In the early 60s Ian was known as a singing-compere. By 1962 he worked in this role at the Shiralee in Auckland. Later he worked at other venues like the Top 20 & on national tours like On Stage ’64.

In 1965 with a backing band known as the Creditors he released the single ‘I’m Getting Better’. It was that year that he (along with a series of other Kiwi musicians & promoter Graham Dent) moved to Australia where he continued working as a singing-compere for a number of years. In 1967 on the Gold Coast he linked up with Auckland band The Sounds as Ian Saxon & the Sound. They recorded 2 singles ‘Home Cooking’ & ‘Brother Where Are You?’

By the early 70s he was one of three Kiwi vocalists (alongside Mick Leyton & Sheryl Black) in the high-profile Sydney jazz-rock band SCRA (Southern Contemporary Rock Assembly).

He began touring overseas artists into Australia, some through his own company, some for Frontier. One of these was with Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli & Sammy Davis Jnr. But he had another line of business. He’d been arrested & jailed in Tahiti on drugs related charges & was later arrested for bringing 10 tonnes of hashish into Australia. His notoriety increased when he escaped from Long Bay Prison in a laundry van. He was captured in the States after 2 years on the run.

After serving 13 years of a 24-year sentence in Australia he was deported to NZ. He died in Auckland last week.