The Librettos was a New Zealand pop/R&B group, active from 1960 to 1966. They were one of New Zealand's most popular bands in 1964-65, and after relocating to Sydney they gained recognition in Australia for their polished live performances and their 1966 version of the Paul Revere & The Raiders song "Kicks". Several members of the group went on to other notable bands of the 1960s and 1970s - bassist Brian Peacock co-founded the highly regarded Anglo-Australian "progressive pop" band Procession, Rod Stone joined popular Australian '60s soul group The Groove, and drummer Craig Collinge (the only Australian-born member) later played with Manfred Mann Chapter Three and UK 1970s "proto-punk" band Third World War.
Career history
The Librettos formed in 1960 while its original members were attending Rongotai College in Wellington, and they reportedly chose their name by sticking a pin at random into the page of a dictionary. The original lineup was Roger Simpson (lead vocal), Dave Clark (piano), Rod Stone and Johnny England (guitars), Paul Griffin (bass) and Andy Shackleton (drums), who was later replaced by Gordon Jenkins. They played regularly around Wellington for some time before landing a residency at the city's leading pop venue "Teenarama". They built up a solid following in the city during 1963, and their profile was further boosted by a support slot on the 1964 NZ national tour by British Merseybeat acts Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas and Cilla Black. They became nationally popular after being spotted by television producer Kevan Moore, who hired them as the resident band on his nationally televised pop show Let's Go.
Gordon Jenkins quit in December 1963, prior to their TV work, and he was replaced by Christchurch drummer Dave Diver. England left soon after, as he did not want to be a full-time musician at the time. He subsequently released a single, "Jezebel"/"Linda Lu", in 1965 as Johnny England & The Titans (on which he was backed by popular Wellington band The Premiers). He was replaced by pianist/singer Lou Parun, who had already established himself as a solo performer and had released four singles on the Lexian Records label in 1962 and 1963.
Paul Griffin also left during 1964 and he was replaced by Brian Peacock (bass, vocals), who had previously played with Christchurch band The Downbeats. When Roger Simpson left he was not replaced, leaving Rod Stone as the only member from the original line-up. Peacock's arrival saw the group change their style to a more R&B-oriented sound, and he soon began co-writing original material with Rod Stone. Later in 1964 the group was signed to the New Zealand branch of HMV Records and they released four singles: "Funny Things" b/w "I'll Send It Your Way", "Young Blood" b/w "That's Alright With Me", "Baby It's Love" (a Peacock-Stone original) b/w "Great Balls of Fire", and "It's Alright" b/w "Walkin' The Dog".
In 1964, they also recorded and released their only LP, Let's Go With The Librettos, which combined popular covers from their set with six Peacock-Stone originals. It includes their cover of the Ventures number "Let's Go", which was the theme for the TV show, and was probably their best-known song in New Zealand, although it was never released as a single. In 1965, they were offered another season with the Let's Go show but turned it down in favour of going to Australia, like many other New Zealand acts of the time.
The band relocated to Sydney in March 1965, but found it hard going - arriving at the peak of the "Beat Boom" in Australia, they found themselves competing with literally hundreds of other similar groups. Three days into a residency at the Sylvania Hotel in Sydney's south, the band was sacked for playing too many Beatles covers and "mod music", and they were forced to take part-time jobs to make ends meet. Despite these setbacks, they were able to record two more singles - HMV released an Australian-only single, "Great Balls Of Fire" / "Twilight Time", while in New Zealand they released "Ella Speed" / "I Want Your Love", which was recorded in Sydney in September.
Dave Diver quit in September 1965 and returned to New Zealand, where he joined The Countdowns. He was replaced by Australian drummer Craig Collinge. By November 1965, the Librettos were starting to gain wider popularity. They made several appearances on TV pop shows including Sing Sing Sing (hosted by Johnny O'Keefe), Saturday Date, Ten on the Town and TV Tonight, took over a residency at Suzie Wong's, recently vacated by the Missing Links and then began getting regular work at the popular Sydney CBD venue The Bowl, run by Brisbane-based pop impresario Ivan Dayman.