The La De Da's
The La De Da's were a New Zealand rock band from 1963 to 1975. They were formed as a mod-ish group, the Mergers, in Te Atatū, by long-term members Kevin Borich on lead guitar and vocals, Phil Key on lead vocals and guitar and Trevor Wilson on bass guitar. In mid-1968 they relocated to Australia. Their popular singles in New Zealand were "How Is the Air Up There?", "On Top of the World" (both 1966), "Hey! Baby", "All Purpose Low" and "Rosalie" (all 1967), while their hits on Australia's Go-Set National Top 40 were "Gonna See My Baby Tonight" (1971), "Morning, Good Morning" (1972) and "Too Pooped to Pop" (1974). The group released one of the first Australasian rock music concept albums, The Happy Prince (1969).
The La De Da's
- The Mergers
- The La-De-Da Band
- La De Das
Te Atatū, Auckland, New Zealand
1963–1975
- Kevin Borich
- Phil Key
- Brett Neilsen
- Trevor Wilson
- Bruce Howard
- Bryan Harris
- Keith Barber
- Reno Tehei
- Peter Roberts
- Ronnie Peel (p.k.a. Rockwell T. James)
The La De Da's toured New Zealand, Australia, England and continental Europe and also supported various international artists at their shows in Australia. The band's sound developed from instrumentals through garage rock-infused R&B to psychedelic rock and then from blues rock to "stripped-down" hard rock in their later years. In Australia the band are known for launching the solo career of Borich as leader of Kevin Borich Express from 1976. Phil Key died in 1984 of a congenital heart defect. Ronnie Peel, their latter era bass guitarist, died of an unspecified cancer in 2020.
1967–1969: Australian relocation and The Happy Prince[edit]
The La De Da's travelled to Sydney in May 1967, where they worked at Ward Austin's Jungle disco and also supported the Easybeats, which had returned from the United Kingdom.[4][5] The band's Australian talent manager, Jimmy Murta, had their near-shoulder-length hair trimmed back and pitched them at the teenage market, which dissatisfied the band's members.[5] Another single, "All Purpose Low", was released in June and went to No. 3 on the NZ Hit Parade.[10] It was followed in August by "Rosalie", which reached No. 5.[10][11] Before their second visit to Australia, in early 1968, Neilson was replaced on drums by Bryan Harris (ex-the Action).[2] McFarlane observed, "they had changed direction. [They] were one of the first local bands to include covers of Vanilla Fudge, Doors and Traffic... [and were] at the forefront of the Australian flower power movement."[2]
In June 1968 Harris was replaced, in turn, by Keith Barber (ex-the Wild Cherries).[2] English-born producer, Jimmy Stewart approached the La De Da's to record their third album, The Happy Prince, but by November the deal had collapsed.[5] Early in 1969 Adrian Rawlins convinced the group to continue recording in Sydney with himself as narrator and David Woodley-Page as producer for EMI Music (NZ).[1][2][12] Woodley-Page recorded their material onto two Scully 4-track recorders, which were electronically synchronised and provided better multi-tracking and overdubbing.[5] The Happy Prince was issued in April 1969,[2] as one of the first Australasian concept albums.[1][5] It was "praised for its quality musicianship and production values. Despite the fine playing, it was an overly serious and flawed album, and duly sank without a trace."[2] Music journalist Ed Nimmervoll felt "the ambition of the project outweighed its entertainment value."[3]
They toured England from April 1969, but "[their] brand of soft psychedelic pop was outdated".[2][13] Their use of cover versions put them "out of step with what was going on" locally.[3] Nevertheless they recorded their rendition of the Beatles' "Come Together", which was issued, by the La-De-Da Band, in September 1969.[3][13] They performed shows at London's Stax Club, the Corn Exchange and at clubs in Birmingham, but the UK gigs dried up. They undertook a short German tour and then France for a month of poorly paid gigs.[1] Leaving Wilson in the UK, the rest of the group returned to Australia in April 1970.[1][2][3]
Back in Australia they changed musical direction again, adopting "straightforward, gutsy rock'n'roll".[2] Reno Tahei (ex-Compulsion, Luke's Walnut, Genesis) joined on bass guitar until Wilson returned.[2] Tahei was arrested and deported to New Zealand.[4] The exit of Howard, Tahei and Wilson resulted in a four-piece with Barber, Borich and Key joined by Peter Roberts (ex-Freshwater) on bass guitar.[2] At Byron Bay on New Year's Eve 1970, the La De Da's unveiled their 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 line-up got a rousing reception at the Wallacia Festival in January. They regularly shared bills with Tamam Shud, Company Caine, Chain and Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs.
In the latter half of the year, they often appeared alongside Daddy Cool. 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. The La De Da's issued their next single, "Gonna See My Baby Tonight", in November 1971,[2] which drew a rave review from Molly Meldrum in teen pop music newspaper, Go-Set ("...a fantastic song, intelligently recorded, it has to be number one").[5] It reached No. 12 on the Go-Set National Top 40.[14] "Gonna See My Baby Tonight" was written by Borich.[15]
1971–1972: line-up changes[edit]
In November 1971 the La De Da's planned a four-week New Zealand tour but despite shows selling out the group dropped out at Key's insistence.[5] Sydney-based Michael Chugg of Consolidated Rock was hired as their talent agent and when he later set up his own agency, Sunrise, he continued to handle the La De Da's.[1] In January 1972 they performed at the inaugural Sunbury Pop Festival and were described as one of the highlights of the weekend.[4] Three of their tracks, "Roundabout", "Gonna See My Baby Tonight" and "Morning Good Morning", were recorded for EMI/HMV's live double album by Various Artists, Sunbury (October 1972).[16]
Their next single, "Morning Good Morning", was released in March and peaked at No. 24 on the Go-Set charts.[17] It was co-written by Borich and Key;[18] on the 1972 Go-Set pop poll the pair were listed in the top 10 of the Best Songwriter category.[19] The band continued to attract large audiences through 1972, touring nationally supporting Manfred Mann Chapter Three. They appeared with Gerry Humphrys, Friends and Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs at 3XY's free concert at the Myer Music Bowl, which drew an estimated 200,000 people – one of the largest concert audiences in Australia to that time.[2] McFarlane considered they were one of the top three bands in the country, beside Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs and Daddy Cool, during that year.[2]
In spite of the successes, internal tension in the band had grown. Chugg resigned as their manager and they took on Roger Davies (Chugg's workmate at Sunrise).[5] Key and Roberts, who "wanted to pursue a gentle pop course",[3] left in September 1972 to form Band of Light.[2] Borich, now the last original member, with Barber brought in Ronnie Peel (p.k.a. Rockwell T. James) on bass guitar to continue the band as a trio,[2] which "became a rock powerhouse".[3] Their debut performance of the new line-up was at Sydney's Paddington Town Hall in November.
After the La De Da's[edit]
Kevin Borich toured under the La De Da's name with Harry Brus on bass guitar and Barry Harvey on drums, which were renamed as the Kevin Borich Express in 1976.[2][3] He continued that band into the 1990s with a succession of bass guitarists and drummers.[2] After the split of Band of Light in 1975, Phil Key left the music business and died in 1984 from a congenital heart condition.[1][4] Ronnie Peel undertook a solo career in the late 1970s as Rockwell T James and later joined John Paul Young's backing band. Trevor Wilson continued performing in Australia before moving to London.[1] Howard also lived in London.
Neilsen returned to Auckland where he was a member of the Action from 1967 to 1969 and later joined Cruise Lane and thence to the Medicine Show.[4] 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.[1][4] Keith Barber quit the music industry and became a printer; he died in 2005 after being diagnosed with cancer.[23] Ronnie Peel died of an unspecified cancer in 2020.[24][25] Bruce Howard died in 2021.[1]