Greetings all,
I’m writing these words on what’s being commemorated as International Women’s Day. I’d like to think that every day is women’s day on SATB, as I have always tried to bring on as many unheard voices as possible into the conversation that for too long was dominated by POVs that were less than fully inclusive, to put it one way. If this year shapes up as I am hoping, there will be a lot more who we haven’t yet heard from; at the same time, I want to salute the guests that have been on the SATB platform, folks that I am grateful to share perspectives and friendship with.
GOODBYE TO…
As newsletter #69 was going to press, word came of the passing of original Quarry Men* member Len Garry. During their brief heyday, such as it was, he played tea-chest bass, but come the group’s post-Lennon reunions beginning in 1994, he reverted to guitar. The very first (known) picture taken of Lennon-McCartney together - November 23, 1957 at New Clubmoor Hall - shows Garry between Paul and John onstage, alongside drummer Colin Hanton and guitarist Eric Griffiths. (The tea-chest bass position was the least stable in the band: it was originally held by Bill Smith, before giving way to Nigel Walley, then Ivan Vaughan, and lastly Len.)
L-R: Colin - Paul - Len - John - Eric
Garry and Walley were the two members who hadn’t actually attended Quarry Bank High School, but more importantly, Garry was present at the auspicious July 7, 1957 garden fête where John and Paul were formally introduced by Ivan. Though his tenure in the group was cut short by a bout of meningitis that put him in hospital for seven months, he was canny enough in later years to get his recollections of his brief but eventful history down on paper for a memoir, 1997’s John, Paul & Me Before the Beatles: The True Story of the Very Early Days. The book is worth seeking out for subsequent editions that updated it with a CD featuring conversations with Pete Shotton.
The reconstituted Quarry Men toured the world during the ‘90s and early 2000s and issued four CDs of material from their skiffle repertoire, plus two live sets. (The first, 1994’s Open For Engagements, did not feature Garry but the others did.) Garry’s passing leaves Rod Davis, Colin Hanton, Bill Smith, Nigel Walley and Sir Paul McCartney as the survivors who played with the group’s founding member.
L-R: Rod Davis - Colin Hanton - Len Garry
*Through the years, there has been continued debate on “Quarry Men” vs “Quarrymen.” Those preferring the latter will offer the assertion that the word was too big to fit in a single line on Colin Hanton’s bass drum, and that is why it was split. This doesn’t explain why it was likewise split on their business cards, so I default here (and in Ribbons of Rust) to two words, which is exactly how The Beatles themselves present it in the Anthology book and how it was spelled during the group’s original run, in contrast to how it was spelled it in their reunion years.
Also passed this week: Gary Leeds, known professionally as Gary Walker. He was a drummer and vocalist, initially with The Standells. (They’re best remembered for their 1966 garage rock classic “Dirty Water,” but Leeds had left by then; it was sung by his replacement, former Mouseketeer Dick Dodd.) Greater success awaited Gary when he joined forces with John Maus and Scott Engel. The trio took up the last name “Walker” (kind of like The Ramones would later on) and relocated to England. As The Walker Brothers, they scored a series of hits in 1965-66, channeling the Phil Spector Wall of Sound. The first was the Bacharach-David song, “Make It Easy on Yourself,” which scored them a UK #1 (#16 US). Perhaps the subsequent “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” remains their best known recording; another UK chart-topper (#13 US). It was a cover of a Frankie Valli solo recording that hadn’t clicked, but in the Walkers’ hands sounded like something the Righteous Brothers could’ve scored with. The song was compiled on the 1970s LP series on Sire, The History of British Rock, leading many to assume that the Walker Brothers were English, which they were not.
For SATB listeners, Gary’s next chapter is what matters: though not primarily what one would consider to be a frontman in the usual sense, he followed their 1968 split with the formation of a new UK-based act, Gary Walker and The Rain. Here’s where the story gets interesting because he recruited a Liverpool-based singer-songwriter who to that point hadn’t achieved much of a success: Joey Molland. This new gig gave him a chance to shine, leading directly to his recruitment by The Iveys as they transitioned to Badfinger by the end of 1969. Gary’s second act, like the Walker Brothers, enjoyed big success in Japan, and that’s where they released an LP, which included this Molland composition. You can read about (and hear) the group’s work here.
L-R: Gary - Joey - Paul Crane - John Lawson
Gary Leeds’ death follows Joey Molland’s by just over a year. Word is that the two stayed in touch.
NEWS
I’d mentioned that superb Vanity Fair piece with Joe Hagan on McCartney in the last issue; it’s paywalled but track it down if you can because it’s superb. I also mentioned that I was trying to get Morgan Neville on the show for a conversation about Man on the Run but short of anyone personally intervening, I’m sure that ship has sailed. Doesn’t matter; here’s a nice (but brief) convo with him that’s worth a read.
Big Ringo news: the soon-to-be 86 year-old will be hitting the road, new album in tow. Long, Long Road (no, it doesn’t include his take on “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” - lyrics penned by Luther Russell’s grand dad) is due out in April. This is the follow-up to last year’s country-flavored Look Up, a collaboration with T-Bone Burnette. You can read all about it here, as well as see/here the two tunes released to YouTube this past week. Like its predecessor (and all Ringo’s albums, really), it features a number of guest artists, including Billy Strings, Sheryl Crow, St. Vincent, Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz. I reached out to producer/engineer Bruce Sugar for a conversation; if anyone has any direct contacts, that would be great because using an artist’s website is very hit-or-miss.
Getting a lot of notice is the shirt he’s seen wearing on the cover:
Ringo ‘26
Yes, you have seen it before.
Ringo ‘68
(And if any of you can still fit into something you wore as an adult in 1968, send your photos here for the first annual SATB Incredible Hulk transformation impression contest.)
As Ringo confidant Gary Astridge noted in our recent conversation, Ringo isn’t like normal people: he eats for fuel and that’s about it. Fitting into something he first wore decades ago doesn’t pose a problem, and for anyone who watched the recent coda to Man on the Run, that’s not something every ex-Beatle can comfortably claim.
HISTORY
Typically for this feature of each week’s newsletter I focus on one event from more or less the week in question but it occurred to me, what if there are a lot of smaller things that happened that don’t necessarily warrant a full write up? So I took a look and here’s what I came up with for the week we’re headed into:
12 March 1914 Julia Stanley born
12 March 1948 Apple artist James Taylor born
12 March 1949 Badfinger’s Mike Gibbins born
15 March 1968 “Lady Madonna” single released in the UK
12 March 1969 Paul and Linda married
12 March 1969 George and Pattie raided at Kinfauns
11 March 1970 “Let It Be” single released in the US
12 March 1971 “Power To The People” single released in the UK
12 March 1973 The “I’m The Greatest” session in Los Angeles with John, George and Ringo
12 March 1974 John and Harry Nilsson visit The Troubadour in Los Angeles
10 March 1975 “Stand By Me” single released in the US
15 March 1979 “Goodnight Tonight” single released in the US
13 March 1981 “Watching The Wheels” single released in the US
9 March 1984 “Borrowed Time” single released in the UK
15 March 1986 George appears at the Heart Beat benefit concert
11 March 1997 Sir Paul knighted
15 March 2004 George inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
It’s interesting (to me anyway) to see how events align and some of them relatively close in time to each other. For example, John’s much-discussed Smothers Brothers melee occurring just about a year after the near-Beatles reunion in that same town. And so many singles released on the same week, different years.
One thing I will focus on in a little more depth, since it is so little known about: the 1986 event. The backdrop for the Heart Beat show was 1985’s global Live Aid event, which ELO did not participate in, having last toured in 1982 and in a state of disarray at the time: down to a trio of Jeff Lynne, Bevan and keyboardist Richard Tandy. They’d been working on an album intended as contract fulfillment and little more, Balance of Power, with Lynne playing most of the instruments (with the departure of bassist Kelly Groucutt). But the album was delayed for record label issues, therefore robbing ELO of a showcase at Live Aid for the new release.
But the momentous and all-encompassing nature of the July 1985 event seemed to vex Bevan in particular, and wishing to participate in a charitable event of his own, much closer to home, he set in motion an all-star event intended to benefit their hometown of Birmingham generally and the local children’s hospital especially. In this time of heightened rock stars' consciences, it wasn’t particularly hard to find willing participants, though they all seemed conditioned upon ELO performing, which they hadn’t for its inaugural small-scale run in October 1985. At that time, Lynne had recently lost his father and took himself out for the show (though he did contribute production of a charitable single). The 1986 line-up Bevan recruited included his old Move band mate Roy Wood, as well as fellow Brummie Denny Laine, UB40, Robert Plant, ELO and the Moody Blues (who insisted on playing last).
Bevan had a card to play for the sold out show: the addition of George Harrison, who seemed to be retired at this juncture, coming out to play recently only for the cable TV Carl Perkins Rockabilly special and otherwise occupying himself with HandMade Films. While he did not deliver a full set, he did join the cast for the encore of “Johnny B. Goode,” therein stealing the Moody’s thunder.
The repercussions of this event were twofold: first, George apparently concluded that he didn’t mind performing live in a charitable setting where he wasn’t expected to do the heavy lifting, therein paving the way for his participation (with Ringo) in 1987 at the Prince’s Trust show. Second, it put him into close contact with Jeff Lynne, who he didn’t really know to this point. Lynne reportedly was much enthused to participate in the event in part because he knew George was coming. One can therefore make the case that, for better or worse, the road to Cloud Nine began being paved on this evening, unbeknownst to anyone at the time.
For more on the event and the music, this.
Denny - George - Justin - Robert
SATB
Coming up next is my conversation with Chris Purcell and Simon Weitzman, director and producer of Evolver ‘62, as well as other Beatles-related projects that I will discuss next week.
Also, as a reminder: The Fab Faux’s Magical Mystery Camp ‘26 is coming up June 16-19 in Big Indian, NY - details here.
Last, the show is also sponsored these days by DistroKid. If you go to www.distrokid.com/vip/satb, you can get 30% an annual membership.
Check it out!
Until next time…
All best,
RR
www.somethingaboutthebeatles.com < (the site’s getting rehabbed!)
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