Dinah Lee, 83, is the most successful female pop artist from New Zealand of the 1960s. Her fashion-forward clothes, distinctive Mod hairstyle and number- one hits – Don’t You Know Yockomo, Reet Petite and Do the Blue Beat – made her a household name on both sides of the Tasman and even knocked the Beatles off the top spot.
After living in Australia for the past six decades with her longtime partner Doug, Dinah returned to home soil in 2022 following his death. On starting a new chapter in Wellington, she says, “New Zealand has accepted me back with open arms.”
Kiwis flocked to her tour with Tami Neilson in 2023, but the singing sensation retired from performing last year. “I thought that 82 was probably old enough to retire. It’s very hard to keep the vocals up when you’re not working full-time. Will I ever go on stage again… well, never say never!”
Inducted onto the NZ Music Hall of Fame in 2020, Dinah also received the 2025 Variety Artists Club’s highest honour, the Benny Award.
Tell us about your childhood, Dinah…
I was born in Waimate, but when I was five, my parents bought the Commercial Hotel in Greymouth. In those days, the town was like the Wild West! It was supposed to be 6pm closing, but it was open 24 hours – men who worked shifts on the wharves and railways always came in. And, of course, I don’t think that was very stable for a marriage because my father would work all the time while my mother was trying to bring up three young children in a hotel.
How did you end up living on a dairy farm with foster parents?
Well, my mum left us when I was 10, so it was difficult for Dad trying to look after a young girl. So one weekend, to give Dad a break, I went to stay with a family he knew called the Hamiltons. They lived on a farm in Cashmere Road, Christchurch. I was 13 and absolutely loved it there. And I loved Mrs Hamilton. So I never left! I stayed on the farm until I was 18, while attending Cashmere High School.
When did you start singing?
On the farm was a cooling room which was all made of concrete. I would go in there and sing my lungs out because of the echoey acoustics. When my father remarried again, he opened a Cabaret Club in Belfast, Christchurch. I was 15 and Dad said to me, “I’ve heard you’ve been singing around the cowshed. Why don’t you learn a number and get up with the band?” So I sang Tan Shoes and Pink Shoelaces.
Describe your big break…
I was asked to fill in for a singer on a tour with Max Merritt and the Meteors, and Peter Posa. They flew me to Taumarunui and I bopped about out on stage singing It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To. Well, the audience had never seen anything as weird as this girl in the shift dress with the crazy Mod hairdo and wild make-up in their lives! I got the taste of this fabulous life and moved to Auckland in 1963.
Did you still have a day job?
At first, I worked as a clerk at Farmers on Hobson Street. Then I worked as an instructor at Silhouette Health Studio. The Top 20 nightclub at Durham Lane was right next door, so I would sneak in there in my lunch break, have a coffee and sing a song with whatever band was playing.
How did you get discovered?
Ron Dalton from Viking Records came into Top 20 to see me perform one Saturday night. Ron was as drunk as anything, and he looked at me and said, “You’re so effing ugly but come to my studio and I’ll record you.”
Wow, what an insult!
Oh, it just went past me. I was young. I didn’t care because everything else was new and exciting. So I turned up, did a demo, which was sent to the Viking head office. They said “Record her!” My first song, Don’t You Know Yockomo, went to number one in both New Zealand and Australia.
Was it your choice to change your name from Diane Jacobs?
No, Viking Studios wanted to. They wrote down different names to put in a hat. “Lee” got pulled out. So they released my first single as Diane Lee [it’s now a collector’s item], but Viking decided after that to make me Dinah Lee.
Tell us about meeting the Beatles!
I was in Dunedin with Max Merritt and the Meteors when the Beatles came here to tour in 1964. John Lennon and Paul McCartney invited me to have a drink with them as we were staying in the same hotel. I had a vodka and orange. I’ve still got their autographs.
Did you flirt with them?
No, we were all quite innocent. We talked about the music scene – they were young and didn’t know what was happening to them either! We looked outside and the whole street was full of teenagers screaming. They loved that I was a Mod, which they hadn’t seen in New Zealand.
It sounds like you’ve always loved fashion…
I have. My poor foster mum was always on the Singer sewing machine. We didn’t have stylists back then, so I started trends myself, like wearing white nurses’ stockings with suspender belts or wearing a large bushman’s singlet as a mini dress with boots. Once I cut up the Union Jack flag to make into a top. I wore Union Jack gloves and went on TV in Australia. Well, it was discussed in Parliament that this young Kiwi girl had defaced the Queen’s flag and should we deport her. But people loved it and started imitating my look.
When you performed in America, did you meet any big names?
I met lots of singers before they became stars. In 1965, I did the big pop show called Shindig. The Righteous Brothers were also performing, as was Ray Charles. Once this couple came in – with long hair and wearing furs – and I thought ‘Wow, they’re different… a bit weird.’ It was Sonny and Cher! They were nobodies then, trying to get on the show to promote their new single I’ve Got You Babe.
You entertained the troops in Vietnam in 1966, ’67 and ’79 – is there a memory that’s stayed with you?
Trying to sing above the sound of gunfire. It was traumatic visiting hospitals and talking to soldiers who had been shot.
Do you feel you’ve been lucky in love?
I think so because in this business, it’s very hard to keep a relationship when you’re always on the move. So to have had 40 years with my late partner Doug – who was a musical director – was incredible. We never married and didn’t have children because we were too busy working. When we got together in 1979, I owned my own home [you normally couldn’t get bank loans back then as a single woman]. And he didn’t try to put any of it into his name. I was fabulously lucky to have met such a wonderful man.
When Doug passed away from cancer in 2019, was it challenging being on your own again?
It really was, so I knew I had to make a change. I was in Sydney and most of my friends were moving to Queensland to retire. I don’t like the heat and I have family in Wellington, so I decided that after almost 60 years, I needed to go back home.
It’s quite a feat to move countries on your own at 79.
Absolutely! I had to sell off my furniture during Covid, which was hard. I moved back in 2022. It was scary, but I’ve always made my own decisions. And now I’m quite comfortable being in my own company with my dog, a Tibetan terrier named Lucy Lou. And it’s nice to be back near my family.
Did your birth mother ever get in touch with you again?
Yes and I did see her. We’ve lived our own lives, though. She remarried and now her son, my half-brother, and I meet up quite frequently.
What the best thing about your life right now?
Even though ageing sucks, my energy levels are great – I just did 30 minutes on the treadmill. And getting older is better than the alternative. I don’t live in the past. I look forward to what’s next. I’m going to do some speaking tours later this year because I think I’ve got a great story to tell. And I can’t wait to go back to my old school, where they’re giving me a distinguished alumni award. I’ve been fortunate to do what I love. Looking back, I can honestly say I’ve had a very good life.
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