offshore from Auckland in the Hauraki Gulf, a deliberate move that allowed them to circumnavigate restrictive broadcasting legislation and broadcast their own playlist. This in part spearheaded the way for the gradual deregulation of the radio industry. Towards the end of the 1960s radio stations like Radio Hauraki, and later Radio I, were playing exclusively rock and pop music to a teenage and young adult audience. The 1960s also witnessed a dramatic rise in locally written and recorded popular music. However many pop bands and performers of the time also released their own versions or "covers" of hits by overseas artists. It was an era when vinyl reigned supreme and teenagers queued outside local music and record shops to buy the latest hit singles. The Fourmyula's "Nature", written by Wayne Mason in 1969, still retains considerable popularity and was voted the top New Zealand song of the last 75 years in 2001. In Christchurch, Max Merritt and the Meteors played regularly at The Teenage Club, and achieved iconic status in New Zealand with their songs "Get a Haircut" and "C’mon Let’s Go". Ray Columbus & the Invaders were influenced by the early 1960s work of Cliff Richard and the Beatles. Columbus styled his band on the mod look and they were noted for their Fender equipment and vivid blue suits. After the Beatles toured New Zealand in 1964 Ray Columbus & the Invaders had a number one hit in Australia and New Zealand in 1964 with their cover version of "She's a Mod", a song by The Senators. 1970s In contrast to the 1960s, relatively few New Zealand groups released records. In 1976, six million records were sold, with only seven singles and four albums from local performers reaching the Top 50. The following year eight singles and three albums charted, but overall record sales dropped to five and a half million. Some of the more influential rock bands in the 1970s were Th' Dudes (whose guitarist Dave Dobbyn formed DD Smash in the 1980s), Dragon, Hello Sailor and Split Enz, fronted by Tim Finn, and later, his brother Neil Finn who went on to form Crowded House. The first punk rock bands – including the Suburban Reptiles and the Scavengers – formed in Auckland in the late 1970s and were soon followed by groups in Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin. With guitarist Alec Bathgate, Knox formed the Tall Dwarfs and,