• Home
• Magazine
• Blog & Podcast
• Idealog TV
• Directory
• Celsias

• Business Magazine of the Year MPA Awards 2007, 2008 & 2009 Business Website of the Year MPA Awards 2009

What I've learned about ... staying forever young

Peter Urlich, one-time singer of 80s rockers Th’ Dudes, played at a baby boomer reunion over summer for Radio Hauraki’s 40th anniversary. Yet each morning 20- and 30-something hipsters tune into his George FM breakfast show and teen ravers line up for his dance parties at the weekend. How does Urlich keep up with the kids?

Idealog July/August, page 96. Photograph by Bruce Nicholson

Don’t be a grumpy bugger

“It’s hard not to when your values and crucial learning experiences come from another era. It’s difficult to accept what’s new, but you’ve got to keep reminding yourself that it’s an evolution and there will always be a generation gap—there has to be. Getting worked-up makes you look foolish. You just have to think, ‘Young people, doncha love ’em.’”

Don’t try to please everyone at once

“Follow your instincts and trust them. I try to remain true to myself. Some people find it difficult that I play this doof-doof oonst-oonst stuff—a few friends from Th’ Dudes days can’t work it out, but you can’t please everyone all the time. My friends know I can rock, others know I can jazz or swing.”

Do what you love

“My whole life I’ve done what I enjoy. I’ve turned down opportunities that would have made me money. People say to me ‘If only …’ but that irks me a bit. I have a fantastic time and I continue to have a fantastic time. If you’re doing something you don’t love, it’ll give you cancer. I mean that figuratively—so many people do things they don’t enjoy. I’m fortunate enough to make a living out of being creative. If it meant scraping by, I would still do it. If I were unhappy I wouldn’t be successful.”

Act on your ideas

“Idealog’s ‘rich with ideas’ is a lovely strapline. I am, would you believe it, rich with ideas! I’ve done things with a few of my ideas, but not enough, and that’s one area where I’m disappointed in myself. I exhort anybody reading this to have the conviction to follow their better ideas through.”

Move on with suspicious minds

“I’m constantly inquiring about things. If I heard something when I was younger that I didn’t know about, like a song, I’d always look it up. I’d get more vivid colours, a more complete picture. It fuelled my imagination.”

Let the ego land

“You have to believe in yourself. Even if you’re a talentless git, if you get up and back yourself 100 percent people are going to take notice and maybe give you a clap. It’s hard here because people are naturally unassuming and find it hard to have ego. Ego is a dirty word in New Zealand. I was called a show-off at school but I pushed on past that, because I knew I enjoyed what I was doing. Self-doubt is the constant companion of creativity, but it has to remain with you alone. You don’t share self-doubt. I wake up in the middle of the night and think, ‘Oh God, I’m in the public spotlight and people are going to think that I’m a wanker.’ So I wrote it on my shirt—before somebody else did.”

— As told to Lauren Bartlett

Comments

Jared Bothwell

June 30, 2007 at 6:15 am

“...back yourself 100 percent people are going to take notice and maybe give you a clap.” Helpful family planning advice from Peter!

Matt Cooney

June 30, 2007 at 9:24 am

Would make another handy t-shirt message, too.

Add your comment

HTML will be removed. Web addresses will be automatically hyperlinked.

Anonymous comments are queued before publishing and may take some time to appear. Or you can create an account and your comment will bypass our bureaucracy.

Your comment Name Email (hidden) Website Security check

Tweeted

Overheard

• steer seo on Bigger, faster, more productive:
  It's got to be good for online retailers selling to the US. They will be able to offer a better multi-media experience.
• Mark on Bigger, faster, more productive:
  Fantastic! Finally some vision in establishing a key infrastructure to support New Zealand's future prosperity and commercial competitiveness. Good work Rod, Sam and Steve - your country thanks you for your patriotism!  …
• Margaret Holmes on NZ Institute thumbs down Key's agenda:
  Unfortunately it is not just red tape - it is also the laid back kiwi attitude, compounded by educators who think achieving national standards is a bad thing.
• Tim Marshall on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
  The target of higher GDP per capita is all wrong. Aiming for it encourages more production and consumption, often at the expense of quality of life. We need to construct a Genuine Progress Index (GPI) to guide policy. Fr  …
• Peter McL on New note:
  "You got caught up in events at EMI.." and yet shes STILL with EMI - their local branch is distributing her new album. Wonder why?
  
  I blogged some more of Hollies comments on the details behind the fallout  …
• Phil Wollerman on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
  Brilliant, insightful article, VH.
  
  This situation has principally arisen because - simplistically - the world no longer wants what we are intrinsically advantaged in supplying.
  
  And yeah, it doesn't look like our co  …

• Back to top
• Looking for something else? Check the site map
• © 2005–2010 Idealog. All rights reserved. ISSN 1179–3465