Larry's Rebels

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Larry's Rebels
Background information
Also known asThe Rebels
OriginPonsonby, New Zealand
Genres
Years active1964 (1964)–1970 (1970)
Labels
Past members
  • Larry Morris
  • John Williams
  • Terry Rouse
  • Viv McCarthy
  • Dennis "Nooky" Stott
  • Mal Logan
  • Brian Henderson
  • Glyn Mason

Larry's Rebels were a garage rock band, formed in Ponsonby, New Zealand, in 1964. The band had a relatively stable lineup, and had several nationally charting singles in New Zealand and Australia. Their musical genres ranged from blues rock to psychedelic pop, with lead vocalist Larry Morris having a versatile vocal range. The band later merged British Invasion and American musical influences into their repertoire.[1][2]

History

Beginnings

In 1962, classmates of the Seddon Tech institute,[

frontman, the band was advertised as Larry's Rebels.[5]

As Larry's Rebels, the band asserted themselves as the resident group at the Top Twenty Club, replacing

Ray Columbus and the Invaders, and sparking a long-lasting rivalry between the emerging bands.[6]
Though Larry's Rebels obtained valuable experience in the club, Williams recalls the restrictions and guidelines they faced, saying, "You were allowed a two songs-on-the-jukebox break. And you had to play five or six brand new songs that were in the Top Twenty that week or you were fined. If you were five minutes late you were fined. The songs all had to be danceable. You couldn’t do any slow ones". In late 1964, the band rounded out their most recognizable lineup when Viv McCarthy was brought in as a long-term bass player. After a year-long residency at the Top Twenty, the band shifted to the Platterack, which allowed them to experiment with a wider variety of compositions and musical genres.

In late 1965, the group shared top billing with Ray Columbus and the Invaders at the Miss Auckland Personality Contest. Impressed by the performance, Russell Clark, the manager of Ray Columbus and the Invaders, agreed to oversee Larry's Rebels, and he soon finalized a deal with Philips Records.[7] With Russell, the band recorded demos for their debut single, many of which were rejected by the record company. Finally the group released their first single in December 1965 after settling with a cover version of Dionne Warwick's "This Empty Place". Though they did not manage to chart, the single sold well enough to encourage a second recording, with the folk piece "Long Ago, Far Away" being distributed in early 1966 to local success.[5]

Further recording and success

In mid-1966, Clark collaborated with

It's Not True" peaked in the top 10 in September 1966. At year's end, the group followed up the single with a successful Impact Records Christmas tour, and, in January 1967, performing as a support act to The Yardbirds, The Walker Brothers, and Roy Orbison. A profound influence on Larry's Rebels, The Yardbirds encouraged the group to experiment with their instrumentals, and introduced them to psychedelic music. Larry's Rebels' captured what they learned in their fifth single, "I Feel Good", which climbed to the top five in New Zealand.[3]

After a string of concerts in Australia in April 1967, promoter Ron Blackmore, head of the largest booking agency in

overdubbed "tin can" twice to emphasize the wording. Consequently, radio host Pete Sinclair banned the song from further airplay. It appeared the setback had little impact on the group's popularity when, in May 1967, their debut album
A Study in Black was released, and a single, "Let's Think of Something", earned Larry's Rebels their first number one hit in Auckland and reached number four nationally.

On the band's return to Auckland, Clark arranged a publicity stunt in which Morris rescued a Miss New Zealand contestant from a fall overboard from a cruise. The act was later admitted to be fake, but attention was drawn to the group's psychedelic

nervous breakdown and leave Larry's Rebels. Their next recording, the Top Ten hit "Do What You Gotta Do
", featured Mal Logan as his replacement, and included Brian Henderson on organ.

In early 1969, Morris, disillusioned by management, initiated a solo career. The last recording to include Morris was a take on

R&B singer Glyn Mason and the group changed its name to The Rebels.[11] With Mason fronting the band, they achieved a surprising number one hit when it was thought the group was on the verge of breaking up with "My Son John" in March 1969. However, after permanently moving to Australia later in the month, the band failed to replicate their success. Their second album Madrigal was considered uneven and a single flopped in January 1970, which caused the group to disband.[5]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums
Title Details
A Study in Black
  • Released: May 1967
  • Label: Impact (IMP-104)
  • Format: LP
Madrigal
(as The Rebels)
  • Released: 1969
  • Label: Impact (IMPS-107)
  • Format: LP

Charting singles

List of singles, with Australian chart positions
Year Title Peak chart
positions
AUS
[12]
1967 "Dream Time" 85
1968 "Everybody's Girl" 98

Awards

Aotearoa Music Awards

The

New Zealand music
and have been presented annually since 1965.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2020 Larry's Rebels New Zealand Music Hall of Fame inductee [13]

References

  1. ^ Richie Unterberger. "Larry's Rebels - Biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  2. ^ Mark Deming. "I Feel Good: The Essential Purple Flashes of Larry's Rebels 1965-1969". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Larry's Rebels Profile". audioculture.co.nz. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Simple Image". sergent.com.au. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b c "Larry's Rebels". sergent.com. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Larry's Rebels: I Feel Good (Frenzy)". elsewhere.co.nz. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  7. ISBN 9781891241284
    . Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  8. ISBN 9781862546974
    . Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  9. ^ Steve kohler (2007). "NZ listener charts". Flavour of New Zealand. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  10. ^ "I Feel Good - Larry's Rebels". Radio New Zealand. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Shop - Larry's Rebels". cherryred.co.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  12. ISBN 0-646-44439-5. Note: Australia had no contemporaneous national charts until Go-Set published their Australian National Charts
    from 5 October 1966. Chart positions for 1940–1969 were back calculated by David Kent in 2005.
  13. ^ "HOME INDUCTEES". www.musichall.co.nz. Retrieved 16 August 2021.

External links

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