1960s The group was started in or around 1962 by Niuean born drummer, Feau Halatau and four fellow students from the Parnell Institute for the Blind. The first gig they were paid for was a wedding, and according to the drummer Halatau, they were paid a couple of pounds each. Around November 1966, they were the resident band at a dance hall in the Auckland suburb of
Ōtāhuhu. They backed singers
Ricky May and
John Rowles during their residency at the Picasso club. Their residency lasted until 1967. In 1967, their single, "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" was released on the Zodiac label. During the 60s the group had appeared on television on the talent show
Have a Shot.
1980s In 1981, some members from the band, along with former
Quincy Conserve trumpet player Kevin Furey backed Deane Waretini on "The Bridge", which was written by
George Tait" for Waretini. The song was a number 1 hit in New Zealand. The song, originally released on the Innovation label, and later CBS was credited to Deane Waretini with The Rising Stars. In an article by
The New Zealand Herald, the group was possibly erroneously referred to as The Rising Suns. By early 1983, there were just two of the original members left in the band. ;Having a hit Using a tactic first employed by
Gary Havoc & The Hurricanes, and then later by
Deane Waretini, with Waretini's having the record peddled on the street, they financed their own recording of a single. Like Waretini, they took it to the street to promote and even got family members to sell it. On 24 July, their version of "
The Banana Boat Song" made it to no 35 and stayed in the charts for a week. In that year, they also won an award for "Best Polynesian Album" at the New Zealand Music Awards.
2000s In December 2000, marking their fourth decade in the music business, the band appeared on stage at the Blind Musicians Festival in Parnell. The current line up at the time was Feau Halatau, Ray Lemon, Neville Tura and Andrew Taylor. For the event, they were to have singer Eleanor Wicks on keyboards. Around 2001, the band had $10,000 of their equipment stolen. They kept going for a few more years, and finally disbanded in or around 2007, with the only two surviving original members Andrew Taylor, and Feau Halatau parting company. Bass played Alex Constable was also in the band for a period of time. He played in a variety of bands including The North Harbour Rockers, and the cover band, 2 Flat Whites and a Mocha. In a 2009, an article in the 22 Jan edition of Auckland's
Central Leader, drummer Halatau now living in Onehunga was looking to open a drumming school. He was hoping to make a documentary about the group as well. During the career of the band, in addition to John Rowles, and Ricky May, they had also backed singer
Rob Guest who died in 2008. ==Members==