Librettos - 1997 - Let's Go With The Librettos FLAC

Let's Go/Pride & Joy/I'm A Dog/Mary Mary/I'm Gonna Say Yeah/Crying For You/The Girl Can't Help It/My Babe/Twilight Time/Fine & Mellow/Everything's Alright/Got You On My Mind/Baby It's Love/Walking The Dog/It's Alright/Funny Things/I'll Send It Your Way/Young Blood/That's Alright With Me/Great Balls Of Fire/Ella Speed/I Want Your Love/I Cry/She's A Go Go/Whatcha Gonna Do About It/Kicks/Loving Time     



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 didn't 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".

 The Librettos with Billy J. Kramer

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 NZ 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 legendary Sydney band 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.

Later in the year The Librettos featured in a package tour of artists from Dayman's Sunshine booking company and record label, backing fellow New Zealander Jim McNaught, and Australian singers Marcie Jones, Peter Doyle (later a member of Virgil Brothers and The New Seekers) and Graeme Chapman, and they headlined an extended tour of rural New South Wales and Victoria. They returned to New Zealand over the Christmas period, to undertake a small tour, which played to packed houses, and they were acknowledged as being New Zealand's best group in 1965.

 Returning to Australia in early 1966 they were offered the chance to record on Dayman's Sunshine label with the label's house producer Pat Aulton. The first single released was "I Cry" / "She's A Go-Go", followed by a cover of the Fontella Bass hit "Rescue Me" b/w "What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For", but both singles flopped. Following these chart failures Lou Parun quit in April 1966 - he returned to New Zealand, and retired from the music industry. Peacock took over as lead vocalist, and the remaining members considered replacements, but eventually decided to stay as a three piece, and relocated to Melbourne. There they recorded their final single, "Kicks"/"Whatcha Gonna Do About It", which received good airplay in Melbourne (notably from leading DJ Stan "The Man" Rofe") but didn't sell well.

In late 1966 Australian solo star Normie Rowe (who was the Sunshine label's most successful act) was preparing to relocate to London in an attempt to break into the British pop scene, but before departure two members of his backing band The Playboys opted to stay in Australia for family reasons, so Rowe approached Brian Peacock and Rod Stone to replace them. In August 1966, The Librettos made one last recording at Festival Studios in Sydney, "It's Loving Time" (which remained unreleased until 1997). The LIbrettos played their last gig at Melbourne disco Pinocchio's that month, and the revamped lineup of The Playboys with Peacock and Stone left for the UK in November. Following the split, Craig Collinge formed a trio, The Knack, which played consistently around Sydney during 1967 but did not record.