Kim Hill often asks the questions I’ve never asked but meant to. This morning she missed one in her interview with blues musician Dave Murphy.

I loved his pieces, but must Blues singers always sing in American? It’s fine when they are American, but to me there is an irritating ‘try-hard’ overtone when they’re Kiwis.

Is it just me? When I was a child kids affected American accents to seem tough, like cowboys.  "Skiting" was a cardinal sin in those days, and Americans were skites by definition.

Is the accent a  genre rule for the Blues? What happens to those who break the rules and sing in Kiwi?