The best of the 60s

[davieG]

[davieG]

[davieG]

22 hours ago, davieG said:

Curtin Radio ·

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Born on 6th July 1939, Terence "Jet" Harris MBE was an English musician. He was the bass guitarist of the Shadows from 1958 until April 1962. He had subsequent success as a soloist and as a duo with the drummer Tony Meehan with whom he topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in early 1963 with “Diamonds”.

Harris, the only child of Bill and Winifred Harris, was born at Honeypot Lane, Kingsbury, North West London, England. His prowess as a sprinter at Dudden Hill secondary modern school earned him the nickname Jet.

Although he learned to play clarinet as a teenager, he made his own four-string double bass to play in a jazz group and later graduated to a professionally made double bass. In 1958, while playing jazz with drummer Tony Crombie and his group the Rockets, Crombie got a Framus bass guitar for Harris, making him one of the first British exponents of the instrument.

He played in several groups including the Vipers Skiffle Group and the Most Brothers before, in 1959, joining Cliff Richard's backing group, the Drifters, who later changed their name to the Shadows at Harris's suggestion. In 1959, after the neck of his Framus was terminally damaged in a dressing room accident, he was presented, by the importers, with a Fender Precision Bass, one of the first to come to Britain from the United States.

Harris also contributed vocally, adding backup harmonies and occasional lead vocals. He had a trademark scream, used in the Shadows' "Feeling Fine" and Cliff Richard's "Do You Wanna Dance?"

In 1962, Harris left the Shadows following disagreements. He signed with Decca and released solo instrumental and vocal work with some success namely, “Besame Mucho” and “The Man with the Golden Arm” featuring a Fender Vi string bass guitar. Then, as part of a duo with former Shadows drummer Tony Meehan, he topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in early 1963 with "Diamonds". Harris and Meehan followed this with two further hit singles, "Scarlett O'Hara" (also written by Jerry Lordan) a UK No.2 and "Applejack" (composed by Les Vandyke) reaching UK No.4 also in 1963. Tracks from "Diamonds" onward were recorded with Harris using standard Fender Jaguar and Gretsch guitars, usually de-tuned to D instead of E. Harris was partly responsible for helping Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones break into the music business. Page's first major session was as a rhythm guitarist on "Diamonds" in late 1962. After "Diamonds" became a hit, Harris and Meehan hired Jones to play bass in their touring band.

In 1998, he was awarded a Fender Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in popularising the bass guitar in Britain. He appeared annually at Bruce Welch's 'Shadowmania' and toured backed by the Rapiers (a Shadows tribute band). He recorded continuously from the late 1980s with a variety of collaborators, including Tangent, Alan Jones (also an ex-Shadows bassist), Bobby Graham and the Local Heroes. His previous problems with stage nerves had seemingly disappeared, and 2006 saw Harris' first single release in over forty years, "San Antonio".

He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours. Also that year, Harris was presented with a special award from the US Fender guitar company for his services to their company in effectively launching their bass guitar in the UK in 1960.

Harris had five sons and a daughter and resided in Bembridge, Isle of Wight. He was a heavy smoker and died on 18th March 2011, two years after being diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary, at the home of his partner Janet Hemingway, in Winchester.

In 2012 the UK Heritage Foundation erected a blue plaque in his memory at the Kingswood Centre, Honeypot Lane, Kingsbury, on the site of the former Willesden Maternity Hospital where he was born. At the luncheon that followed the unveiling of the plaque, various musicians took part in a performance in Harris' memory, including Mike Berry, Clem Cattini of The Tornados, bassist Mo Foster, and Harris' backing group The Shadowers. Tributes were read by Bruce Welch and Marty Wilde. Hank Marvin sent a written tribute but it did not arrive in time to be read

[davieG]

1961

 

[davieG]

That was a year!

 

 

Favourite Number One Single from 1964 ?

There was 24 No 1’s in 1964 .

 

[Foxdiamond]

4 hours ago, davieG said:

That was a year!

 

 

Favourite Number One Single from 1964 ?

There was 24 No 1’s in 1964 .

 

Wow. Very difficult to choose. My 8 year self I remember was a big fan of Can't Buy Me Love. Can recall discussing with the two boys I lived next door to.

[davieG]

Number 1s 1965

[davieG]

History of Leicestershire in Images

Mervin Wallace ·

THE GEORGE BALLROOM HINCKLEY 

This is a list of the groups during the early years of the then newly refurbished popular venue. These are pretty much all taken from the adverts of the time, so there may well still be groups unlisted. 

 

[davieG]

 

 

Liverpool and Merseyside area rock bands 1960s and 1970s  · 

Gerard Loof ·

 

Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas. Kramer's real name was William Howerd Ashton, while The Dakotas were a Manchester band (Tony Mansfield - drums, Ray Jones -bass, Mike Maxfield and Robib MacDonald - guitars) formed in 1962. In 1963 Brian Epstein played matchmaker and teamed them up. A deal with EMI and Parlophone predictably followed and Epstein fashioned the group with a batch of Lennon and McCartney giveaways. "Do You Want To Know A Secret" (featuring producer George Martin on piano) , recorded by The Beatles on their debut album "Please Please Me" as a vocal vehicle for George Harrison. With B-side "I'll Be On My Way" gave Billy J. a debut hit at number two in May, while "Bad To Me" went one better and topping the charts for two weeks in August. Even The Dakotas scored an instrumental hit in their own right with "The Cruel Sea" in July. Following hits "Í'll Keep You Satisfied (at number 4 in October 1963), "Little Children" (number 1 in Februari 1964). "From A Window (number 10 in July 1964) and "Trains and Boats and Planes" (number 12 in November 1965) (Source "British Beat 1960-1969" by Terry Rawlings)

[davieG]

 

 

Liverpool and Merseyside area rock bands 1960s and 1970s  · 

Gerard Loof ·

Together on tour in May and June 1963 in the UK ; The Beatles , Roy Orbison and Gerry and the Pacemakers with their hits that year; Please Please Me, From Me To You, How Do You Do It, I Like It, In Dreams and Falling. (source "The Beatles ; Music Legends")

[Dr Marco]

 

[Crinklyfox]

 

[davieG]

 

Rock N' Roll Society ·

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In 1961, Del Shannon went from being almost completely unknown to hearing his voice on radios around the world.

His real name was Charles Weedon Westover, a Michigan musician who had worked ordinary jobs, served in the U.S. Army, and spent years playing in local bands.

Then came one song.

Working with keyboardist Max Crook, Shannon created “Runaway,” a song born from the emotions of a broken relationship. Crook's unusual Musitron keyboard gave the recording a futuristic sound that seemed unlike anything else on the radio.

When “Runaway” was released, it exploded.

It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, topped the British charts, and became an international sensation.

Suddenly, the Michigan musician was a rock-and-roll star.

He was touring overseas, appearing on television, and sharing stages with some of the biggest names of the era.

But extraordinary success can create an impossible problem:

How do you follow the song that made you famous?

Shannon kept trying.

He scored more hits with songs such as “Hats Off to Larry,” “Little Town Flirt,” and “Keep Searchin'.” But none could quite match the cultural impact of “Runaway.”

Then the music industry changed.

The British Invasion transformed popular music, and Shannon refused to simply disappear. He continued recording while expanding into songwriting and production.

He was also one of the early American artists to recognize the incredible potential of The Beatles. In 1963, he recorded his own version of “From Me to You,” helping introduce the British group's music to American audiences.

As the years passed, Shannon's influence became increasingly respected by other musicians.

Tom Petty admired him.

Jeff Lynne worked with him.

And members of the Traveling Wilburys recognized what Shannon brought to the world of rock.

In the late 1980s, Shannon and Lynne worked together on new material. After Roy Orbison's death, there were even discussions about Shannon potentially becoming the Traveling Wilburys' lead vocalist.

It seemed like another major chapter might be beginning.

But behind the music, Shannon was dealing with serious personal struggles, including depression and alcoholism.

On February 8, 1990, Del Shannon died at the age of 55.

The loss shocked the music community, especially as new creative opportunities had begun appearing in his life again.

Yet the song that started everything refused to disappear.

“Runaway” continued finding new generations through radio, movies, television, and countless artists influenced by its sound.

In 1999, nearly a decade after his death, Shannon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

More than a hit, “Runaway” became part of the history of rock music.

That strange keyboard.

That unmistakable falsetto.

That feeling of heartbreak suspended inside a three-minute recording.

Del Shannon spent decades living in the enormous shadow of the song that changed his life.

But perhaps that's also the legacy of “Runaway.”

The man behind it may have struggled to outrun the weight of his own success, but the music itself never stopped moving forward.

Generation after generation heard that voice—and remembered the name Del Shannon

[davieG]

 

History of Leicestershire in Images

Mervin Wallace 

THE HOLLIES

If there is one 60s group that never failed to impress back then or now, it’s The Hollies.

Today original members Lead Guitarist Tony Hicks, and Drummer Bobby Elliot released the statement shown here. 80 year old Tony has retired due to health reasons, so the group have now decided to call it a day.

I saw the Hollies 3 times at The George in Hinckley, Leicestershire in 1964 and 1965, again more recently twice at Kilworth House Open Air Theatre. Lead singer Alan Clarke, is still alive and he retired many years ago. Eric Haydock Bassist and founder member of the Hollies sadly died at the age of 75 on the 6th January 2019. Graham Nash OBE now has dual British-US Citizenships and still performs. I wish the guys well and hope their futures are happy and healthy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[davieG]

[OnlyOneCity]

On 21/08/2026 at 11:17, davieG said:

 

History of Leicestershire in Images

Mervin Wallace 

THE HOLLIES

If there is one 60s group that never failed to impress back then or now, it’s The Hollies.

Today original members Lead Guitarist Tony Hicks, and Drummer Bobby Elliot released the statement shown here. 80 year old Tony has retired due to health reasons, so the group have now decided to call it a day.

I saw the Hollies 3 times at The George in Hinckley, Leicestershire in 1964 and 1965, again more recently twice at Kilworth House Open Air Theatre. Lead singer Alan Clarke, is still alive and he retired many years ago. Eric Haydock Bassist and founder member of the Hollies sadly died at the age of 75 on the 6th January 2019. Graham Nash OBE now has dual British-US Citizenships and still performs. I wish the guys well and hope their futures are happy and healthy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 21/08/2026 at 11:40, davieG said:

Second favourite group after the Beatles. Saw the at the DMH. Great songs.

[davieG]

[Free Falling Foxes]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

The Beatles selling so many albums they actually make the singles chart.

 

[inckley fox]

5 hours ago, davieG said:

There are some incredible songs in there. One of Dylan's masterpieces, and three covers of his songs. 'See My Friends' by The Kinks is immense. 'We Gotta Get Outta This Place' by The Animals. 'Universal Soldier'. Scott Walker's 'Make It Easy on Yourself'. And that's before we get to The Beatles.

 

I'll skip Jonathan King, but other than that it's pretty impressive.

 

Edit: and I forgot 'Satisfaction'!

Edited 28 August by inckley fox

[davieG]

Curtin Radio ·

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On this day in 1964, The Animals started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with “House of the Rising Sun”. When first released the record company printed the time of the song on the record as three minutes feeling that the real time of four minutes was too long for radio airplay.

An interview with Eric Burdon revealed that he first heard the song in a club in Newcastle, England, where it was sung by the Northumbrian folk singer Johnny Handle. The Animals were on tour with Chuck Berry and chose it because they wanted something distinctive to sing.

The Animals' version transposes the narrative of the song from the point of view of a woman led into a life of degradation to that of a man whose father was now a gambler and drunkard, rather than the sweetheart in earlier versions.

The Animals had begun featuring their arrangement of "House of the Rising Sun" during a joint concert tour with Chuck Berry, using it as their closing number to differentiate themselves from acts that always closed with straight rockers. It got a tremendous reaction from the audience, convincing initially reluctant producer Mickie Most that it had hit potential. Between tour stops the group went to a small recording studio on Kingsway in London to capture it.

"House of the Rising Sun" was a trans-Atlantic hit. After reaching the top of the UK pop singles chart in July 1964, it topped the U.S. pop singles chart two months later, on 5th September 1964, where it stayed for three weeks. It became the first British Invasion number one unconnected with the Beatles. It was the group's breakthrough hit in both countries and became their signature song. The song was also a hit in a number of other countries, including Ireland, where it reached No.10 and dropped off the charts one week later.

The Animals' rendition of the song is recognized as one of the classics of British pop music. Writer Lester Bangs labelled it "a brilliant re-arrangement" and "a new standard rendition of an old standard composition." It ranked number 122 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". It is also one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". The RIAA ranked it number 240 on their list of "Songs of the Century". In 1999 it received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. It has long since become a staple of oldies and classic rock radio formats. A 2005 Channel Five poll ranked it as Britain's fourth-favourite number one song.

 

[davieG]

 

Behind The Music
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"Say the name Gene Pitney and most people picture a voice — that soaring, almost pleading tenor behind "Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa" or "Town Without Pity." Fewer people know that voice belonged to someone who, for years, wasn't trying to be heard at all. He was trying to get other people's names on the label.
Before Gene Pitney was famous for singing, he was already famous inside the industry for writing. He worked the songwriting circuit the way session musicians work a studio — quietly, constantly, without needing his own name on the credits. He handed "Hello Mary Lou" to Ricky Nelson and watched it become a career-reviving hit. He gave "Rubber Ball" to Bobby Vee and it shot up the charts. Roy Orbison recorded his song "Today's Teardrops." The Kalin Twins had a hit with his song "Loneliness." Pitney was, by his early twenties, one of the most reliable hit-suppliers in the business — and almost nobody outside the industry knew his face.
Then, in 1962, he wrote a song called "He's a Rebel" and gave it to a girl group called the Crystals.
It went straight to number one in America.
Here's where the story turns on itself. That same autumn, Pitney had a single of his own climbing the charts — "Only Love Can Break a Heart," a Burt Bacharach and Hal David composition that Pitney sang with a kind of aching sincerity that made it the biggest hit of his singing career. Week after week it climbed. And week after week, one song sat just above it: "He's a Rebel." On November 3, 1962, "He's a Rebel" hit number one — and held Pitney's own single at number two, forever.
He never got to be the one who beat himself. The song he wrote for someone else was the only thing standing between him and the top spot.
Most artists would have found that maddening. Pitney kept working.
By 1963 and into 1964, he was touring in London, already a star, already respected — and he found himself in the room with a scruffy young band that hadn't broken through yet: the Rolling Stones. Nobody was chasing autographs from them at that point. Pitney sat in on some of their earliest studio sessions anyway, quietly playing piano on tracks that would end up on their debut album. He wasn't there because he had to be. He was there because he loved music enough to show up for a band that was still finding its sound.
Then came the twist nobody saw coming. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards — barely known as songwriters at that point — wrote a song and gave it to Pitney to record. It was called ""That Girl Belongs to Yesterday."" Pitney recorded it, and it became a UK hit. It made him the very first American artist to ever record a Jagger-Richards composition — before most of the world had any idea those two names would eventually mean anything.
While all of that was happening, something strange was unfolding with his own career. In America, his chart run started fading by the late 1960s, the way so many pre-British Invasion acts faded. But across the Atlantic, nobody let him go. He racked up sixteen Top 40 hits in the United States. In Britain, he had twenty-two — eleven of them cracking the Top Ten. Europe embraced him even further. He didn't just tour there — he recorded full albums in Italian and Spanish, singing his own hits and new material in languages he hadn't grown up speaking, and found real, devoted audiences who didn't care that he'd learned the words phonetically.
He never really stopped. Into the 2000s, Pitney was still touring, still performing for audiences who remembered him from a decade that, for most of them, felt like another lifetime.
In April 2006, he played a full concert in Cardiff, Wales — one stop on an ongoing UK tour. Witnesses said it was one of his best shows in years. He gave no sign of trouble. No warning to his band, no warning to the crowd, no warning to himself.
The next morning, his manager found him in his hotel room. He had died in his sleep, hours after his final bow, from a heart attack. He was 65.
Four years earlier, in 2002, Gene Pitney had finally been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — honored, mostly, for the songs everyone already knew were his. But half his legacy was never meant to carry his name at all. It was sitting quietly inside other people's hits — a girl group's chart-topper, a heartbroken country song, a piano part on a debut album by a band that would go on to outlast almost everyone. Gene Pitney spent a career making other people famous without asking for credit, and when the credit finally came, it still only told half the story."

[davieG]

Willem II ·

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𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗽

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘁𝘁 – Lead vocals, lead guitar, guitars, backing vocals

𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗲 – Lead vocals, bass guitar, backing vocals

𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 – Drums, percussion

𝗜𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗰𝗟𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻 – Organ, piano, backing vocals

 

 

What a loss.

[davieG]

15 hours ago, davieG said:

Willem II ·

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𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗽

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘁𝘁 – Lead vocals, lead guitar, guitars, backing vocals

𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗲 – Lead vocals, bass guitar, backing vocals

𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 – Drums, percussion

𝗜𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗰𝗟𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻 – Organ, piano, backing vocals

 

 

What a loss.

 

History of Leicestershire in Images

Mervin Wallace

ON THE 10th SEPTEMBER 1966

The Small Faces were at the George in Hinckley, Leicestershire for the third and final time. A popular Top group of that time, from East London, they were founded in 1965 by Steve Marriott, who died in 1991, Ronnie Lane, who died in 1997, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston, although by 1966 Winston was replaced by Ian McLagan as the band's keyboardist, who died in 2014. They played at the George for the first time on the 2nd October 1965 and again on the 5th February 1966. 

 

 

 

I wish I knew about Hinckley back in the 60s they had some great bands playing there who never seem to turn up in Leicester City or maybe I just missed them there as well.

[davieG]

British Childhood in the 1950s, 60s and 70s ·

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Did you rush to the television on a Friday night to watch Ready Steady Go?

For anyone who grew up in Britain in the 1960s, *Ready Steady Go!* was far more than just another music programme. It felt young, exciting and completely different from much of what had been on television before.

Presented by Cathy McGowan and others over the years, the show brought some of the biggest names in music straight into our living rooms, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Dusty Springfield, The Kinks and many more.

There was something wonderfully immediate about it. The crowds were close to the performers, the fashions were unmistakably 1960s and the whole programme seemed to capture the excitement of a generation discovering its own music and style.

Its famous slogan said it all: **“The weekend starts here!”**

[Foxdiamond]

27 minutes ago, davieG said:

British Childhood in the 1950s, 60s and 70s ·

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Did you rush to the television on a Friday night to watch Ready Steady Go?

For anyone who grew up in Britain in the 1960s, *Ready Steady Go!* was far more than just another music programme. It felt young, exciting and completely different from much of what had been on television before.

Presented by Cathy McGowan and others over the years, the show brought some of the biggest names in music straight into our living rooms, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Dusty Springfield, The Kinks and many more.

There was something wonderfully immediate about it. The crowds were close to the performers, the fashions were unmistakably 1960s and the whole programme seemed to capture the excitement of a generation discovering its own music and style.

Its famous slogan said it all: **“The weekend starts here!”**

Yep definitely remember watching Keith Fordyce and Cathy McGowan and this show. I've got an early memory of watching this then going with my older brother to watch Zulu