Coldplay changed my life! OUR GEORGIA'S GOING PLACES

Singing an original to frontman Chris turned her career from Yellow to gold!

-  Fleur Guthrie

Were you a kid who enjoyed taking piano lessons?

No! I started learning at eight because we had a piano at home that I would tutu away on. The lessons were theory-based, which I really struggled with. I wanted to play chords, and I remember taking my teacher a Brooke Fraser song and saying, “I'd like to learn this,” but she said, “We don’t learn chords here.” So I stopped and picked up the guitar instead.

I found myself drawn to playing piano again at high school when I took music as a subject. I would have carried on with the theory if I could do the things I wanted to learn on the side – and I remembered that when I became a teacher.

Share a memory from busking with your younger brother Mackenzie.

Mack is four years younger and he could play the guitar as well. He also had the cute factor. We figured out that if we busked when the cruise ships were in port, it could be quite lucrative. So we parked ourselves next to the ATM on the main street of Mount Maunganui and sang Maroon 5 hits. Mack would get tired and go home while I carried on, but he'd argue over wanting a half-share of the profits!

When did you realise you wanted to pursue music?

It was during my last year of primary school, when High School Musical came out. I decided to re-enact the Breaking Free scene with characters Troy and Gabriella for a school talent quest. I borrowed a white lab coat from the science department.

I remember it being a very significant event, even though I sang nasally trying to mimic Britney Spears.

What was the first concert you attended and how did it impact you?