Dabsters, Les - La liberté b/w Oh non oh non

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	La liberté	02:31

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	Oh non oh non	04:40

Photos

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Information/Write-up

Les Dabsters were five scrappy teenagers from Montréal’s tough-as-nails neighbourhoods of St-Henri and Verdun, who injected genuine grit into Québec’s mid-1960s rock scene. Rejecting the era’s norm of covering British and American hits, they crafted originals bursting with raw energy and unabashed swagger.

Their name, plucked from an English dictionary in 1967, meant “an expert”—a mischievous nod to their ambition. They made their live debut on January 29, 1966, at Le Cellier de Verdun, quickly becoming favourites at local teen dances.

Les Dabsters’ 1966 debut single—“J’en ai assez” backed with “Tu le sais bien”—released on Passe-Temps, was a tiny masterpiece: snarling guitars, sneering vocals, and a propulsive rhythm that echoed in Québec’s smoky youth clubs. Their follow-up single in 1967, “La liberté” / “Oh non, oh non”, showed they weren’t a one-trick pony.

TV appearances on Bonsoir Copains, Jeunesse En Orbite, and Surboum spread their name further, but tragedy halted their rise when guitarist Denis Beaudet died in 1968. A short-lived replacement couldn’t restore their spark, and by year’s end, Les Dabsters had quietly vanished.

Their legacy? A few scuffed 45s and a fierce attitude that now shine as cult relics—bones of grit in the rich graveyard of Québec’s garage-rock golden dawn.
-Robert Williston

Produced by Pierre Laurendeau

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