THE SECRET OF JOHN ROWLES

''Inside New Zealand: The Secret of John Rowles, screening Thursday, August 21st at 9:30pm on 3, unveils the secret life of New Zealand’s founding prince of pop – John Rowles, exposing the highs and lows of his international stardom.

John’s story began in the small logging town of Kawerau, the Bay of Plenty, where he was raised along with five sisters - Georgina, Carol, Gabrielle, Cheryl and Tania, and one brother - Frankie.

The shy teenager first appeared on stage at a local talent quest singing “All Shook Up” and taking home the first prize of five pounds (about $10).

Within five years of that fateful first performance the Kawerau kid had it all.

Top ten hits in Great Britain, USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, a long-term engagement in Hawaii that earned him over ten thousand dollars a week and the kind of lifestyle one can only dream of. But beneath the veneer cracks began to appear.

Five years in the making with unprecedented access to this show-biz legend Inside New Zealand: The Secret Of John Rowles looks at the collateral damage on John’s family, the threat of bankruptcy, the embarrassing adverts and Cheryl Moana Marie the sister who never recovered from the unwanted attention the song he named after her bought.

The documentary portrays a legend stripped bare as we celebrate a cultural icon and expose the human face behind the carefully constructed public mask.'' Throng.co.nz; 16/10/2008