interesting when people tell me about the impact my music has had on them. To know my tunes go beyond just having a jiggle means a lot. It’s the best feeling.”
Read the full interview with Ché here.
An Evening with Ché Fu & the Kratez
Presented by Eccles Entertainment
With special guests Aaradhna, Betty-Anne and King Kapisi
Wed 7 Oct
Civic Theatre | Invercargill
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Thu 8 Oct
Town Hall | Dunedin
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Fri 9 Oct
Town Hall | Christchurch
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Sat 10 Oct
Trafalgar Centre | Nelson
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Sun 11 Oct
Michael Fowler Centre | Wellington
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Tue 13 Oct
Regent on Broadway Theatre | Palmerston North
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Wed14 Oct
Municipal Theatre | Napier
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Fri 16 Oct
The Civic | Auckland
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Sat 17 Oct
Sir Howard Morrison Theatre | Rotorua
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Sun 18 Oct
BNZ Theatre | Hamilton
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