Golden Harvest holds a special place in New Zealand music history, both on stage and on record. ‘I Need Your Love’ was the RIANZ single of the year for 1978. The group also won the best group award in the 1978 NEBOA awards. ‘I Need Your Love’ along with Hello Sailor’s ‘Blue Lady’ and Dragon’s ‘April Sun In Cuba’ made up a golden trifecta of Kiwi summer anthems during that summer of 1977–78.
“Golden Harvest were really cool. They were on the surface, a very slick ‘nightclub act’ but they had an x-factor and that was the chemistry of the marvellous Kaukau brothers and their charismatic frontman, Karl. We loved their unadulterated Funk”. – Peter Urlich
“The first time I saw Golden Harvest was in 1978 during the punk era in Auckland’s Downtown Centre. Several of us went along expecting we could have a laugh but the laugh was totally on us – these guys were incredible and we stood there in awe. I’ve been a fan ever since: a mighty band, phenomenal musicians and a stage presence that defined the era”. – Simon Grigg
“It was declared Single Of The Year in 1978, and I second that emotion. The first time the Ready To Roll music video rattled the plastic of the ancient TV set in our Whanganui sitting room, I fell in love with Golden Harvest. The ladder-step disco bassline; that swooping, metallic electric guitar glide- I Need Your Love was undeniable; a subtle, slinky Maori funk boom shot from the Kaukau brothers and singer Karl Gordon. And that blue satin waistcoat? The car-aerial whammy bar on Kev Kaukau’s guitar? Karl’s curly poodle-perm hair? Icing on the cake, mate.” -Grant Smithies
“Golden Harvest were one of the most classy and musically sophisticated pop-rock bands of their era, a group that wrote songs which sounded like ready-made and enduring hits, and who made you smile.” – Graham Reid. www.elsewhere.co.nz
“South Pacific soul was alive and well in 1978. Golden Harvest’s only album is the evidence.”- Nick Bollinger
“Little Waikato towns can surprise you, ya know. Sure, everyone knows about Te Awamutu’s famous Finns. But Morrinsville? Excuse me? Yes, Morrinsville. Although Golden Harvest found their fleeting fame after they had relocated to Auckland and picked up the services of singer Karl Gordon, the Kaukau brothers, Eru, Kevin, Mervyn and Gavin – formerly the aptly named ‘Brothers’ band – briefly spread a layer of reflected glory and sparkling tinsel over the moo-heavy green paddocks of their unfashionable home town. From the glossy perfection of their Santana-like groove- based hit ‘I Need Your Love’ to their heavier, exciting, live sets performed all over the country, Golden Harvest brought an unexpected and wonderful splash of local colour and vibrancy to New Zealand’s late seventies music scene. In the process, they inspired a legion of young Kiwi musicians (myself, I watched with envy from nearby Hamilton) with the message that it didn’t matter where you came from or how ’next door’ you were. If you had the goods, then you were uber cool and you could foot it with anyone. Golden Harvest did that. It was fleeting but it was superb”. – Ian Chapman*
“Golden Harvest were part of a very successful Key Records stable of artists in the late 70s along with Th’ Dudes and our band Hello Sailor. We all benefitted from the fantastic production team of Rob Aickin and Ian Morris who turned our ideas into radio friendly songs. Golden Harvest were a great bunch of guys, strong musically courtesy of the Kaukau brothers, and had a hit with “I Need Your Love”, 1978 Single of the Year”. – Harry Lyon
“Having Golden Harvest on CD for the first time is like re acquainting yourself with a long lost and dear friend after 40 years”. – Mike Chunn