Leo de Castro (born Kiwi Leo de Castro Kino; c. 1948 – 3 March 2019) was a New Zealand funk and soul singer-guitarist. From 1969 to 1995 he worked in Australia in a variety of bands before returning to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. He contributed to ''Rocco'' (1976), as a member of Johnny Rocco Band; ''Voodoo Soul – Live at The Basement'' (October 1987), by Leo de Castro and Friends; a live album, ''Long White Clouds'' (2007), which had been recorded in January 1988 using two separate backing bands, The Dancehall Racketeers and Roger Janes Band. De Castro's vocals feature on the singles, "

Wichita Lineman "Wichita Lineman" is a song written by the American songwriter Jimmy Webb in 1968. It was first recorded by the American country music artist Glen Campbell with backing from members of The Wrecking Crew and was widely covered by other artists. ...

" (January 1971) by King Harvest, "Heading in the Right Direction" (August 1975) by Johnny Rocco Band, "

Suspicious Minds "Suspicious Minds" is a 1968 song written and first recorded by American songwriter Mark James. After this recording failed commercially, it was cut by Elvis Presley with producer Chips Moman, becoming a No. 1 song in 1969, and one of the most ...

" (June 1979) by Leo de Castro and Babylon. Australian

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

, Ian McFarlane, described him as a "permanent fixture of the pub/concert/festival circuit and was praised for his vocal abilities" as "one of the best soul singers working in Australia" during the 1970s. From 1995 de Castro was performing in and around Hobart. His farewell gig in 2008 was recorded and filmed live at the Republic Bar. Leo and the Warriors featured some of Tassie finest musicians including fellow Kiwi the late great guitarist/vocalist Joe Pirere. Later in 2008 moved back to New Zealand to retire.

Early career

Leo de Castro was born as Kiwi Leo de Castro Kino in Benneydale,

King Country The King Country (Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of ...

, New Zealand. He was named after the doctor who delivered him.Teneti Ririnui
Leo de Castro profile
audioculture, 11 June 2015 In 1966, with his family, he moved to

where he started his career in the local club scene. During 1968, for six months, he was the lead singer of Dallas Four and was noted to have a "soul style about his singing". De Castro relocated to Sydney in 1969 and joined The Browns, alongside

Ray Arnott Ray Arnott is an Australian rock drummer, singer-songwriter, he was a member of Spectrum (1970–1973), which had a number one hit with " I'll Be Gone" .Spencer et al, (2007Arnott, Rayentry. Retrieved 31 January 2010. NOTE: Used for Australian Sin ...

on drums (ex-Chelsea Set), Ronnie Peel on bass guitar (

The Missing Links The Missing Links were an Australian garage rock, R&B, and protopunk group from Sydney who were active from 1964 to 1966. The group was known for wearing their hair long and smashing their equipment on-stage. Throughout the course of 1965, the ...

The Pleazers The Pleazers were an Australian-formed rhythm and blues musical group which were popular in New Zealand. They began in Brisbane as the G-Men in 1964. They released a sole studio album, ''Definitely Pleazers'', in 1966, before disbanding in the ...

, Rockwell T. James and the Rhythm Aces,

The La De Das The La De Da's were a New Zealand rock band of the 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in New Zealand in 1963 as the Mergers, they had considerable success in both New Zealand and Australia until their split in 1975. In Australia the band is proba ...

) and Les Stacpool on guitar (Chessmen, Merv Benton and the Tamlas). The Browns also backed Bernadette O'Neill, another singer, and were alternately billed as Leo and The Browns or Bernadette and The Browns. Later that year, De Castro formed Leo and Friends with

John Capek John Joseph Capek is a composer, arranger, keyboardist, producer. Biography John Capek was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). on 27 November 1947. He is the son of Fred Capek, a concert pianist and Mechanical Engineer, and ...

on piano, Rob MacKenzie on guitar ( MacKenzie Theory), Kevin Murphy on drums (ex-

Wild Cherries The Wild Cherries were an Australian rock group, which started in late 1964 playing R&B/jazz and became "the most relentlessly experimental psychedelic band on the Melbourne discotheque / dance scene" according to commentator, Glenn A. Baker. ...

) and Jeremy Noone on saxophone (

Sons of the Vegetal Mother Sons of the Vegetal Mother (also known as The Vegetals to fans) were an Australian "esoteric special-occasion progressive band", formed in late 1969, with a floating line-up based around the nucleus of Ross Wilson and Ross Hannaford. A side-proj ...

). The group disbanded early in the following year. During that time he stayed briefly with Melbourne rock promoter Michael Browning, who would go on to manage AC/DC. Browning wrote in his memoirs that de Castro was "probably the most electrifying vocalist I've ever heard", but also noted his erratic behaviour. De Castro also appeared at the 1970 Ourimbah "Pilgrimage for Pop", Australia's first rock festival, and was included in the 2012 film ''Once Around the Sun'', a psychedelic movie about the event.

King Harvest

In September 1970 de Castro, on vocals and guitar, formed King Harvest as a progressive rock group with

Jimmy Doyle James Doyle (20 March 1939 – 22 June 2015) was an Irish hurler who played as a right wing-forward for the Tipperary senior team. Born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Doyle first played competitive hurling whilst at school in Thurles CBS. He a ...

on guitar (Silhouettes, Aesop's Fables, Moonstone), Mark Kennedy on drums (

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

Duncan McGuire Duncan Hazlett McGuire (ca. 194310 July 1989), was an Australian musician, songwriter, recording engineer and producer. McGuire was a founding member of the jazz fusion band, Ayers Rock from 1973 until he left in 1976. As a bass guitarist he ...

on bass guitar (Phantoms, Epics, Questions, Doug Parkinson in Focus, Rush) and Steve Yates on keyboards (Rush, Expression). Billy Green on guitar (Doug Parkinson in Focus) replaced Doyle; Green, in turn, was replaced by MacKenzie, and then by Ray Oliver (The Light). In January 1971 King Harvest issued a cover version of "

", which peaked at No. 35 on ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

''s National Top 60. The producer was Ian "Molly" Meldrum, a ''Go-Set'' journalist; and the single was issued by RCA. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, felt their version of "Wichita Lineman" was an "enthralling arrangement ... highlighted by De Castro's soulful vocals and Green's haunting wah wah guitar lines." By March 1971 Kennedy and McGuire had left King Harvest to rejoin Green in Doug Parkinson in Focus. They were replaced by Murphy (now, ex-Rush, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs) on drums and Gary Clarke on bass guitar. Oliver also left in that month and was replaced on guitar by John Williams (Rebels). This line-up issued a cover version of "

Jumping Jack Flash "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a non-album single in 1968. Called "supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London" by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the song was perceived by some as t ...

" in April with Meldrum producing, but it did not chart. McFarlane noted it was a "potent, six-minute rave-up fired by blazing guitars and crashing drums." The group broke up in September and de Castro formed a briefly existing band, Flite, with Capek on piano (by then ex- Carson), Barry Harvey on drums (Thursday's Children, Wild Cherries, Chain, King Harvest),

Vince Melouney Vincent Melouney (Maloney) (born 18 August 1945) is an Australian musician, singer and songwriter best known as an official member of The Bee Gees from 1967 to 1969 during the group’s initial period of worldwide success. Prior to joining Be ...

on guitar (Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Bee Gees, Fanny Adams, Cleves) and Barry Sullivan on bass (Thursday's Children, Wild Cherries, Chain, Carson).

Leo de Castro and Friends

In December 1971 de Castro formed Leo de Castro and Friends, also billed as Friends, as a progressive rock group in Melbourne. He was joined by former bandmates Kennedy, MacKenzie and McGuire; and new associates Tim Martin on saxophone and flute, and

Charlie Tumahai Charles Turu Tumahai (14 January 1949 – 21 December 1995) was a New Zealand singer, bass player and songwriter who was a member of several noted rock groups in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. He is best known internationally as the bass ...

on vocals and percussion (Healing Force, Chain). MacKenzie left early in the following year with Phil Manning of Chain filling-in until April when both Green and Oliver joined on guitar. Friends had appeared at the inaugural

Sunbury Pop Festival Sunbury Pop Festival or Sunbury Rock Festival was an annual Australian rock music festival held on a private farm between Sunbury and Diggers Rest, Victoria, which was staged on the Australia Day (26 January) long weekend from 1972 to 1975. It ...

in January 1972. In August 1972 Friends released a single, "B-B-Boogie", which Duncan Kimball of MilesAgo website felt was a "solid boogie-rock number highlighted by Green and Oliver's dexterous dual guitar work." McFarlane described it as "exceptional hard rock". The track was co-written by de Castro, Kennedy, McGuire and Tumahai. Kimball preferred the B-side, "Freedom Train", which he opined was a "driving, prog-jazz" track that "became their signature tune", it was "one of the best Australian progressive recordings of the '70s." McFarlane noticed that it was a "jubilant jazz-tinged" work. Tumahai returned to Healing Force in January 1973 and, late that month, Friends appeared at the Sunbury Pop Festival as a six-piece – de Castro, Green, Kennedy, Martin, McGuire and Oliver. Three of their performances " Lucille", " Bird on a Wire" and "La La Song", were recorded for a live 3× LP album, ''Sunbury 1973 – The Great Australian Rock Festival'' (April) by various artists on Mushroom Records. A six-track extended play was also issued with one track by Friends. On stage at Sunbury de Castro joined Lobby Loyde and the Coloured Balls, and

Billy Thorpe William Richard Thorpe AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was an English-born Australian singer-songwriter, and record producer. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", " Poison Iv ...

for an early morning session. Their track, "Help Me" / "Rock Me Baby", was issued on a live album, ''Summer Jam'' (November 1973), by the Coloured Balls on the Havoc label. The studio version of "Lucille" was issued as a single by Friends in February 1973 on Mushroom Records. Soon after Green, Martin and Oliver left and, in April, Ray Burton joined on guitar (Delltones, Executives). In June a four-piece line-up of de Castro, Burton, Kennedy and McGuire performed "Freedom Train" and McGuire's newly written track, "Lady Montego", at one of the final concerts at The Garrison venue. The tracks were issued on the live album, ''Garrison: The Final Blow, Unit 1'', by various artists on Mushroom Records. In June Leo de Castro and Friends disbanded when Burton, McGuire & Kennedy all left to form an eponymous trio. The trio added Doyle in August and became

Ayers Rock Uluru (; pjt, Uluṟu ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone formation in the centre of Australia. It is in the southern part of the Northern Territory, southwest of Alice Springs. ...

, a jazz fusion, progressive rock group, by September. That group's lead single was a cover version of "Lady Montego", which also appeared on their debut album, ''Big Red Rock'' (November 1974). De Castro established the New King Harvest in mid-1973 with Ben Kaika on bass guitar (McPhee, Tramp), Tui Richards on guitar, Steve Webb on drums (Blackfeather, Duck, Tramp) and Lindsay Wells on guitar (Healing Force, One Ton Gypsy, Blackfeather). By the end of that year he formed the eponymous group, De Castro. They played "a mix of funk, soul, rock and blues" and were composed of de Castro on vocals and guitar, with Webb on drums joined by Rob Grey on keyboards, Ian Winter on guitar (Carson, Daddy Cool) and John Young on bass guitar.

Johnny Rocco Band

Late in 1974 de Castro, on vocals, joined the Sydney-based group, Johnny Rocco Band, alongside Tony Buchanan on saxophone (Thunderbirds, Daly-Wilson Big Band),

Russell Dunlop Russell James Dunlop (21 October 194516 May 2009) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer-engineer. From the late 1970s he collaborated with Bruce Brown in a production company for albums and singles by Australian perfo ...

on drums (Aesop's Fables, Levi Smith's Clefs, Mother Earth), Tim Partridge on bass guitar (Clockwork Oringe, King Harvest, Island, Mighty Kong), Harris Campbell from Arapae, Te Kuiti on guitar and vocals, and Mark Punch on guitar and vocals (Mother Earth). They were "one of the first Australian bands to incorporate funk and soul into the pub-rock forum". In August 1975 they issued a single, "Heading in the Right Direction", which was covered by

Renée Geyer Renée Rebecca Geyer (born 11 September 1953) is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with " It's a Man's Man's ...

after Punch had joined her backing band. In January 1976 Johnny Rocco Band released their debut album, ''Rocco'', on the Ritz Gramophone label, distributed by

Festival Records Festival Records (later known as Festival Mushroom Records) was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to ...

. Tony Catterall of ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' compared it with American singer,

Felix Cavaliere Felix Cavaliere (born November 29, 1942) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and keyboard player for the Young Rascals. Although he was a member of Joey Dee and the Starliters, known for ...

"s second solo album, ''Destiny'' (1975). Catterall felt that "while Cavaliere is just as powerful as the Rocco Band's Leo de Castro, he's much sweeter. And his own falsetto, plus the use of female back-up singers, points up the limitations of de Castro's voice." In August that year Catterall previewed a gig by Johnny Rocco Band as "definitely one of the hottest hot-soul bands in the country, featuring the downright "baaaad" voice of Leo de Castro, a legend amongst those who know." Johnny Rocco Band toured the United States east coast in 1976 to promote their album, " indinglittle success, the band broke up". Over the next few years de Castro formed a variety of groups: Cahoots (1976), Leo de Castro and Rocco (from May 1977), Leo de Castro Band, Heavy Division (1978) and Leo de Castro and Babylon from December 1978. That group issued a cover version of "

" in June 1979.

Later life

From the early 1980s de Castro had relocated to Tasmania, "where he leads a small-time pub band." In October 1987 he reassembled Leo de Castro and Friends to perform at the Sydney venue, The Basement. He used the line-up of Doyle, Kennedy and Punch, together with Jason Brewer on saxophone, Dave Green on bass guitar and backing vocals, Sally King on guest vocals, Jason McDermid on trumpet, Dave McRae on piano and Andy Thompson on saxophone. They recorded a

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

, ''Voodoo Soul – Live at The Basement'', which was produced by McGuire and David Cafe and issued late that year. It appeared as a CD in 2010 by Big Beat Music. During 1988 de Castro recorded live-in-the-studio for an album, ''Long White Clouds'', using two disparate backing groups, Roger Janes Band and The Dancehall Racketeers. It was engineered by McGuire and produced by Cafe at Paradise Studios and Rich Music Studios and was released on CD in 2007. McGuire died of a brain tumour in July 1989. In 1995 de Castro returned to Auckland and reconnected with former bandmate, Tumahai, with a view to record together. Tumahai had a heart attack and died in December 1995. In 1999 McFarlane described de Castro as a "permanent fixture of the pub/concert/festival circuit and was praised for his vocal abilities" as "one of the best soul singers working in Australia" during the 1970s. In a seachange mood, to further demonstrate the diversity of his musical palette, Leo de Castro and the Cuban Heels were formed in Hobart in late 1989, with Steve 'Keys' Grahame on piano/keyboards, Marcus "Piz" Pizzolato (ex Mary Lou and the Brokenhearted) on lead guitar, Mick 'Moonie' McCallum (ex Rainbow Stew) on pedal steel, Simon Gethen (ex Albino Spade/Tim Brewster and the Blues Roosters) on bass, and Dennis Matthews (ex Sydney Clubs/Mary Lou and the Brokenhearted) on drums. This seasoned troupe performed soulful renditions of country songs by George Jones, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Gram Parsons and The Flying Burrito Brothers, among many other classic country music greats. In September 2008 de Castro was farewelled from Hobart by Sarah Shofield on "Leo de Castro and Dutch Tilders" episode of ABC Tasmania's radio show, ''Breakfast with Robbie Buck''.

Dutch Tilders Dutch Tilders (29 August 194123 April 2011), born Mattheus Frederikus Wilhelmus Tilders, anglicised as Matthew Tilders, was a Netherlands-born Australian blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. He performed and released material as a solo artist ...

, a blues musician, accompanied de Castro. Shofield described de Castro, "

e's is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and drawn by Satoru Yuiga. It was originally serialized in ''Monthly GFantasy'' from 1997 through 2005, and later published in 16 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Square Enix from March 18, 2003 to Februa ...

not a well man, so the siren song of home and family is calling him away from Tasmania after more than 20 years of playing music here." In October 2010, de Castro featured on "Episode 5: Leo de Castro 'Soulman' & Sonny Day 'Bluesman'" on the

Māori Television Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

inaugural series, ''Unsung Heroes of Māori Music''. In February 2012

Radio New Zealand National RNZ National ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa Ā-Motu), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operat ...

's ''Musical Chairs'' aired a two-part episode, "Leo de Castro – The Elusive Legend". The reporter, Keith Newman, interviewed de Castro, Ray Oliver (bandmate), Bob Burns (promoter) and Evan Silva (soul singer). De Castro died in Auckland on 3 March 2019.

References

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External links

AudioCulture profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Castro, Leo 1940s births 2019 deaths New Zealand guitarists New Zealand male guitarists New Zealand Māori male singers New Zealand rock singers People from Waikato