Instrumental Rock, Rock & Roll
Major Members: Roger LaVern, George Bellamy, Clem Cattini, Alan Caddy, Heinz Burt, Joe Meek
Representative Albums: "Telstar: The Complete Tornados," "Ridin' the Wind: The Anthology," "Telstar: The Original Sixties Hits of the Tornados"
Representative Songs: "Telstar," "Exodus," "Hymn for Teenagers"
Biography
One of the saddest stories in rock & roll history surrounds the Tornados, an instrumental group from Britain. Although there were other groups with the same name (see listing for their surf-band American counterparts), this batch of Tornados were the creation of British producer Joe Meek. Meek was England's first independent producer, being equal parts Thomas Edison, Phil Spector and Ed Wood. An inveterate tinkerer, he designed his own compression units and microphone preamps, giving his productions their own distinct sound. Setting up a homemade studio in a three-story flat on Holloway Road in London, Meek pioneered such recording techniques as close miking of instruments, distortion, his aforementioned trademark compression, loud drums fortified by percussion from pocket combs, milk bottles and stomping the floorboards himself. He put together the original Tornados in late 1961 as a studio session group, its original lineup consisting of Alan Caddy and George Bellamy on guitars, Roger LaVern on organ, Heinz Burt on bass and Clem Cattini on drums. After one single flopped, Meek had the group do one of his compositions, an instrumental called "Telstar." Utilizing willful distortion, cheap tape echo, beeping satellite sound effects, a cheesy-sounding Clavioline (a two-octave keyboard powered by a battery) and massive amounts of tube compression, the resulting production sounded like nothing else at the time, or since. It became the first number one record on the American charts by a British rock group and ended up selling five million copies worldwide. It should have made Meek a millionaire and the Tornados a household name. But a French copyright infringement suit kept all royalties tied up for six years, and the Tornados were kept from touring the United States behind their international hit due to a contract employing them as a backup group to U.K. pretty boy Billy Fury. By the time the dust settled, the Tornados had gone hitless for several years, and so had Joe Meek. After numerous personnel changes, the original members had scattered to various groups, Heinz Burt starting his own solo career and Cattini becoming a British session mainstay of producer Shel Talmy. The copyright infringement suit was ruled in Meek's favor six years later, a year after he had blown his face off with a hunting rifle after murdering his landlady, ending his life in his beloved but debt-ridden studio. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide
The Tornados also enjoyed several charthits in their own right, including the UK and U.S. Number One "Telstar" (named after the satellite and composed by Meek). It was the first U.S. #1 by a British group. Since World War II only three British singles had topped the U.S. chart: "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" by Vera Lynn in 1952 - before the Billboard 100 charts were produced, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" by Laurie London (which only topped the Billboard chart of 100 songs most played by disc jockeys) in 1958, and "Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk in 1962, the first to top the combined list now called the Hot 100, doing so 4 months before Telstar. For a time the Tornados were considered serious rivals to The Shadows. The Tornados single "Globetrotter" made it to number 5 in the UK Singles Chart, but when bassistHeinz Burt left in 1963 for a solo career, the group began to fall apart. By 1965 none of the original lineup remained. Later lineups were therefore credited as Tornados '65 and The New Tornados.
A scopitonefilm (an early form of music video) was made for Telstar, and another was made for their chart hit "Robot" featuring members of the group walking around woodland dressed in appropriate headgear with their guitars, flirting with various young women and being finally arrested by policemen after lighting a campfire.
In 1975 four of the five original members tried an unsuccessful comeback as the Original Tornados.
Do You Come Here Often?
The B-side on the final single that the group released in 1966 ("Do You Come Here Often?") is now generally acknowledged to be the first openly "gay" poprecord released in the mainstream.[citation needed] It started off as a standard organ-inspired instrumental, but about two-thirds into the song, a conversation between what is intended to be two gay men at a bar occurs.[citation needed] The song was featured, along with other gay-flavoured releases, on a CDcompilation, Queer Noises.[1]
Ray Randall: Bass guitar.Ray took over from Brian Gregg.
Stuart Taylor: Lead guitar (born 23 October 1944, in London — died 18 April 2005).
Tab Martin: Bass - (born Alan Raymond Brearley, 24 December 1944, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumbria). Tab took over from Heinz for a few months before Brian Gregg * took over.
Brian Gregg: Bass - (born 31 January 1939, London).Brian took over from Tab Martin.
Phil Webb: Guitar
Jimmy O'Brien: Keyboards
Norman Hale: Keyboards on "Love and Fury" c/w "Popeye Twist".(first line-up)
Tornados 65 (on "Early Bird" and "Stingray" singles)
Bryan Irwin (rhythm guitar), Dave Cameron (lead guitar), Peter Adams (drums), Ray Randall (bass guitar), Roger Warwick (tenor saxophone)
The New Tornados (1966 singles, The Saxons renamed plus David Watts (keyboards))
John Davies, Robb Huxley, Pete Holder, David Watts, Roger Holder.
Original Tornados
In 1975 Clem Cattini, Roger LaVern, Heinz Burt and George Bellamy reunited and released a version of "Telstar".
"Indian Brave" / "Flycatcher" / "Lullaby For Guilla" / "Dreams Do Come True" / "Costa Monger" / "Lonely Paradise" / "Chattanooga Choo Choo" / "Rip It Up" (Vocal) / "Cootenanny" / "Night Rider" / "Hymn For Teenagers".
Foreign releases
The Original Telstar: The Sounds of the Tornadoes (U.S. 1962)
Side 1: "Telstar" / "Red Roses and a Sky of Blue" / "Chasing Moonbeams" / "Earthy" / "Swinging Beefeater" / "Theme from a Summer Place" Side 2: "Love and Fury" / "Dreamin' on a Cloud" / "Ridin' the Wind" / "The Breeze and I" / "Jungle Fever" / "Popeye Twist"
Billy Fury
From January 1962 to August 1963, The Tornados were the backing band of Billy Fury, they toured and recorded with him as The Tornados.[3] Their recordings were produced by Mike Smith and Ivor Raymonde, not by Joe Meek. In the 1970s Billy Fury formed a new backing band called Fury's Tornados with a completely unrelated line-up. They even recorded and released a version of "Telstar" in the mid 1970s.
At the present time, members of Fury's Tornados act in The Billy Fury Story starring Colin Gold as Fury.[4] These are Charlie Elston, Chris Raynor, Graham Wyvill and John Raynor.
Discography
Billy Fury and The Tornados (Decca DFE 8525, EP, recorded 8 and 11 January, and released 30 March 1963[5])
"Nobody's Child"; "What Did I Do"; "I Can't Help Loving You"; "Keep Away"
Billy Fury and The Tornados: We Want Billy! (live, recorded 30 April 1963) (Decca (S)LK4548, released October 1963)
