Bic (pronounced Beck) Runga is an outstanding musician from New Zealand.  She has achieved 6 X platinum status in NZ for her debut album "Drive".  The album was written, performed and produced by Bic, who was only 21 at the time.  Bic spent a large portion of 1998 touring the world to promote "Drive" to much critical acclaim.

Bic grew up in a family where music and art were positively encouraged. ("Stupid hippie things that don't make money", she says with a laugh.) Her mother had been a lounge singer in Malaysian night-clubs in the '60s; her father and two older sisters also played and sang. 

Drums were eleven year old Bic's first passion; by her mid-teens she was singing with jazz groups. At school she toyed with ambitions of becoming a poet but, after taking up guitar and keyboards, channelled her muse into writing her own songs. 

While she was still attending Cashmere High School in Christchurch, Bic entered the Smokefree Rockquest in a duo called 'Love Soup'.  The duo won third place and a music contract with Pagan records.

In the pre-production stages, Bic had the invaluable assistance of legendary producer and A&R man Peter Asher (James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt), who expressed an eagerness to be involved after hearing her demos.  He helped Bic choose which of her songs to record (from a shortlist of 21), and gave expert advice on the arrangements.

Entering Auckland's Revolver Studios in May 1997, Bic completed recording in a feverish three weeks.  Bic worked with a core band of guitarist Andrew Thorne, bass player Aaron McDonald and drummer Wayne Bell, as well as playing many instruments herself: guitars, mellotron, xylophone, drums. "I'm not a great drummer", she says, "but my playing has a sort of pubescent energy that I like. My drumming is dumb, in a positive way. Sometimes session players can be too clever".

Having finished tracking the recordings in studios in Auckland, Bic then took her work to Los Angeles, hooked up with Matt Wallace (Faith No More, John Hiatt) and Wallace mixed the album - with Bic looking over his shoulder the whole way. The album was initially released in New Zealand in August 1997 and throughout the rest of the world in the year following. The album entered the New Zealand charts at #1, where it remained for a month. By the end of 1997, Drive had been in the national top ten for 20 consecutive weeks. To date it has sold 5 x Platinum, has been a fixture in the national top 40 charts for over 70 weeks and has garnered Bic Runga considerable critical acclaim: at the 1998 New Zealand Music Awards, Bic won seven major awards including Album of the Year, Single of the Year ("Sway"), Best Female Vocalist and Best Songwriter. Drive is the biggest selling album in New Zealand by a New Zealander ever.