Meant To Be - Musique

If You're Not An Australian Or A New Zealander The Odds Are That You Don't Remember Koo De Tah Say It Out Loud You'll Soon Get The Pun At All. If You Are An Australian Or A New Zealander You Probably Only Remember Their Sole Hit 1985's Rather Wonderful 'Too Young For Promises' And Mentally Consigned Them To The 'one Hit Wonder' Basket Years Ago. Was That All There Was To The Koo De Tah Story?
Well Yes Almost But Not Quite. During Their Career They Did Manage Five Singles And An Album And Both Band Members Have Since Had Solid If Not Spectacular Careers. I'll Mention Their Pre- And Post-Band Activities Below But The Main Aim Is To Provide An Overview Of The Band's Career During Its Brief Heyday. At A Glance Tina Cross Vocals Leon Berger Keyboards Songwriting Production With
Peter Radnai Drums
John Bettison Guitar Violin
Capree Morris Keyboards
Roger Faynes Bass
Doug Henderson Coproducer Manager Singles
All Releases On Mercury Through Polygram . Too Young For Promises/Dancing Towards The Stranger 1985 12" Featured Extended Mix Of TYFP And Dance Mix Of DTTS. Still A Classic Number. Body Talk/My Eyes Are Shut 1985 12" Featured Body Mix Of BT. This Song Got Its Debut At The End Of A 1985 Countdown The Prime Slot But Failed To Make Much Chart Impression. Think Of Me/Love 'Em Never 1986 12" Featured An Unnamed Extended Mix Of TOM. The Comeback Single Remixed From The Album Version That Didn't Quite Come Back. Missed You All Along/Change My Ways 1987 The First KDT Single Not To Have A Non-Album B-Side. The Track Was Remixed For Single Release While The 12" Features An Unnamed Extended Version. Too Young To Know /? 1988 Credited To 'Koo De Tah With Tina Cross' And The Only Single Listed Here Not Featured On The Album. I Know Nothing Else About This Record And Have Never Seen A Copy For Sale But It Sounds Suspiciously Like A Remake Of The Band's Biggest Hit. Aimed At Overseas Buyers Perhaps? The Original 'Too Young For Promises' Certainly Received A US Release Though. Album
Koo De Tah's Sole Self-Titled Album Was Released In 1986. For Many Years I Assumed This Wasn't Available On CD But In Fact It Was Issued In That Format With The Catalogue Number CD 830 267-2. Needless To Say It Is Long Out Of Print. Nor Does It Feature Any Bonus Tracks Or Remixes In Fact Its Sleeve Information Is Somewhat More Scant Than The LP A Common Problem With Early Issue CDs . Too Young For Promises
Think Of Me
Missed You All Along
Over To You
Body Talk
Change My Ways
Meant To Be
Fun Girl
Drift Away Don't Let It Into The Future All Songs Written By Leon Berger. Produced By Leon Berger And Doug Henderson. Recorded And Mastered At Studio 301 Sydney. Remixed At Arco Studios Munich. References
I Have Gleaned Information Largely From Koo De Tah's Records Themselves. However Various Web Searches The Third Edition Of Chris Spencer & Zbig Nowara's Who's Who Of Australian Rock Five Mile Press 1993 Especially For The Musician References And My Own Sometimes Dodgy Memory Have Also Played A Part. Where Are They Now?
Tina Cross Has As The Many Links Above Indicate Continued To Pursue A Singing Career Largely On Stage In Her Native New Zealand. Singing The Theme To Shortland Street The Neighbours Of NZ Is Probably Her Greatest Claim To Solo Fame Along With Her Rocky Horror Performances And Numerous Cabaret Appearances. Leon Berger Had Recorded A Number Of Solo Albums And Performed With A Self-Titled Band Prior To Koo De Tah But Since The Band Split He Appears To Have Concentrated On Writing And Production Work. His Best-Known Achievement Is Still Probably Melissa Tkautz's Fresh LP 1992 To Which Guitarist Bettison Also Contributed Which Produced The Hits 'Read My Lips' 'Sexy Is The Word' And 'Skin To Skin' During The E-Street Star's Chart Vogue And On Which Her Contribution Appeared To Start And End At The Vocals. Biog Courtesy Of Angus read less