Beautiful Life A

'A Beautiful Life' (2005) was well received in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Japan, with sales of more than 10,000 units. Mumsdollar toured extensively on the success of 'A Beautiful Life' - performing to crowds of over 10,000, both at home and abroad - and so it came as no surprise to their many fans that the album was a finalist at the 2006 New Zealand Music Awards.

Mumsdollar are Ben Claxton on lead vocals, Dave Barr on guitar and backing vocals, Tim Beale on drums, and brothers Pete Wood, on guitars, and Steve Wood on bass and backing vocals. They are based in South Auckland and have been playing together for over 6 years. During that time Mumsdollar have toured the USA, Australia and New Zealand, and have independently released four CDs and two music videos. Their first recording, For Christ's Sake , came out in 2001, followed by Eastern Time in 2002. After numerous re-runs, and a re-release of Eastern Time in 2004, both recordings have completely sold out. Early in 2005 Mumsdollar released their A Beautiful Life EP, followed later that year with a full-length album version of the same title. Predictably, both releases have sold well thanks to their extensive fan base, built up through consistent live performances.

Nevertheless', the first track from A Beautiful Life , was produced by Malcolm Welsford and funded by NZ on Air, as was the music video. The song was released on Indie Hit Disc No. 32 and was well received at radio, with The Rock featuring it on their kiwi music show Off The Record'. The music video was similarly well received and charted several times on C4's Select Top 5. 2005 also saw Mumsdollar's first performances in America, having won a worldwide competition to perform on the mainstage at Cornerstone Festival 05, Illinois. Mumsdollar played alongside headline acts Anberlin, Dead Poetic and Switchfoot. While in the States, Tim received an endorsement from Truth Custom Drums; the track A Biography' from A Beautiful Life was played on various indie radio stations, registering in the Top 10 Countdown on the Life100 network; and negotiations were entered into with a US management company.

The second single A Biography', from A Beautiful Life , was released early March 2006 on the NZ on Air Kiwi Hit Disc No.80, with a music video directed by Ivan Slavov of the Independent Film Company of New Zealand. Mumsdollar's plans for 2006 also included ongoing touring, and the release of a live performance DVD filmed before an audience of over 20,000.