11 Songs That Were Far Better Than The Movies They Were Made For
5. Slice Of Heaven - Footrot Flats
While not a massive success worldwide, Dave Dobbyn’s single is one of the biggest songs to come out of New Zealand, Lorde songs notwithstanding. Dobbyn, formerly of psychedelic rock band Split Enz, created a tune with an iconic chant (Na, na na, na. Na, na, na, na, na) that became synonymous with not just Dobbyn’s music style, but NZ music as a whole.
Many a Kiwi artist tried to replicate this gold formula without getting near the catchy and upbeat nature of Dobbyn’s hit. If you’ve ever seen ad advert for visiting New Zealand, it’s likely that this song will have played in the background.
The song ticked all the boxes as a promotional song for an upcoming film, but just not for the daggy cartoon it was promoting. Footrot Flats was largely shown in New Zealand and Australia as a double feature with the smash hit Crocodile Dundee, another strange choice considering the varying target audience.
The animated film received decent reviews and was a moderate commercial success off the coattails of Dundee’s popularity, but financially and critically it failed to have the impact that the iconic Dobbyn smash had. Its animation was very simplistic and seems quite dated when viewed today, where as Dobbyn’s anthem is a timeless classic that remains the unofficial national anthem for NZ. Now there’s a tune I’d gladly stand for!