Rory Storm & the Hurricanes
Rory Storm & the Hurricanes were a British band from Liverpool and one of the leading groups on the Mersey Beat . Despite their local popularity, they never made the leap to international fame.
Band history
Rory Storm formed a skiffle band in January 1957 . First they were called Al Caldwell's Texans , then one after the other the Raving Texans , Al Storm & the Hurricanes , Jett Storm & the Hurricanes and from August 1959 finally Rory Storm & the Hurricanes . At the time, the Hurricanes consisted of Rory Storm (vocals), Johnny Guitar (actually John Byrne, rhythm guitar), Ty Brian (actually Charles O'Brien, lead guitar), Lou Walters (actually Wally Eymond, bass) and Ringo Starr (actually Richard Starkey, drums).
In 1960 they began to perform with rock 'n' roll pieces - such as by Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis . In May they played with Gene Vincent in Liverpool, and they were offered a summer engagement with a fee of £ 25 each - a week.
Because of this obligation, the Hurricanes refused to work in Hamburg , instead the Beatles traveled there. But in September the Hurricanes also went to Hamburg and played with the Beatles in the Kaiserkeller . They got a higher fee than the Beatles and were better accepted by the audience.
In October the Hurricanes recorded three cover versions of well-known pieces in Hamburg: Fever (John Davenport / Eddie Cooley), September Song (music: Kurt Weill ; text: Maxwell Anderson ) and Summertime (music: George Gershwin ; text: DuBose Heyward ). They were accompanied by John Lennon , Paul McCartney and George Harrison from the Beatles as background singers.
In 1961 and 1962 the Hurricanes played in England , France and Spain . In August 1962, Ringo Starr left the band to join the Beatles. From then on, the Hurricanes were constantly on the lookout for a new drummer, as none stayed for long. One of the intermittent drummers was Keef Hartley , who joined the Hurricanes in August 1963.
In 1964 the Hurricanes made recordings in London under the direction of Brian Epstein , the manager of the Beatles. The single America was released in December, but the hoped-for success did not materialize.
In 1967, Ty Brian collapsed during a concert. He died shortly afterwards, only 26 years old. The band broke up. Rory Storm later tried to rebuild the group, but unsuccessfully.
Rory Storm died on September 27, 1972, believed to have been a pill overdose.
Discography (singles)
- 1963 Dr. Feelgood / I Can Tell
- 1964 America / Since You Broke My Heart
- These and other titles appeared on samplers in 1963.
Individual evidence
literature
- Thorsten Knublauch and Axel Korinth: Come, Give Me Your Hand - The Beatles in Germany 1960-1970 . Books on Demand Gmbh: 2008. ISBN 978-38334-8530-5
Web links
- Full history (Engl.)
- Information about the group (Engl.)