The Big Three evolved from a group called Cass and the Cassanovas, formed in May 1959 by Brian Casser as a trio comprising Casser (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), Adrian Barber (lead guitar, vocals), and Brian J. Hudson (drums) (born Brian James Hudson, 21 April 1938, Cleveland, North Yorkshire). The original line-up played at St George's Hall, Liverpool, on Friday, 15 May 1959. Johnny Hutchinson (born 18 July 1940) replaced Hudson in July 1959. In need of a bass guitarist, Hutchinson brought in Johnny Gustafson in December. At that time, Gustafson did not have a proper bass guitar, so Barber converted an acoustic for him. Gustafson's first gig was at The Tower Ballroom, New Brighton, on 31 December 1959.[3]
In May 1960, the band auditioned for Larry Parnes at the Wyvern Social Club, Seel Street, Liverpool, with a number of other bands including The Silver Beetles (one of The Beatles' earlier names). Hutchinson sat in with the band when their drummer Tommy Moore (born Thomas Henry Moore, in 1931, Liverpool died in 1981) failed to turn up. In December 1960, Casser left the group and moved to London, reducing them to a trio again, and the band re-emerged in January 1961 as The Big Three. Despite being a three-piece they were known as "one of the loudest, most aggressive and visually appealing acts".[4]
Brian Epstein signed them to his agency[4] and sent them over to Hamburg's Star-Club. It was during that trip in July 1962 that Brian Griffiths (born 27 August 1943, Liverpool) joined the group, and the best-known line-up of the Big Three was established.[4] Barber would subsequently emigrate to the United States, where he would later become known as an in-house recording engineer and producer at Atlantic Records, where he produced the Allman Brothers Band's debut album in 1969.[5]
Epstein arranged for them to audition for Decca Records, for which audition they recorded "Some Other Guy". The song was a minor chart hit, and later it became a standard in the Merseybeat scene.[4]
The Big Three and Epstein terminated their partnership in July 1963.[4] Gustafson and Griffiths quit in November 1963, and with drummer Ian Broad from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes formed the Seniors and left for Germany. Hutchinson replaced them with Faron Ruffley (born William Faron Ruffley, 8 January 1942, Walton, Liverpool) and Paddy Chambers (born Patrick John Chambers, 3 April 1944, Liverpool, died 18 September 2000) from Faron's Flamingos.[4]
Chambers left in March 1964 and was replaced by Paul Pilnick from Lee Curtis' Allstars. Pilnick only stayed a short time before moving on to Tony Jackson & The Vibrations in October 1964, with Ruffley leaving around the same time.[citation needed]
Various musicians passed through the band after Pilnick left, including bass players John Bradley, Adrian Lord (ex Mojos), and Mike Bankes, whilst Ray Marshall and Howie Casey played saxophone on a trip to Germany. Barry Womersley was guitarist for a while, but was replaced by Brian Griffiths during the time that they were managed by Chris Wharton. Wharton had hopes of re-enlisting Johnny Gustafson but this came to nothing. Hutchinson had played with the Spidermen, but reformed the group with Barry Womersley and Ray Marshall.[citation needed]
Between 1964 and 1966, the line-up consisted of John Hutchinson, Ray Marshall (vocals, bass) and Barry Womersley (lead guitar).[6] During 1966 the band folded. Hutchinson received an offer to join Kingsize Taylor & the Dominoes but he declined, instead deciding to retire from music.[citation needed]
Arty Davies of 'Liverpool Beat' says that following the demise of the Womersley/Marshall/Hutchinson line-up, a couple of bookings featured the following: Dave Blackstone (lead guitar), Johnny Hutchinson (drums) and Pete Mumford (bass guitar). There is an apocryphal story in Alan Clayson's book Beat Merchants[7] that Hutchinson packed up his drums after a first set at the Blue Angel, collected his pay and went home, with another drummer taking his place. Presumably this was the band's last gig.[8]
In 1973, Gustafson and Griffiths teamed up with Elton John drummer Nigel Olsson, and Quatermass keyboardist J. Peter Robinson for a reunion album, Resurrection, released on Polydor Records.[9] In 1999 Griffiths got together with another former Big Three member, Faron Ruffley, to do a small spot of Big Three numbers at the Merseycats charity night; the drummer for the get-together was Arty Davies (Faron's Flamingos).[10]
In 2009, RPM Records issued a CD compilation entitled Cavern Stomp.[11]
In 2017 Bill Kenwright released and toured the sell-out musical Cilla The Musical; The Big Three (played by Jay Osborne, Chris Weeks and Tom Dunlea) appeared in the show and doubled as the show band. Following the tour the three players were 'handed down the baton' to become the next generation of The Big Three by original members Griffiths, Gustafson, and Hutchinson.[citation needed] The new Big Three are set to write and release brand new material in early 2020.[citation needed]
Johnny Hutchinson died on 12 April 2019. He, Gustafson and Griffiths all appear in the film about the band Some Other Guys.
Members
Johnny Hutchinson – drums, vocals (1961–1966)
Adrian Barber – first guitarist, lead guitar, vocals (1961–7/1962)
Cavern Stomp (The Complete Recordings) (RPM Records, 2009)
Related Research Articles
The Surfaris are an American surf music band formed in Glendora, California, in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the charts in the Los Angeles area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" and "Wipe Out", which were the A-side and B-side of the same 45 rpm single.
Gerry's Pacemakers, known until 2018 as Gerry and the Pacemakers, are a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongside the Beatles were instrumental in popularizing the Merseybeat sound and launching the wider British beat boom of the mid-1960s.
The Merseybeats are an English band that emerged from the Liverpool Merseybeat scene in the early 1960s, performing at the Cavern Club along with the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and other similar artists.
Jokers Wild were a British rock band formed in Cambridge, England, in 1964. The group were active until 1967, and are best known for launching the career of guitarist David Gilmour, who went on to join Pink Floyd.
The Tornados were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and US no. 1 "Telstar", the first US no. 1 single by a British group.
The Scorpions are a 1960s British beat group, originally from Manchester in England, that became popular notably in the Netherlands. Their most important hit was "Hello Josephine", a song by Fats Domino.
Daniel Joseph Anthony Meehan, professionally known as Tony Meehan, was a founder member of the British group the Drifters, with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, which would evolve into the Shadows. He played drums on early Cliff Richard and the Shadows hits and on early Shadows instrumentals.
Johnny Kidd & the Pirates were an English rock band led by singer/songwriter Johnny Kidd. Their musical journey spanned from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, during which they achieved considerable success with hit songs like "Shakin' All Over" and "Please Don't Touch".
Birth of the Beatles is a 1979 American biographical film, produced by Dick Clark Productions and directed by Richard Marquand. The film was released into cinemas worldwide, except in the United States, where it was shown as a TV film on ABC. The film focuses on the early history of the Beatles. It was released nine years after the announced break-up of the Beatles themselves, and is the only Beatles biopic to be made while John Lennon was still alive. Pete Best, the Beatles' original drummer, served as a technical advisor for the production.
The Remo Four were a 1950s–1960s rock band from Liverpool, England. They were contemporaries of The Beatles, and later had the same manager, Brian Epstein. Its members were Colin Manley, Phil Rogers, Don Andrew, and Roy Dyke (drums). Andrew and Manley were in the same class at school as Paul McCartney.
The Undertakers are a British beat group, contemporaries of the Beatles and a leading group in the Merseybeat music scene of the early 1960s.
The Escorts were a Merseybeat band formed in October 1962 in Liverpool, England, by three classmates who had just left the Morrison School for Boys in Rose Lane, Allerton — Mike Gregory, Terry Sylvester and John Kinrade. In 1963, they were voted the ninth most popular group in Liverpool by readers of Mersey Beat magazine from a competitive field of several dozen popular Liverpool bands of the time.
John Frederick "Johnny" Gustafson was an English bass guitar player and singer, who had a lengthy recording and live performance career. During his career, he was a member of the bands The Big Three, The Merseybeats, Quatermass, Roxy Music, The Pirates and Ian Gillan Band.
The Echoes were an English musical group, established in London in early 1960 by singer Chris Wayne, for the Johnny Preston, Conway Twitty and Freddy Cannon tour of Great Britain. During the period 1960 to 1971, the Echoes toured extensively throughout the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world, playing for various artists and providing the backing on many recordings.
Lee Curtis and the All-Stars were an English beat group from Liverpool. They were contemporaries and briefly local rivals of the Beatles in the early 1960s. Led by Peter Flannery, who used the stage name Lee Curtis, other group members included Pete Best, Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington
Brian Cassar was a British singer and guitarist known as Casey Jones. He led the first notable beat group in Liverpool, Cass and the Cassanovas, who were early rivals of The Beatles in the city. He later led another group, Casey Jones and the Engineers, which was one of Eric Clapton's first bands, and then, as leader of Casey Jones and the Governors, became successful in Germany, where he became based for much of his life. His surname is sometimes misspelled as Casser.
The Dennisons were an English Merseybeat band, that emerged from the Liverpool scene in the early 1960s. Despite their background, and a couple of minor hit singles, they failed to achieve more than a local following and were unable to find a footing on the British Invasion. However, in 1963, Bob Wooler stated that "The Dennisons have created the biggest impact in Liverpool since the Beatles." The band's drummer, Clive Hornby, later became the actor best known for portraying Jack Sugden in British soap opera Emmerdale.
At the Cavern is a live extended play 45 rpm record released in 1963 by The Big Three. It was released on Decca Records as DFE 8552 in mono and reached #6 in the UK EP charts in December 1963.
Wishful Thinking are a British rock band, originally formed in the 1960s.
Faron's Flamingos were an English band. In spite of having a lack of success due to poor decision making, they remain an important part of the Merseybeat history. They also have the distinction of being the first major example of the Mersey Motown sound with their release of "Do You Love Me".
References
1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19thed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p.57. ISBN1-904994-10-5.
↑ Beat Merchants: Origins, History, Impact and Rock Legacy of the 1960s British Pop Groups (Firsted.). Blandford Press. 14 September 1995. ISBN978-0713724646.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
