Trevor King  QSM

Trevor King [The Master] - a stalwart of the entertainment industry - artiste, theatre and tour manager extraordinaire, seen here at ROCKONZ 2007 with Ray Columbus
Trevor King may very well have been the only person in the world to have tour-managed both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Trevor Wesley King was born in Christchurch on February 15th, 1924 and died on the day of the devastating 6.3 magnitude Christchurch earthquake on February 22nd, 2011 at the age of eighty-seven years.  He became an ice-cream boy at The Metro Theatre in 1939, worked for Australian Promoter Harry Wren for many years, became manager of The Tivoli Theatre in 1957, and managed many theatres during his long and illustrious career, eventually retiring as manager of The Avon Theatre and bringing a New Zealand show business era to an abrupt end.

Crystal Palace Theatre Cathedral Square, Christchurch

Avon Theatre, Worcester Street, Christchurch

Tivoli Theatre Cathedral Square, Christchurch

His career in films and live entertainment spanned more than half a century, and he always thought back fondly to the more than tweny years he toured the country with top name overseas stars - like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.  In Christchurch, to the children attending Saturday morning matinees for five years in the 1950s - first at The Liberty, then in The Crystal Palace, he was known as Uncle Trevor - Host of the Chums Club.  "Have bag, will travel" was his motto, and he became known as King of the Road - a familiar face accompanying overseas artists (from pop to opera performers) throughout the country as tour manager.

Trevor King on tour 1961 with Showtime Spectacular

Trevor King - The Master

Trevor King with Cabinet Minister Mabel Howard

Mayor Garry Moore, Trevor King and Dion Murphy - ROCKONZ 2007

Trevor receivs a Civic Award from Mayor Garry Moore

His reputation soon spread outside the Garden City and throughout the 1960s he toured with numerous national and international acts throughout New Zealand, including The Howard Morrison Quartet and the C'mon Shows.  He may very well have been the only person in the world to have tour-managed both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.  He was still occasionally active as late as the 1990s, tour-managing The Morrison Orpheus Choir and Al Jarreau.  Trevor King went on to receive a NZ Entertainers and Operators Association Lifetime Achievment Award in 1983 a NZ Commemorative Medal in 1990 and a Christchurch City Council Civic Award in 1998, but his ultimate accolade was the Queen's Service Medal which he was awarded in 1992.  His autobiography King of the Road was published in 2006.

Trevor King with Mr. Lee Grant

King of the Road

Trevor King with Johnny Devlin

Trevor King with his QSM awarded 1998

In 1956, with Jim and Ilene Merritt, Trevor had founded The Christchurch Teenagers Club at the Railway Hall in Sydenham.  The Christchurch Teenagers Club featured Christchurch's first Rock'n'Roll band, led by Jim and Ilene's son, Max.  The group was known as Max Merritt and The Meteors, and he managed Max though until 1963.  Other Christchurch talents to receive his assistance included Ray Columbus and The Invaders, Dinah Lee, Dave Miller and The Byrds, Peter Nelson and The Castaways, and many, many more.

Trevor King and the gang from the Christchurch Teenagers Club