Ray Columbus pays homage to the songwriter of the iconic Number 1 Australasian smash hit

Ray Columbus is extremely sad to report that the songwriter of Ray Columbus & The Invaders 1964 hit, ‘She’s A Mod’, has passed away. Terry Beale died peacefully in the UK at home in Redditch, Midlands. Born on September 20, 1944, Beale was the lead singer and songwriter in a Birmingham band called The Senators. ‘She’s A Mod’ was never a hit for The Senators but they were a part of the new wave of British invasion bands that arose in the early 1960s. Their line-up included the future Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.

Jack Argent, the song publisher of The Beatles in Australia, offered ‘She’s A Mod’ to Ray Columbus & The Invaders and the band made the song a national sensation. The song was a perfect fit for Columbus, who had made the ‘Mod’s Nod’ dance infamous in Australia as they sought to counter the ‘Surf’s Stomp’. The song quickly rose to Number 1 in New Zealand and Australia and reached the top 100 charts in the United States. Ray Columbus & The Invaders were the first New Zealand band to achieve this.

Penguin New Zealand is pleased to be releasing a tell-all biography, Ray Columbus: The Modfather – The Life and Times of a Rock ’n’ Roll Pioneer, in July 2011. Ray Columbus, with Margie Thomson, will really knock his ‘Mr Clean’ persona with a book that will tell Columbus’s real story for the first time.

Ray Columbus and Terry Beale remained friends throughout their careers and Columbus was deeply saddened by the news of his friends passing. Beale died March 15, 2011 and his memorial service was held March 29, 2011.