'Darling sister': Dame Jools Topp celebrated in laughter and song
Dame Jools Topp has been celebrated today by members of the public, fellow artists, friends and family at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland.
Dame Jools died on May 25, aged 68, after living with breast cancer for 22 years.
She was one half of the well-known comedic singing duo the Topp Twins who, along with her sister Dame Lynda, entertained Kiwis for more than 40 years.
Both revealed they were being treated for breast cancer in March 2022. Dame Jools was first diagnosed in 2006.
The event, attended via free tickets available to the public, featured speeches and songs from guests including Dame Lynda, Helen Clark, Tami Neilson and Neil Finn.
Miriama Kamo, who was the event MC, said the event was a celebration, rather than a memorial.
“Jools Topp said 'what is the point in life if you’re not having fun?' and she knew fun. Who else would describe their basic training at Burnham Military Camp as a ‘pyjama party with guns?’”
Kamo invited those attending to “laugh, to cry and, especially, to sing” at the celebration – and thanked a list of politicians attending, before noting the absence of Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith.
Dame Lynda followed Kamo’s opener to loud applause.
'You will never be forgotten' – Dame Lynda Topp
“This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, is say goodbye to my beautiful twin,” Dame Lynda said.
Dame Lynda shared her experience as a caregiver during the last year of Dame Jools’ life, along with her last day she died.
“We were all instructed to pull a card, and to place it on her where we stood.
“The person at the top of her head pulled creativity, the person next gratitude, then trust. Willingness, peace, light, love, honesty, truth, purpose, balance, openness, compassion and kindness.
“I know there are a few politicians in the room, and perhaps from today on we take all of those words and run our country with them.
“Because I can tell you right now we can bring together more people than any political party with those words, and we have shown we can do it in three weeks, right here, right now.”
“If you want a good political campaign, you will hire me as your advisor,” she said to cheers.
Dame Lynda also explained the instructions to lay her twin sister on the top of a hill at her farm, naked, after she had died.
“They said, ‘what if we drop her?’ I said ‘we’ll have to get the neighbours to bring her back because she’ll end up in their paddock.'
“I did almost say that we all had to be naked, but then we realised the neighbours could see from across the hill. We had a moment where we let her soak in her beloved farm.”
Dame Lynda said the next day when she was about to dress her sister with the funeral services team, they'd turned her over to find “there, stuck in her bum crack, was the most beautiful piece of horse grass you’ve ever seen.”
She then exchanged looks with the funeral services team and said: “That’s staying.”
“She took a little bit of her farm with her,” she added, to laughter.
Dame Lynda finished her remarks later and said: “I will miss you forever, I will love you forever, and you will never, ever be forgotten.”
'Darling sister' – Bruce Topp
The twins’ older brother, Bruce Topp, said Jools was “kind and generous and funny and forgiving and intelligent”.
“Not necessarily all at the same time, but you get the picture. Ride well on your horse into the sunset darling sister Jools.”
'The very best of who we are' – Helen Clark
Former Prime Minister Helen Clark was the next speaker and said, “together Jools and Lynda told our stories through their songs and satire”.
“They had a reach right across our town and country because they reflected who we are… they left us in stitches every time they appeared.
“The Topps' talent led them to music and the stage, but they never forgot where they came from.”
Clark shared a memory of the twins’ 60th birthday celebration in London in 2018, where they performed to a “largely expat” audience.
“Many said how homesick it made them feel… so many here today will have their very special memories of Jools and Jools and Lynda performing together.
“It is very hard to accept that this will never happen again. But what an incredible legacy this is. Jools was taken from us far too young, but the celebration of life today is about honouring an incredible human being who touched so many lives including mine.
“Jools and Lynda represent the very best of who we are, and Jools will never be forgotten. Rest in peace.”
'The Che Guevaras of the Pakeha lesbian movement'
Prominent Māori activist Mereana Pitman described the twins as “the Che Guevaras of the Pakeha lesbian movement”.
Pitman thanked the twins for their support of kaupapa Māori.
“Great revolutionaries taught me not to be afraid. Don’t be afraid. We all faced our fears in those times and facing your fear makes you have more courage.
“Jools was brave. She was courageous, she was great to my babies. My girl and my son love her for that.”
‘I just wanted to thank you’ – Dame Jools Topp
Kamo then said a message would be played from Dame Jools which had not been seen before – which was recorded before her death.
She then appeared on the screen to deliver the message: “Right now I just wanted to tell you I love you. I loved everything you gave us over the years. You are truly wonderful, and have been forever and ever.”
“I really hold you in my heart, because you were the ones who kept us there, who kept us motivated who kept us writing songs, who made us laugh and held our breath until the laughter couldn’t hold anymore and then out it came.
“Laughter kept us going, and all the times you clapped and cheered and bought albums, and kept us alive. I just wanted to thank you, for being all our greatest fans. Love you, forever, in my heart.”
Jools' message to her sister
In remarks aimed at her surviving twin sister, Dame Jools added: “I miss you.
“I know that you struggled a little bit when I left and that was OK, because you needed to have a moment to let go of me, to let it be OK, and know that I’m not really anywhere, but still by your side every minute of the day.
"So when you hear the wind blow, or you hear the line of your reel hit the water as it hits the South Island lake, and the trout’s waiting patiently for it, or the wind just touches your ear, and you feel a little chill, that’s me.
“It's me reminding you that I’ll always love you forever, and it will never go away. So my darling, stay strong. I will love you until the cows come home.”
She then let out a “moo”, to laughter from the audience.
Dame Lynda then took to the stage again, and said "there would always be a tiny hole in my heart that can never be filled again" without her sister.
"I will try my hardest to carry on my sister's legacy. As I've said to the political team here today, I am available as your advisor for an election year in 2026," she added, to applause.
"There are thousands of lesbians out there ready to march for a different country. There are hippies, there are suits, there are people who go, 'how are we gonna get by next week in this country?' New Zealand, do not let that happen. Make your statement at the voting stations. Make your statement. Honour Jools Topp and lets make New Zealand a much better, a much fairer, a much caring country."
She acknowledged those from the Labour Party, Green Party, and Te Pāti Māori who were "here".
"The other one's aren't. Let's make sure, it doesn't really matter what your beliefs are and what you believe in. But lets make it a much better place for the next generation."