THE LA DE DA'S

The band which eventually became The La De Da's was started by three young musicians from the rural Huapai district, near Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. Friends Kevin Borich, Brett Neilson and Trevor Wilson were all from Rutherford High School in Te Atatū. The Mergers formed in late 1963 as a Shadows-style instrumental group and began playing local dances and school socials, but The Beatles' visit in June 1964, and the emergence of The Rolling Stones, crystallised the need for change of style and a lead singer. Trevor Wilson suggested a friend from nearby Mt Albert Grammar School, Phil Key, who joined as vocalist and rhythm guitarist.

The group decided that The Mergers failed to reflect the toughness of their music, so began searching for another name. One promoter even changed their name to The Gonks for an early 1965 gig at a summer carnival. They decided on The Criminals, but Key's mother was not impressed and after rehearsals one night at the Wilson house, she jokingly suggested instead that they call themselves "something nice, like the la-de-das ...". Key loved it and the name stuck.

By early 1965 their weekend hobby had taken off and they were getting regular bookings on Auckland's booming dance circuit. In April 1965, NZBC producer Robert Handlin heard the group and offered them a strange deal. He wanted someone to sing the title to a new movie that was being released that he was featuring on his show. In return he would finance, produce and release a one-off single for the group. The song they had to sing was "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines". They went through with it because of the deal and also for the television exposure. They dressed in black suits, white shirts, bow ties and bowler hats and mimed the song in prime time on national network television. Handlin liked their performance enough to offer them a recording session to release one single.

Borich was only seventeen at the time and he wrote "Ever Since That Night" and co-wrote the other song "Little Girl" with Trevor. The single was released on the Talent City Label in June 1965 and although both songs were originals in the Rolling Stones R&B style, the single went absolutely nowhere and these days is extremely rare.

In January 1966, Eldred Stebbing invited the band to record a couple of songs he had from the US that he thought could be local hits. The songs featured an organ, which is why he was interested in hearing the group play them. Because the songs were so obscure, there seems to be some contention as to whether the songs were by the Blues Magoos or the Changin' Times. The songs were "How Is The Air Up There" and "Pied Piper". The single came out on the Phillips label in late February and was an instant hit with Auckland teenagers. On May 13 the song entered the recently started New Zealand Hit Parade, eventually peaking at #4. For the next two years, nobody in New Zealand could rival them for popularity and record sales

They toured the country extensively before releasing their follow-up single. It was a Howard-Wilson original called "Don't You Stand In My Way" backed with "I Take What I Want". The single was a dismal failure and didn't even chart, prompting Stebbing to insist on another cover for the next release.

They chose a John Mayall song called "On Top Of The World". The single was released in November 1966 with "Hey Girl" on the reverse and before long it was #2 on the National charts. Now with two hits behind them, Eldred Stebbing offered the group residency at his nightclub, the Galaxie. They accepted and the fashion-conscious band adopted a Mod image, setting Auckland trends with their tartan trousers, satin shirts and buckle shoes. In November '66 "How Is The Air Up There?" reached the finals of the Loxene Golden Disc and recorded their debut album of covers, which was released in time for Christmas 1966, it immediately sold out of its first pressing.

Keyboard player Claude Papesch introduced them to Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby" and predicted it would be a surefire hit for them. They cut it immediately, released it as their next single in February, and resulted in their first #1 hit in March 1967. In April they released their classic 'Stupidity' EP. Like their debut album, the songs were all proven stage favourites: "Stupidity", "Coming Home", the Young Rascals’ "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" and Otis Redding's "Respect". 

While preparing for their second album, Trevor Wilson started developing what would later be called "rock opera". For the basis of the piece he chose to adapt Oscar Wilde's classic tale The Happy Prince. At this point, Bruce Howard was his only ally in the band, but together they started to piece the work together. This was the seed of later divisions within the band. The second LP, 'Find Us A Way' showed the band moving away from their R&B roots and taking in new influences from acts like The Spencer Davis Group, who were themselves starting to move away from their earlier style. This album contained some original compositions as well as stage favourites. Although they were apparently unhappy about not being not consulted over the final track selection or the cover art, it also sold very well.

May 1967 was The La De Da's' first trip to Australia. The trip included a week-long engagement at Ward Austin's Jungle disco, followed by a support slot on the shows at the Sydney Stadium by The Easybeats, who had just returned from the UK. The band were told to clean up their image, so they had their near-shoulder-length hair trimmed back. In following publicity, the band were pitched at the teenage market, a ploy which did not sit comfortably with them."All Purpose Low"/"My Girl", was released in June and went to #3 on the NZ charts, followed in August by "Rosalie"/"Find Us A Way" which reached #5.

On the eve of their second visit to Australia, drummer Brett Neilson left the group. He was replaced by Bryan Harris, drummer with The Action. In February 1968, The La De Da's made their second trip to Australia, gaining a reputation for uncompromising and flamboyant live shows on the Sydney circuit. Now dubbed "The Beautiful La De Da's" they were at the forefront of Australian psychedelia.In June, Bryan Harris left and he was replaced by Keith Barber, from The Wild Cherries. In August, they made their second trip to Melbourne and they packed out venues around the city. The direct result was their winning the vote as "Best Australian Disco Act" in the 1968 Go-Set Pop Poll in December.

Jimmy Stewart, an expatriate English producer, had recently set up a new independent label, Sweet Peach. Stewart approached the La De Da's with an offer to record and release 'The Happy Prince' in late 1968. The band began intensive rehearsals in preparation for recording at Bill Armstrong's Melbourne studio. But by November the label had pulled out and the deal collapsed. It was at this point that Melbourne identity Adrian Rawlins came to their rescue. At a gig at the Here Disco in North Sydney; he exhorted the band not to give up on the project and his enthusiasm convinced Trevor Wilson to give it one more try. Gathering support from Widmer and Cordon Bleu, Barry Kimberly of publishers Essex Music and the EMI label, Rawlins and Widmer managed to stitch together a deal to record the album.

Overseen by David Woodley-Page, 'The Happy Prince' was recorded over four weeks in early 1969. The process of "bouncing down" — dubbing a completed 4-track recording onto one track of another tape was susceptible to the buildup of noise on the master tape. However, 'The Happy Prince' effectively became Australia's first 8-track recording, achieved by recording onto on two Scully half-inch, 4-track recorders that were electronically synchronised. This de facto 8-track method provided much greater scope for multitracking and overdubbing and a considerable improvement in overall sound quality. The band released 'The Happy Prince' in April 1969. Hailed as the first Australian concept album, the ambitious LP was a suite of songs co-written by Howard and Wilson. Rave reviews from critics failed to transfer into sales, and the band came close to splitting after its release.

Their next tour was to England. Their Traffic covers carried little weight on Traffic's home turf, so they abandoned touring to record new material. They performed a few well-received shows at London's Stax Club, the Corn Exchange and at clubs in Birmingham, but the gigs soon dried up. They left England to perform a month of poorly paid gigs in France. Leaving Wilson in the UK, the rest of the group returned to Australia. On their return, they found out that there was far less work on offer than they had been led to believe, but they took what was available and continued gigging to pay back the airfares. Reno Tahei (ex-Sounds Unlimited, Compulsion, Castaways, Luke's Walnut, Genesis) filled in on drums for a few months until Wilson returned. Tahei was arrested and was deported back to New Zealand.

The sudden exit of Tahei, the band regrouped as a four-piece. Peter Roberts from Freshwater joined on bass. At Byron Bay on New Year's Eve 1970, the La De Da's unveiled their new 4-piece's stripped-down hard rock style, which took them back to their R&B roots and drew heavily from 12-bar Chicago blues and the legacy of Jimi Hendrix. The new lineup got a rousing reception at the Wallacia Festival in January. They regularly shared bills with the leading groups of the day -- Tamam Shud, Company Caine, Chain and the similarly revitalised Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs.

In the latter half of the year, they often appeared alongside new sensations Daddy Cool and the press made much of the supposed rivalry between the two bands. In September they teamed with Chain, Tamam Shud and Country Radio for two outdoor concerts at Wollongong and Sydney Showgrounds, before a combined crowd of about 10,000 people, and on Boxing Day 1971 they co-headlined with Daddy Cool before an estimated 50,000 people at the 3XY Rosebud Show in Victoria, cementing their position as one of the top three bands in the country, beside The Aztecs and Daddy Cool.

Towards the end of the year, the La De Da's recorded the single "Gonna See My Baby Tonight" which raced up the charts, reaching the Top Ten. In November 1971, the La De Da's were scheduled to go to New Zealand for a four-week return tour. Although the shows sold out well in advance, the group dropped out at the last minute. In January 1972 they performed at the inaugural Sunbury Pop Festival, and they proved to be one of the highlights of the weekend. "Roundabout", "Gonna See My Baby Tonight" and the yet-to-be-released "Morning Good Morning" were included on EMI's Sunbury double album live set, released in October '72.

Michael Chugg of Consolidated Rock was hired as their full-time agent, and the group was soon netting regular fees of $300–400 per show. Chugg later left Con Rock and set up his own agency, Sunrise, which continued to handle The La De Da's. They continued to draw huge crowds through 1972, touring nationally supporting Manfred Mann's Chapter III, and making a record-breaking appearance with Gerry Humphrys, Friends and Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs at 3XY's free concert at the Myer Music Bowl, which drew over 200,000 people – the largest concert audience ever in Australia at that time.

In spite of the successes, internal tension in the band had been growing. Phil Key and Peter Roberts abruptly left the group in September 1972 to form a new four piece outfit called Band of Light. Michael Chugg had resigned as their manager a month before the split, and they were now managed by Roger Davies. Kevin Borich, now the only remaining original member, brought in Ronnie Peel to continue the band. He retained Keith Barber and decided to carry on as a power trio. Their debut performance as a trio was at Sydney's Paddington Town Hall in November.

In January, the new La De Da's lineup headlined the Great Ngaruawahia Festival back in New Zealand. According to John Dix, the La De Da's delivered "...a well-paced set [that] blew Black Sabbath and everything New Zealand had to offer clear off the stage." Following this, they completed a short major-city concert tour in May. For the rest of the year, it was a constant round of touring, either as headliners, or sharing the bill with Sherbet, or as support to visiting international acts such as Little Richard, Gary Glitter, Three Dog Night, The Guess Who and Lindisfarne. They also provided backing on two tracks for Richard Clapton's debut album 'Prussian Blue'.

On 8 July, on the way to a Lindisfarne gig, their truck was involved in a head-on collision on the Hume Highway between Holbrook and Albury. Ronnie Peel and their roadie John Brewster (not John Brewster of The Angels) were both hospitalised, although their injuries were not serious. The major casualty was the band's equipment, most of which was destroyed in the crash. Three weeks later the Sunrise agency organised a benefit gig in Sydney at the Green Elephant (the Doncaster Theatre) in Kensington, including the La De Da's, Sherbet, Buffalo, Pirana, Lotus, Home, Country Radio, I'Tambu, Original Battersea Heroes and Hush, which raised almost $2000 for the group.

By mid-year, the band were being hailed as Australia's leading live act and Borich was widely regarded as Australia's pre-eminent guitar hero. With Chugg back on board as manager, Kevin was impatient to record a new album. EMI agreed to a new record in September. But the first sessions at EMI's studios were deemed unsatisfactory by the band and all but two tracks were scrapped. (The two tracks, "She Tell Me What To Do" and "No Law Against Having Fun" later surfaced on the LP 'Rock'n'Roll Sandwich'.)

Later sessions were recorded with different equipment at the Green Elephant Hotel and were more successful. The resulting LP, 'Rock'n'Roll Sandwich', was lauded by Glenn A. Baker as "one of Australia's finest rock albums, a fiery, cohesive work dominated by the superbly talented Kevin Borich and carried off by the reliable gutsiness of Peel and Barber." Touring behind the new LP, released in November 1973, the La De Da's enjoyed their most successful period to date, including supports for Elton John and Suzi Quatro on their Australian tours. The solid gigging continued through 1974 and into 1975, including a well-received appearance at the final Sunbury Festival in January 1975.

By early 1975, the band's spirits were flagging. In March EMI issued 'Legend', a valedictory sampler of single A-sides, recent recordings and leftovers put together by Michael Chugg, which also included a much-requested studio rendition of "All Along The Watchtower", Kevin's Hendrix-inspired live showpiece. In May 1975, Borich officially announced that the La De Da's had disbanded.After the split of Band of Light in 1975, Phil Key left the music business and, in 1984, he died.The remaining original La De Da's' members reunited in New Zealand in 1992 for a Galaxie Club reunion show and played a set dedicated to the memory of Phil Key. Ronnie Peel died in 2020. Bruce Howard died in 2021.

Members

Kevin Borich (vocals,guitar), Phil Key (guitar, vocals), Trevor Wilson (bass), Brett Neilsen (drums), Bruce Howard (keyboards), Brian Harris (drums), Keith Barber (drums), Reno Tehei (bass),
Peter Roberts (bass), Ron Peel (bass)

SINGLES

Sweet Girl

5 APR '71

#91

Gonna See My Baby Tonight

25 OCT '71

#10

Morning, Good Morning (Love to See the Sun Rise)

10 APR '72

#31

Too Pooped to Pop

3 JUN '74

#24

Honky Tonkin'

16 SEP '74

#72

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_La_De_Das

http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/