SPLA : Portal to cultural diversity
Cultures-Png

Wahgi Hellcats

© Rex
Genre : Band
Principal country concerned : Column : Music
Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea

THE WAHGI HELLCATS was a famous rock band in the Papua New Guinea music industry well before the Australian flag was lowered in 1975.


The band was humbly born in the Minj area of the Jiwaka Province in December 1973. The founder was a self-taught musician who started with a ukulele in 1963.



Pat Siwi was only 18 years old when he started the band and since then he has become a household name. He is now among PNG's top music icons, just like the late John Wong, George Telek and Henry Peni.  His Wahgi Hellcats also sits comfortably among other top bands like Barike, Painim Wok, April Sun and Sirosis.



Pat did his last live performance in 1988 and then settled down to build a recording studio. In 1991 he launched the Kumul studio in Goroka and started recording a few of the individual musicians and bands throughout the country.

Partners

  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS
  • Pascoe Promotions

With the support of