How Bizarre frontman's tragic life of crime, gangs and his tragic early death

20 October 2023 , 07:30

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How Bizarre frontman's tragic life of crime, gangs and his tragic early death

It's been 13 years since the death of New Zealand star and OMC frontman, Pauly Fuemana, who sang one of the biggest hits of the '90s. How Bizarre reached number one in six countries and spent 36 weeks on the US Billboard Mainstream Top 40.

But despite his rise to stardom, Pauly's life was often filled with tragedy and despair, culminating in his death in 2010 aged just 40. Pauly was born in one of New Zealand's poorest communities and found himself mixed up with gangs, the police and petty crime.

But Pauly always had an enthusiasm for music, and while he was in youth prison, he formed the rap group Otara Millionaires Club with his older brothers Phil and Paul. The name referred to the low socio-economic status of the suburb.

Pauly had many tattoes which were influenced during his time in gangs (Getty Images)

OMC performing in London, 1997 (Getty Images)

At first, the group started out with a rap style then had soon adapted to make music with a South Pacific style. Musician and producer, Alan Jansson saw potential in OMC, and started recording with the trio. They signed to an independent label called Huh Records released How Bizarre as single and the title of their debut album in 1995 which got them worldwide fandom.

Pauly was often called a one hit wonder, as his other songs never reached the status of How Bizarre. In 1998 he fell out with Alan Jansson over royalties, putting an end to OMC. In 2005, Phil died from a heart attack aged just 41. A year later, Pauly filed for bankruptcy despite attempting to put out new songs.

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His brother Tony once said: "He went from nothing to having all this fame dumped on him and he was meant to cope with it all himself." Pauly was subsequently diagnosed with progressive demyelinating polyneuropathy, which is an auto-immune disorder similar to multiple sclerosis. He died of respiratory failure in 2010, leaving behind his wife and six children.

Serena Richards