Daniel Rae Costello

Daniel Rae Costello (born 1961 in Suva) is a Pacific musician currently based in Samoa. His mother, Jessie Rae was of a Samoan, Rotuman and Scottish descent whereas his father, Dan Costello, was Irish and both were born in Fiji. He was brought up in Tavua. His father owned a cattle ranch. He moved with his family to Lautoka since he was 5 and has been there since. He and his younger brother Vince started a band called The Fleet Swingers when he was in Grade 7. His brother was the lead singer.

Personal life

He, along with his brother, attended high school in Whangarei, New Zealand. While in New Zealand, he took much interest in rugby, soccer, and generic athletics, and represented North Auckland in the "Under 17" soccer team. He completed his last year of school in Suva, Fiji, at Marist Brothers High School, where he won the school's talent contest for that year. He was later asked to perform at Suva Grammar School as a guest artist, and there met his future wife, Corrina.

After winning a few talent contests, he joined a small group called The Beachcomber Boys who performed daily at the Beachcomber Island Resort.

Music

In 1979 he recorded his first solo-album called "Tropical Sunset" which wasn't much of a success but a year later, his album, Lania which was a huge success in Fiji and around the pacific. After his mother died in 1985, he changed his name to Daniel Rae Costello. He moved to Australia a few years later because of the 1987 Coup where he wrote two songs, Samba and Take me to the Island and returned to Fiji and started his own Studio and Production Suite called "Tango Sound Productions" and recorded his first big hit album, Samba. Since 1978, he has recorded 30 albums to date in the last 30 years. He is now an accomplished songwriter, composer, arranger, audio engineer, vocalist, musician and producer in the pacific region. He recently recorded an album with Toni Willé from the Dutch group Pussycat, called Let The World Sing. The first single, originally a hit for Pussycat Georgie gained numerous airplays on Fiji radio.

Discography

Albums

• 1979 Tropical Sunset
• 1980 Lania
• 1993 Jungle Walk (WMR)
• 2004 The Beach Party
• 2007 Moondance
• 2008 Let The World Sing
• Footprints In The Sand
• Wind Of Change
• Calypso Man