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The La De Das were a leading New Zealand rock band of the 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in New Zealand in 1963 as The Mergers, they enjoyed considerable success in both New Zealand and Australia until their split in 1975. In Australia the band is probably best known as the launching place for the career of guitarist Kevin Borich, and for their recording of the first Australasian rock concept album, ''The Happy Prince'' (EMI, 1968). ==1963–66== The band which eventually became The La De Das 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 (Te Atatu) in Te Atatu. 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. Their first recordings were made in an Auckland two-track studio. They cut two tracks written by Borich, "Ever Since That Night" and "Little Girl" (co-written with Trevor Wilson). The single was released on the Talent City label in April 1965, but only sold to friends, family and fans. In November 1965 they got a major break when they were called up to fill in at The Platterack. The La De Das went over well and were offered further bookings at the club. After Phil Key finished school in December, the band turned professional. The Platterack took on The Las De Das as the resident band, replacing the Dallas Four. The band received £12 per week and were soon packing out the club on a regular basis. It was here they linked up with one of the regular patrons, Bruce Howard, a classically trained keyboard player. Bruce auditioned at the next rehearsal and joined the band. He and Trevor Wilson became the creative core of the band, writing all their original material. In January 1966 Stebbing was given an import copy of a Changin' Times album by Philips A&R man John McCready, and he immediately tagged the track "How Is The Air Up There?" as a possible song for a local band. The La De Das performed a demo, resulting in them cutting a recording and signing to Zodiac for both management and production, with their recordings distributed through Phillips. They recorded a series of hits through 1966-67, which are now regarded as classics of 60s R&B. Their third single, a John Mayall song called "On Top Of The World", eventually peaked at #2. Stebbing then offered them residency at his Galaxie nightclub and they were regulars on the ''C'mon'' TV show. As indicated by the choice of B-side, the band were now well and truly into their Mod phase, setting Auckland trends with plaid trousers, satin shirts and buckle shoes. The bands situation is described by Phil Key: The hits just inspired confidence in us. We became totally involved in getting dressed up and going out to gigs, the gigs and rehearsals were everything. Nothing worried us, we were so busy consuming what was happening around us. We were super aware, on top of every trend in music and clothes and language. We tried to be honest and sincere with our music, only playing and recording what we liked. The guys in the good record bars dug what we were doing and they got in all the latest English R&B records for us. We were listening to Zoot Money, John Mayall, Manfred Mann, The Animals, all that sort of stuff and trying to create that sound. We were different from groups like The Underdogs who just played 12-bar blues all night; we tried to be a lot more imaginative about what we did ... We had no idea what we were earning on tour, we just spent what we wanted and ploughed the rest back into the band. We had our way with girls, bought more clothes and equipment and just enjoyed being stars. 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". Aficionados now regard it as one of the best of New Zealand R&B records of the 1960s. 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The La De Das」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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