DD Smash was a New Zealand pop/rock band formed in 1980 by Dave Dobbyn after the breakup of Th' Dudes. The band briefly used the name "Dave Dobbyn's Divers"[1] until drummer Peter Warren came up with "DD Smash". Dobbyn says the name "seemed to say everything about what we were into, which was having a jolly good time and blasting out music."[2]
DD Smash formed in 1980. By late '81, DD Smash signed a recording deal and immediately set about recording their debut album, with Ian Morris as producer.[citation needed]
DD Smash released their debut album in 1982. Titled Cool Bananas it debuted at number 1 in New Zealand and was certified triple gold.[citation needed]
DD Smash split during the mid-1980s when Dave Dobbyn began recording by himself.[citation needed]
In 2015, as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the New Zealand Music Charts, Recorded Music NZ honoured DD Smash's debut album Cool Bananas as being the first album by a New Zealand artist to debut at No.1 on the album chart.[3]
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ[4] | ||||
| 1982 | Cool Bananas |
|
1 |
|
| 1983 | Live: Deep in the Heart of Taxes |
|
11 |
|
| 1984 | The Optimist |
|
6 |
|
| "–" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
| Year | Title | NZ | AUS[6] | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Bull by the Horns (Dave Dobbyn and DD Smash) | – | – | Non-album single |
| "Repetition" | 25 | – | Cool Bananas | |
| 1982 | "Devil You Know" | 35 | – | |
| "Solo" | – | – | ||
| 1983 | "Outlook for Thursday" | 3 | – | Non-album single |
| "Actor" | – | – | The Optimist | |
| 1984 | "Whaling" | 8 | 70 | |
| "Surrender" | – | – | ||
| 1985 | "Magic (What She Do)" | 4 | – | |
| "She Loves Me Back" | 38 | – | ||
| "–" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
The New Zealand Music Awards are awarded annually by the RIANZ in New Zealand.
| Year | Award[7] | Details | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Album of the Year | Cool Bananas | Won |
| Top Male Vocalist | Dave Dobbyn | Won | |
| Top Group of the Year | Won | ||
| Most Promising Male Vocalist | Dave Dobbyn | Won | |
| Producer of the Year | Cool Bananas – Ian Morris | Won | |
| Engineer of the Year | Cool Bananas – Paul Streekstra & Doug Rogers | Won | |
| Sleeve Design of the Year | Wayne Robinson – Cool Bananas | Won | |
| 1983 | Album of the Year | Live: Deep in the Heart of Taxes | Won |
| Single of the Year | "Outlook for Thursday" | Won | |
| Top Male Vocalist | Dave Dobbyn | Won | |
| Top Group of the Year | Won | ||
| Producer of the Year | "Outlook for Thursday" | Nominated | |
| Most Popular Artist | Won | ||
| Best Music Video | "Outlook for Thursday" –Andrew Shaw | Won | |
| Engineer of the Year | Live: Deep in the Heart of Taxes–Graeme Myhre | Nominated | |
| "Outlook for Thursday"–Paul Streekstra | Nominated | ||
| Producer of the Year | "Outlook for Thursday"– Dave Dobbyn | Nominated | |
| 1985 | International Achievement | Nominated |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
