The La De Da's | |
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 L to R: Phil Key, Kevin Borich, Peter Roberts "Gonna See My Baby" on GTK, 1971 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Origin | Te Atatū, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1963–1975 |
| Labels | |
| Spinoffs | Kevin Borich Express |
| Past members |
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The La De Da's were a New Zealand rock band from 1963 to 1975. They were formed as a mod-ish group, the Mergers, in Te Atatū, by long-term members Kevin Borich on lead guitar and vocals, Phil Key on lead vocals and guitar and Trevor Wilson on bass guitar. In mid-1968 they relocated to Australia. Their popular singles in New Zealand were "How Is the Air Up There?", "On Top of the World" (both 1966), "Hey! Baby", "All Purpose Low" and "Rosalie" (all 1967), while their hits on Australia's Go-Set National Top 40 were "Gonna See My Baby Tonight" (1971), "Morning, Good Morning" (1972) and "Too Pooped to Pop" (1974). The group released one of the first Australasian rock music concept albums, The Happy Prince (1969).
The La De Da's toured New Zealand, Australia, England and continental Europe and also supported various international artists at their shows in Australia. The band's sound developed from instrumentals through garage rock-infused R&B to psychedelic rock and then from blues rock to "stripped-down" hard rock in their later years. In Australia the band are known for launching the solo career of Borich as leader of Kevin Borich Express from 1976. Phil Key died in 1984 of a congenital heart defect. Ronnie Peel, their latter era bass guitarist, died of an unspecified cancer in 2020.