The Maori Troubadours were a Māori-based showband which performed in Australia and Southeast Asia, beginning in 1958 and continuing well into the 1960s.[1] [2] The three original members were Prince Tui Latui (aka Tui Teka),[3] Matt Tenana and Johnny Kealoah (real name Johnny Nicol).[4] Drummer Neville Turner joined the band not long after its inception. They were a popular act, playing at Chequers and the Rex Hotel (Sydney), the Theatre Royal (Brisbane) as well as a host of centres on the Australian country show circuit. They also toured as support band with the Mickey Mouse Show and the Harlem Globetrotters.
Johnny Nicol became a solo performer, playing throughout the US and England in the late 1960s, and Southeast Asia in the 1970s. He is recognised as one of the finest jazz singer-guitarists in Australia. Originally from North Queensland he currently lives on the Gold Coast and is still performing regularly both solo and with various jazz/swing bands.