By Laura Frykberg
When Supermodel drummer Tony Kemp first met lead vocalist Mark Hanify in 2008, it was a shared love of a rock royal which led them to form a band.
“He had a Queen poster on his wall and I think he felt quite embarrassed and said, ‘I used to be a fan,’ not realising I was a big Queen fan as well, and our bass player Mike was in a Queen tribute band before we got together, so there was this real strong Queen thing happening,” says Kemp.
Four years later the group released their debut album, ‘To the Mountains’. Their self described "epic rock" sound had been fine tuned through countless Queen covers, but finding a similarly epic name wasn't so easy.
“We had some silly name like Tomato Sauce but we weren't really into it, but they rung us up about this gig and said look we need a proper name and our mate walked in reading Woman's Day and said why don't you call it Supermodel? We were a little unsure but it kind of stuck,” says Hanify.
The band is currently working on new material which steers away from the Freddie Mercury influence, but at their weekly rehearsal Hanify showed he's got the range to match the master.
“I don't drink alcohol anymore, so I actually find Coca-Cola is the best thing for my voice. All the singing coaches will be frowning at me right now,” he says.
But Kemp says he's far less virtuous – cider is what will be getting him through the group's Wellington gig on Saturday.
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