From music school to The Hollies, through the UK & back.

Having achieved a gold record, an APRA Silver Scroll nomination, and represented his country at the Yamaha World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, David then dedicated the next three years to full-time music study at Wellington Polytechnic.

David's professional life during the 1980s was marked by significant growth, and his personal life saw a major milestone in 1982 when he married Pauline.

Throughout the 1980s, under the management of Lew Pryme, he established himself as a versatile performer with show & musical-theatre engagements around the country. He toured as the solo support act for international acts The Hollies, Leo Sayer, The Irish Rovers, Richard Clayderman and The Troggs.

His artistic range was further evidenced by his participation in the National Opera of New Zealand's 1982 production of The Rise & Fall of the City of Mahagonny. His contributions to the entertainment industry were formally acknowledged in 1983 when he was voted Rising Star of the Year by the NZ Entertainment Operators Association. His profile as an adult entertainer in the national media was elevated further in 1985 when he appeared in the TVNZ production commemorating 25 Years of Television in New Zealand.

David was also an accomplished cricketer. He was a member of the Auckland representative cricket squad in the early '80s — a strong period in Auckland cricket where the side included six current members of the NZ international team. Although cricket was, and still is, a big part of David's life, music was always going to win the heart-stakes.

In 1985 David put away his cricket gear and left New Zealand for England with his wife Pauline, where they remained until the mid-'90s entertaining in various music venues in and around London. He spent six months touring England in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

A significant highlight of his time in London was collaborating with world-class musicians, including regular residencies and freelance performances in small venues around Covent Garden. During this period he frequently performed in an acoustic guitar & vocal duo setting with Greg Carmichael, an original member of the Grammy-nominated instrumental ensemble Acoustic Alchemy. In the late '80s David performed three Foyer Concerts at The Southbank Centre, part of the London Royal Festival Hall.

In 1994, David and his family decided to move back to Auckland, New Zealand, from the UK. Upon returning, he supported his family through live performances and singing national commercial jingles — demonstrating his versatility as both a performer and a session vocalist across radio and television.

In 2003 EMI released the child catalogue as The Very Best of David Curtis on CD.

EMI · Very Best of · 2003

In 2008 he appeared in Rocked the Nation, a documentary screened in prime time on the Media Works C4 television network — six one-hour shows featuring 100 key moments in Kiwi music history.