The Telegraph - February 12, 2008

They were dancing in the streets of Wellington last night - okay, so I made that bit up - after the news that the comedy duo better known as the Flight of the Conchords has become the first Kiwis to win a Grammy since Dame Kiri Te Kanawa more than 20 years ago.

If you haven't seen The Conchords, you should. They're a pair of marginally talented folk singers with a terrible manager trying to make it big in the London and New York alternative music scenes.

What intrigues me is how these two - Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie - are regarded in New Zealand. I've really not been around long enough to know, but having asked around a bit today most people seem to have never heard of them.

I'm not completely surprised by this since in many respects the joke of The Conchords is kind of on the more 'rustic' - for want of a phrase - side of New Zealand.

I seem to remember an Australian friend telling me that when Dame Edna Everage was filling the stalls in all those cringe-making Royal Variety Performances of the 1970s, the 'Queen of the Gladioli' wasn't too big back home in 'her' native Oz.

Is that the same with the Conchords? The NZ TV stations and websites have all faithfully reported the Conchord's great achievement, but somehow I get the feeling that it's not with unequivocal love and affection.

Perhaps a Kiwi reader out there can set me straight.

PS...in keeping with their style the two Conchords learned of the award 'on the internet' in their native Wellington, eschewing the bright lights of an LA Award ceremony.

"I wish my grandmothers were still alive," said Bret McKenzie, "They would be so proud and I could call them and say, `Granny, I've won a Grammy.