| Katchafire | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | New Zealand |
| Genre: | Roots reggae |
| Years Active: | 1997–present |
| Label: | Lion House, VP/Greensleeves |
| Current Members: | Logan Bell Jordan Bell Tere Ngarua Leon Davey Wiremu Barriball Roy Kaiki |
| Past Members: | Ara Adams-Tamatea Jamey Ferguson Thompson Hohepa Haani Totorewa Grenville Bell |
Katchafire are an all Māori New Zealand roots reggae band from Hamilton, New Zealand.
Katchafire formed in Hamilton in 1997, originally as a Bob Marley tribute band.[1] The band's name derives from Catch A Fire, The Wailers' debut album. They have released six albums: Revival (2003), which featured the highest-selling New Zealand single of 2002 "Giddy Up", Slow Burning (2005) Say What You're Thinking (2007), On the Road Again (2010),[2] and the compilation Best So Far (2013) Legacy (2018).
The band has extensively toured Australia, the UK, Europe, the United States, New Caledonia, the Pacific Islands, Guam, Indonesia, Brazil including their home country of New Zealand and have played on the same bills as The Wailers, The Marley's, Steel Pulse, Third World, UB40, Shaggy, Lauryn Hill, Fiji, and Horace Andy to name a few.
The bands original line-up consisted of Founder Grenville Bell (Manager, Lead Guitar) with his two sons Logan (Vocals) Jordan (Drums), the line-up expanded to include eight members, including Jerry Taukamo (Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar), Thompson Hohepa (Lead Vocals), Hani Totorewa (Keyboards, Vocals), Bass duties went to a number of different musicians, Jhonny Fish (John Kennedy), Shocka (Shane Maraki), Tere Ngarua and Travis Te Hau.
As a result of commitments with other bands, family and religion, lead singer Jerry departed from the band Katchafire with Logan stepping into the position becoming the band's new and current lead singer.
With the addition of James "Jamey" Ferguson (Vocals, Keyboard, Saxophone) and departure of Tere Ngarua opened opportunity for Ara Adams Tamatea (Bass, Band Management) and Leonard "Leon" Davey (Percussion, Vocals) not long after which allowed Grenville Bell to step out of the Management duties and continue his role as the bands Lead Guitarist and the brand "Katchafire" was realised .
The band went through yet another change in line-up as Ara stepped down from his role as manager/bass player continuing only as the bands New Zealand booking agent, with original bass player Tere Ngarua returning and Logan taking over the band management.
The current line-up:
Former Band Members:
| Year | Album | Label | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [3] | ||||
| 2003 | Revival | Mai Music | 5 | |
| 2005 | Slow Burning | Mai/Shock | 12 | |
| 2007 | Say What You're Thinking | EMI | 5 | |
| 2010 | On the Road Again | EMI/Lion House Records | 3 | |
| 2013 | Best So Far (compilation) | VP/Greensleeves | 3 | |
| 2018 | Legacy | Universal NZ/Zojak Worldwide | 8 [4] |
Katchafire have appeared on a number of compilations since 2002 in New Zealand. The following is a list of these albums that have featured tracks by Katchafire.
| Release | Album | Label | Track | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Simply the Best Reggae Album | Warner Music | "Bounce" | |
| 2003 | The Reggae Collection | "Collie Herb Man" and "Giddy Up" | ||
| Off the Hook 3 | "Get Away" (Remix) | |||
| 2004 | Conscious Roots | "Get Away" | ||
| 2005 | Conscious Roots 2 | Capitol Music | "Frisk Me Down" | |
| 2006 | More Nature | "Giddy Up" | ||
| 2007 | Conscious Roots 4 | "This World" |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ | |||
| 2002 | "Giddy Up" | 4 | Revival |
| "Who You With" | 10 | ||
| 2003 | "Get Away" | 8 | |
| 2004 | "Rude Girl" | — | Slow Burning |
| 2005 | "Hey Girl" | — | |
| 2006 | "Frisk Me Down" | — | |
| 2007 | "Say What You're Thinking" | — | Say What You're Thinking |
| 2008 | "Love Letter" | — | |
| 2009 | "Working" | — | |
| 2010 | "Slow Down" feat. Rebel Souljahz | — | Bring Back The Days |
| "Just You & Me" feat. Na Wai | — | Non-album single | |
| "On the Road Again" | — | On the Road Again | |
| "Groove Again" | — | ||
| 2016 | "Burn It Down" | — | |
| 2017 | "Addicted" | Legacy | |
| "Way Beyond" | |||
| 2018 | "Love Today" | ||
| "100" | |||
| 2019 | "Fyah in the Trenches" | ||
| 2020 | "Circle Back" | — | rowspan="6" |
| 2021 | "Karawhiua" | — | |
| "Whaingaroa" | — | ||
| 2022 | "Always with You" | — | |
| 2024 | "Magic (What She Do)" | — | |
| "Commit" | — |