Biography
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Years Active
1962 – 1969 (7 years)
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Founded In
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom
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Members
- Stuart Leathwood (1962 – 1968)
The Koobas were an English beat group from Liverpool. Their music and early history are somewhat similar to The Beatles, although they never gained widespread popularity.
The group was formed in Liverpool in 1962 by members who had previously played in local bands such as Thunderbeats, Roy Montrose and Midnights. At times they used both spellings "Kubas" and "Koobas". In 1963 they played in the Star Club in Hamburg (Germany) and stayed there for three weeks.
In 1964 Brian Epstein signed a contract with the band and brokered them a deal with Pye Records. Their first single was "I Love Her" b / w "Magic Potion", which did not enter the charts, but the group had the opportunity to support the Beatles on their last British tour. After that, the group went on club tours around England and attracted a lot of positive press, but other singles could not assert themselves in public. In 1966 they moved from Pye to EMI - Columbia and the following year they played with The Who at the Savile Theater and toured Switzerland with Jimi Hendrix.
By 1967 the band had begun changing their sound from an R&B rooted beat to psychedelia and began to write their own material with the help of new manager Tony Stratton-Smith. In 1968 they cut a version of "The First Cut Is the Deepest" but were overshadowed by PP Arnold's version, which hit the top 20 on the UK singles chart. The Koobas never made it onto the official sales chart, but their cover of Gracie Fields hit "Sally" rose to number 21 on Pirate Radio London's Fab 40 in January 1967.
Towards the end of 1968 the group broke up.
Band members
Stuart Leathwood - rhythm guitar, vocals (1962-1968; died 2004)
Roy Morris - lead guitar, backing vocals (1962-1968)
Keith Ellis - bass guitar, backing vocals (1962-1968; died 1978)
John Morris - drums (1962-1964)
Tony O'Reilly - drums (1964-1968)
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