THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,699) The Koobas — “Royston Rose”
This “[o]utstanding piece of Mod/Psych!” ( EdwinJack64, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l__wcl2UUcM), is a “[p]owerhouse psych rocker, not forgetting its mod roots . . . their crowning achievement” (happening45, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpZGu6VOSuw), “resplendent in rippling guitar parts, lots of fuzz-tone, searing breaks that sound like George Harrison’s or Tony Hicks’ playing pumped up by a few hundred amps, and drum patterns lifted right out of ‘Rain'” (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/album/koobas-mw0000068921), with “one of the best bass lines ever” (beezlus_, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpZGu6VOSuw)
Bruce Eder writes that “[t]he Koobas [see #178, 1,008, 1,472] were one of the better failed rock bands in England during the mid-’60s[, what an epitaph!] They were f]avorites of the press and popular for their live shows, they somehow never managed to chart a record despite a lot of breaks that came their way, including a tour opening for the Beatles, top management representation, and a contract on EMI-Columbia.” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-koobas-mn0000774106#biography) In fact, “Brian Epstein saw Beatle-sized potential . . . . Through him, they landed nine dates on the Fab Four’s last UK tour, going down so well that a golden future was predicted by both the music press and the in-crowd that frequented the Scotch of St. James, the Speakeasy and other fashionable London clubs.” (Alan Clayson, CD reissue of Koobas)
Pop Thing adds:
[They] are . . . clear proof of the existence of R&B in Liverpool, an essential component of the Mersey Sound. . . . [T]he evolution of The Koobas is worth following, because they began in 1965 as a group that seemed like a mix of The BBC Beatles and London R&B groups, then they became very close to The Who and the mod-pop of 1966, they flirted with Motown, recorded exciting ballads and then drifted towards more particular records starting in ’67. And all this accompanied by a careful image, supervised by Epstein and then by Tony Stratton-Smith, The Creation’s [see #129, 165, 1,502, 1,643] manager, which included bold floral-print pants, military-cut shirts, turtlenecks and two Rickenbackers . . . . They also composed . . . and, to round it all off, they were a group with a very forceful live performance.
https://www.popthing.com/pop_thing/noticias/the_koobas_singles_1965_1968.php
Eder gives more history:
The group was formed in 1962 by . . . veterans of Liverpool bands such as the Thunderbeats and the Midnighters. The band, known at one point as the Kubas, did a three-week engagement at the Star Club in Hamburg in December 1963 and out of that built up a serious reputation as performers. They had a sound that was comparable to the Beatles [see #422, 1,087, 1,256], the Searchers [see #352, 394, 636, 1,278], and the Mojos, as Liverpool exponents of American R&B with a strong yet lyrical attack on their guitars and convincing vocals. It wasn’t until after Brian Epstein signed them a year later, however, that a recording contract (with Pye Records) came their way. They got one false start with an appearance in the movie Ferry Cross the Mersey . . . playing one of the groups that loses a battle-of-the-bands contest, but the Koobas’ footage ended up being dropped from the final cut of the film. Their debut single . . . failed to chart, as did its follow-up, despite the exposure the group received opening for the Beatles on their final British tour. Coming off those nine shows, the group was booked into the most prestigious clubs in London and started getting great press, but two more singles failed to dent the charts in 1965 and 1966. They jumped from Pye Records to EMI-Columbia in 1966, and continued to get good, highly visible gigs, including a January 1967 appearance with the Who [see #548, 833, 976] and the Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Savile Theatre . . , and a tour of Switzerland with Hendrix [see #1,577]. The group’s sound was a lean yet melodic brand of R&B-based rock & roll, similar to the Beatles, though the Koobas didn’t start to blossom as songwriters until fairly late, which may have been part of their problem. They recorded good-sounding and very entertaining songs, but somehow never connected with the right sound at the proper moment. By the middle of 1967, they’d altered their look and their sound, moving away from American-style R&B and toward psychedelia. The group members also began writing their own material, sometimes with help in the lyric department from their new manager, Tony Stratton-Smith. Their singles still utilized outside songwriters, however, and the group’s best crack at the chart came early in 1968 when they recorded Cat Stevens’ [see #1,458] “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” complete with heavy fuzztone guitar. Their single garnered some airplay but was eclipsed by P.P. Arnold’s Top 20 version of the same song. Despite his best efforts, Stratton-Smith couldn’t help the group overcome the failure of their last single. The quality of their gigs and the fees they were earning began declining, and their morale soon followed. By the end of 1968, the Koobas had agreed among themselves to go their separate ways. Ironically, the group’s split coincided almost perfectly with Stratton-Smith’s final effort on their behalf. . . . EMI-Columbia agreed to let the band cut a long-player in late 1968. The group lasted just long enough to finish the album . . , a mix of topical songwriting, psychedelia, R&B, and nostalgia that might’ve found an audience if only there had been a Koobas still together to tour behind it and promote the record in early 1969.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-koobas-mn0000774106#biography
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