Sir John Rowles, of Auckland, KNZM, for services to entertainment
Sir John Rowles is an internationally renowned singer and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 for his services to the music industry.
Since this appointment Sir John performed in the United States and the United Kingdom and has continued to perform in New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii. He was part of a Royal Command Performance for Her Majesty The Queen in 1981. He performed a one off show for charity at the Aotea Centre in Auckland in 1990. His 1994 to 1995 nationwide tour ‘Toys for Tots’ raised money for underprivileged children in New Zealand. He funded and performed the Project Hope Tour in 2007 to raise awareness for issues such as teenage suicide. More recently he has had a cameo role in the 2008 film ‘Second-Hand Wedding’, was selected to compete in the 2009 ‘Dancing With the Stars’, and has performed at the New Zealand Music Awards. He performed a farewell tour in 2011 before returning to the stage in 2014 for his ‘I’m Back Again’ Australian tour. Sir John released his autobiography ‘If I Only Had Time’ in 2012 and his anthology album of the same name in 2013.