This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2009) |
The Undertakers | |
---|---|
Origin | Liverpool, England |
Genres | Beat, pop |
Years active | 1961–present |
Labels | Pye Records |
Members | Brian Jones Tony Schofield Les Jones Mike Bennett Colin Gort Linda Campbell |
Past members | Jackie Lomax Chris Huston Geoff Nugent Bugs Pemberton Bob Evans Dave "Mushy" Cooper Dennis Barton Beryl Marsden Jimmy McManus Bugs Pemberton Tommy Bennett George Roberts Billy Good Jimmy O'Brien Chris Evans Baz Davies Ray Kelly Tim Ready Kevin Murphy |
The Undertakers are a British beat group, contemporaries of the Beatles and a leading group in the Merseybeat music scene of the early 1960s. [1]
The Undertakers were originally called Bob Evans and the Five Shillings, with Nugent; lead guitarist Ike X (replaced by Pete Cook (ex the Topspots); drummer Bob Evans (died March 2009) (ex the Renegades); bassist Billy Evans; tenor saxophone player Les Maguire (born Leslie Charles Maguire, 27 December 1941, in Wallasey, Cheshire) and rhythm guitarist, vocalist Mike Millward (born Michael Millward, 9 May 1942, Bromborough, Cheshire - died 7 March 1966, at Bromborough Hospital, Bromborough), who was later in the Fourmost.
Then they became the Vegas Five formed in 1959, a group led by drummer Bob Evans with Geoff Nugent, died 12 October 2014; Chris Huston (ex the Casuals); lead vocalist Jimmy McManus (ex the Topspots); bassist Mushy Cooper (born David Cooper died in 1998) (ex the Topspots) and Les Maguire, who was later in Gerry and the Pacemakers, replaced by alto / tenor sax player, vocalist Brian (Sax) Jones (ex the Rebels) (born 27 November 1940 in Wallasey, Cheshire). This was one of the first rock and roll groups in the Liverpool area.
When the Vegas Five were booked to play a dance, they discovered that the local newspaper had inadvertently transposed their name with the word "Undertakers" from the adjacent column.[ citation needed ] The promoter persuaded them to develop this as a gimmick, by playing the "Death March" to start their show, and to change their name. In February 1961, Evans' group merged with another group, Dee and the Dynamites, based in Wallasey, and Evans left to be replaced by Pemberton (ex Dee and the Dynamites) in September 1961.[ citation needed ]
The Undertakers developed a major local following for their live performances. [1] This was due to the quality of Lomax's singing, the customisation of the band's instruments and amplification by Huston, and the fact that, unlike most Merseybeat groups, they were boosted by a saxophone, which enabled them to play a wider range of R&B songs including more obscure material. [1] There is a photograph of fans queueing at the Cavern for what was thought to be the Beatles, when they were in fact queueing for the Undertakers.
They played at Hamburg’s Star-Club during 1962. [1] However, on their return, they rejected a management offer from Brian Epstein, and signed a recording contract with Pye Records with Tony Hatch as their record producer. [1] The records they made with Pye were weak both in terms of their sound and commercial success, although their third single, "Just a Little Bit", managed one week on the Top 50 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1964. [2] The song was later covered by Slade and Rory Gallagher.
The Undertakers split up after a tour of the United States in 1965, with Lomax, Huston and Pemberton all remaining in that country and developing their own careers in the music industry. Brian Jones became a session player and is sometimes claimed to have played saxophone on the Beatles' "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)", a claim which he denies, saying that it was "the Brian Jones who couldn't swim," [3] and, in fact, most sources do state that the part was played by Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones. (These sources include the Beatles' Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones' then-bassist Bill Wyman). [4] [5] Pemberton lived in Los Angeles, California. They had many changes. When Brian Jones returned from America he and Geoff Nugent formed the New Undertakers with three members of the Newtowns:
Geoff Nugent | vocals rhythm/lead guitar | |||
Brian Jones | tenor sax/vocals | |||
Jim Jones | bass guitar | |||
Bob Frazer | keyboards | |||
Bob Williams | drums |
Geoff Nugent re-formed the band for the Liverpool Garden Festival and in 2007 settled on a line-up of
Geoff Nugent | vocals /rhythm guitar | ||
Brian Jones | tenor sax | ||
Bill Good | bass guitar /vocals | ||
Baz Davies | lead guitar/vocals | ||
Jimmy O'Brien | drums |
When he was home from the US, Jackie Lomax would team up with the band to give three originals in the line-up. Lomax died on the Wirral in September 2013, followed shortly after by Bugs Pemberton who died in Los Angeles on 13 October 2013; both died from cancer related illnesses. Geoff Nugent died 12 October 2014. [6]
In 2018, Jones published his book Sax, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll about his experiences in the music industry.
Their best known line-up was:
After Geoff Nugent and Jackie Lomax passed away, The Undertakers are now run by Brian Jones. The current line up consists of:
Gerry and the Pacemakers, were 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 Fourmost are an English Merseybeat band that recorded in the 1960s. Their biggest UK hit single was "A Little Loving" in 1964.
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.
The Average White Band are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track "Pick Up the Pieces", and their albums AWB and Cut the Cake. The band name was initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett. They have influenced others, such as the Brand New Heavies, and been sampled by various musicians, including the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, TLC, The Beatnuts, Too Short, Ice Cube, Eric B. & Rakim, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Christina Milian, and Arrested Development, making them the 15th most sampled act in history.
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.
John Richard Lomax was an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is best known for his association with George Harrison, who produced Lomax's recordings for the Beatles' Apple record label in the late 1960s.
"Re-Make/Re-Model" is a song written by Bryan Ferry that appears as the opening track on Roxy Music's eponymous debut album.
Ol' 55 are an Australian band specialising in retro, 1950s-era Rock 'n' Roll. They formed as Fanis in 1972 in Sutherland, Sydney. Drummer Geoff Plummer was working with Glenn A. Baker at the NSW Department of Media and invited Baker to hear his part-time band, including Patrick "Meatballs" Drummond, Rockpile Jones and Jimmy Manzie. In 1975, Baker took on their management, renamed them as Ol' 55 for the Tom Waits song, and recruited front man Frankie J. Holden and, later in the year, saxophonist Wilbur Wilde.
The Riot Squad were a pop group from London, initially managed and produced by Larry Page and later, for their reunion, by Joe Meek.
"Hallelujah I Love Her So" is a single by American musician Ray Charles. The rhythm and blues song was written and released by Charles in 1956 on the Atlantic label, and in 1957 it was included on his self-titled debut LP, also released on Atlantic. The song peaked at number five on the Billboard R&B chart. It is loosely based on 'Get It Over Baby' by Ike Turner (1953).
Blind Dog at St. Dunstans is the seventh studio album by Canterbury Scene rock band Caravan. It was released in 1976.
The Top Ten Club was a music club in Hamburg's St. Pauli district at Reeperbahn 136, which opened on 31 October 1960 and kept its name until 1994.
"Girlfriend" is a song by English rock band Wings, from their 1978 album London Town. It was written by Wings frontman Paul McCartney, who originally intended it to be sung by Michael Jackson. Jackson then covered the song the following year on his 1979 album Off the Wall, and in 1980 it was released as the 5th and final single of that album.
The Battle of Hastings is the twelfth album by the British Canterbury scene progressive rock band Caravan, released in 1995.
Leslie Charles Maguire was an English musician and retired who was a principal member of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers from 1961 to 1966.
Sugar and Spice is the second studio album by the British rock band The Searchers released in 1963. This album features the band's second big hit single "Sugar and Spice". With two successful Top 5 albums in three months, and two other Top 3 hit singles at the time, the group proved to be the strongest to emerge from Liverpool next to the Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers. They solidified their position further with another album track, "Ain't That Just Like Me", which was later released in the US and hit #61 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Derry and the Seniors were a British rock and roll group of the early 1960s. They were the first band from Liverpool to play the club scene in Germany, paving the way for The Beatles and others. As Howie Casey and the Seniors, they were also the first Liverpool group to record an LP, and featured singer Freddie Fowell, later known as Freddie Starr.
Faron's Flamingos were an English Merseybeat band. Despite their lack of commercial success, they remain an important part of Merseybeat history and have the distinction of being the first major example of the "Mersey Motown" sound with their release of "Do You Love Me".