Before the Spotlight: The Rise of The Creatures in 1960s Montreal.
In 1963, while Beatlemania gripped the UK and Motown was shaking up the charts, something electric was taking shape a world away—in a small Montreal apartment. Four teenagers, fueled by the raw energy of the British rock invasion and the soulful pull of American R&B, came together to form a band. With the support of our teenage manager—and his ever-patient mother who let us rehearse in their apartment—we found our footing, even if the neighbors weren’t thrilled about it.
We called ourselves The Creatures, inspired by the wave of iconic names that shaped our musical DNA: The Everley Brothers, The Beatles, The Stones, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Dave Clark Five, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, The Ventures, The Surfaris, The Searchers, The Kinks, The Rascals, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The McCoys, The Righteous Brothers, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, James Brown, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Joe Tex, Little Richard, and so many more. In a matter of months, we had three full sets of covers—both instrumentals and vocals—ready to roll.
It was an exhilarating time. While Petula Clark sang about going “Downtown,” we were playing four nights a week—two for rehearsals, two for gigs. Our sound was shaped by rock, funk, and R&B, and as we played together, we grew tighter, louder, and more ambitious.
Our first professional gig was at École Lajoie in Outremont, Quebec. We didn’t have the best gear, but we had something just as powerful—drive, rhythm, and chemistry. Soon, The Creatures started catching fire. With new equipment in hand and word spreading, we were playing packed shows at high schools, clubs, and major venues. One of the biggest was Dave Boxer’s legendary Bonaventure Curling Club, where 3,000 fans would turn up on a Saturday night. Boxer, a well-known DJ on CFCF Radio, was instrumental in giving Canadian bands their shot—including us.
But the peak came when we played the Montreal Forum the same stage that once welcomed The Beatles—at Dave Boxer’s "Bring Your Lunch Hopsville," alongside ten of Canada’s top acts. The show ran from 1pm to 10pm, and the Forum was filled wall-to-wall with screaming teenagers. For us, it was unforgettable.
The Montreal music scene in the ’60s was alive with sound and style—from Carnaby Street fashions to the explosion of long hair, bell-bottoms, and platform shoes. Local legends like, The JayBees, The Haunted, Les Classels, Trixie & The Inmates, Bartholomew Plus Three, The Rabble, The Mersey Makers, We Five, and All of Us, helped define an era. And in that mix stood The Creatures—young, hungry, and chasing the beat.
Though the band eventually split in the mid-60s for personal reasons, the spirit of The Creatures never faded. Today, that spirit lives on through the original music of Morr Serber, whose songwriting carries the echoes of a time when four teens from Montreal believed they could change the world—with guitars, harmonies, and a dream.
The Creatures Blog as told by: Two of the Original Members:
Walter Posner (a.k.a.: W.P. Wheels)
Morr Serber (a.k.a.: Morr) Member of SOCAN/BMI
www.soundcloud.com/morr-ser

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