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School Days
Whitefriars
School, Cheltenham was a place of learning run by priests to a very
strict regime and John remembers it well. "You got three whacks
of the cane for talking in class and had to say 'thank you father'
after every stroke! I used to say something similar (if you get
my drift), but not too loud!" It was, however, an excellent school
and you came away with a good education says John (shown bottom
right).
Long John To Elton John
Schoolmate
Bernie Holland at age 12 was in the same boy band as John and he
went to join up with Long John Baldry. The keyboard player in that
band was Reg Dwight and everybody laughed when he said he was going
solo, but he changed his name to Elton John and the rest is history.
Bernie also played with Joan Armatrading, Jody Grind, and got 'stuck
in the middle' of Steelers Wheel.
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 Four
Pennies to Quarry Men
After joining
up with Lionel Morton, Alan Buck and Mike Wilsh of 'The Four Pennies'
(No 1 hit 'Juliet') John played many live gigs up and down the country.
When Duff joined the Four Pennies on keyboards for a run of dates he met
John and the pair worked together on the 'Open For Engagements' album,
bringing in Rod Davis on guitar and re-forming The Quarry Men as a live
band. A previous Liverpool recording session with John, drummer Charles
Hart and original Quarry Men, Rod, Duff and Len Garry resulted in an album
of covers which was never released.
The band plays a lot less frequently these days but John is always up
for a gig whenever, wherever. Long gaps between gigs though, means he
can indulge in his own band 'ROXY' an excellent pop covers band, who play
corporate functions and weddings and are always heavily in demand!
Email For ROXY or Four Pennies Availabilities
click
here to get in touch via the online contact form
The
Quarry Men (continued
from the home page)
.....Incredibly,
a poor quality recording of this performance made by Bob Molyneux, a member
of St Peter's Youth Club, turned up in 1994. Molyneux's tape, auctioned
by Sotheby's on 15 September 1994 for $100,000, includes only two songs,
"Baby Let's Play House" (Gunter) by Elvis Presley, from which
Lennon would later appropriate the opening line for his "Run For
Your Life" and Lonnie Donegan's "Puttin' On The Style".
According to various accounts, the Quarry Men also performed the Del Vikings'
"Come Go With Me" (Quick), Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight
Rock" (Cochran-Fairchild) (both on the 'Open for Engagements' CD),
Lonnie Donegan's "The Cumberland Gap" (trad.) and "Railroad
Bill" (trad.), "Maggie Mae" (a traditional, rather bawdy,
Liverpool song that the Beatles later recorded in 1969) and perhaps for
the first time in public, Gene Vincent's "Be-Bop-A-Lula" (Vincent-Davis).
7 AUGUST 1957, Cavern Club, Liverpool was the Quarry Men's first appearance
at what would become recognised as the home of the Beatles and the birthplace
of the Merseybeat. At the time, the Cavern was primarily a jazz club.
John tested the prohibition against rock 'n' roll by allowing the band's
repertoire to stray from skiffle towards Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins.
The manager Bob Woolmer once passed him a note onstage, "Cut the
bloody rock!" By the time the Beatles left Liverpool, they had played
the Cavern 292 times.
9 JUNE
1957, Empire Theatre, Liverpool was the first verifiable performance of
the Quarry Men. It was an unsuccessful audition organised by Pete Shotton
before impresario Carroll Levis for the Discoveries television show. They
didn't even make the preliminary auditions
When John
thought of changing the name of the band they became 'Johnny and the Moondogs'.
Stu suggested 'The Beetles' an idea he got from the Buddy Holly band The
Crickets. They were then known as 'The Silver Beetles' before dropping
the 'Silver' to become 'The Beetles'. John later admitted he had once
had a dream aged 12 when a man on a flaming pie said, "You will be
the Beetles with an 'a' " and so it was.
Three
of the remaining Quarry Men, Len Garry, Rod Davis and John 'Duff' Lowe
later reformed the Quarry Men with singer/guitarist/songwriter John Ozoroff,
drummer Charles Hart and bassist Richie Gould. From that partnership came
the CD 'Open for Engagements' (entitled after The Quarry Men first ever
business card) which was mastered at Abbey Road. It contains original
songs and tracks from the original the original Quarry Men set list. Tracks
of note include the tribute to John Lennon 'John Winston', a 'Lennonesque'
poem 'Life of Sleep' and the intriguing 'Shinto'.
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| John recommends.... |
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1001 Guitar Tips
& Tricks Book...
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Electric Guitars:
The Illustrated Encyclopedia....
Electric
Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopedia - Hardback - Usually dispatched
within 7 to 8 days - priced £16.89
. If you would like a copy of the 'Electric Guitars: The Illustrated
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right to read more and decide whether you would like to order direct
from Amazon.
Buy
the book 'Electric Guitars: The Illustrated Enclyclopedia...
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