Recent from talks
Johnny Kidd & the Pirates
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Johnny Kidd & the Pirates
Johnny Kidd & the Pirates (known simply as the Pirates after their reunion) were an English rock band led by singer/songwriter Johnny Kidd. From 1959 to the mid-1960s they achieved considerable success with hit songs like "Shakin' All Over" and "Please Don't Touch".
Their stage act was theatrical, like their rock 'n' roll contemporaries such as Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages and Nero and the Gladiators. The group disbanded after Kidd's death in a 1966 car accident. Former members of the band reunited as the Pirates, and continued performing until the late 2000s.
The original group came under the management of Guy Robinson and was signed to His Master's Voice in 1959 under the auspices of producer Walter J. Ridley. Their first single was the raw "Please Don't Touch", penned by Kidd. This became a minor hit, reaching number 25 on the UK singles charts in 1959.
When the group appeared on Saturday Club between 1959 and 1961, Mike West and Tom Brown shared the vocals with Kidd.
Kidd and the Pirates' most famous song was "Shakin' All Over", memorable for opening guitars and solo from Joe Moretti. It reached number one in the UK singles charts in 1960. The song and the group's proto-power trio line-up both made a strong impression on the Who, who would cover it in their 1970 album Live at Leeds, whose CD liner notes proclaim the original to be the UK's best pre-Beatles rock single. A cover version by Canada's The Guess Who reached No. 1 in their home country and skirted the US Top 20 in early 1965.
The swansong recording of this line-up in 1961, "Please Don't Bring Me Down", failed to chart. However, it featured a B-side which turned out to be a minor UK rock 'n' roll classic. "So What" featured a piano solo from Morgan "Thunderclap" Jones. When the single failed to chart, the Pirates—Clem Cattini, Alan Caddy and Brian Gregg—jumped ship and joined Colin Hicks as his "Cabin Boys" on a six-week tour to Europe. After this liaison, Cattini and Caddy joined a Joe Meek backing band who evolved into the Tornados. Kidd meanwhile cut a "solo" single backed by a bigger band sound. "Hurry on Back to Love" was more bluesy than anything Kidd had previously attempted and indicated a possible new musical path.
A new Pirate trio was recruited. Johnny Spence (born 26 January 1942, bass), Frank Farley (drums) and Johnny Patto (lead guitar) had recently backed Cuddly Dudley as "The Redcaps". Patto soon left and was replaced by Mick Green (lead guitar), who had also backed Dudley. The new line-up's first single with Kidd, "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues" (coupled with "I Can Tell"), broke Kidd's dry spell, entering the lower reaches of the chart toward the end of 1962. In retrospect this disc, which debuted Green's unique playing style incorporating alternating lead and rhythm guitar figures, can be viewed as the sonic bridge marking the transition of British rock and roll into British beat.
Over time, Kidd developed a visual show. The group would deck out in 19th-century pirate costume in front of a huge backcloth of a pirate galleon, with Kidd toying with a cutlass. A projected single in keeping with the new sound, "Some Other Guy", was left unreleased in early 1963, allowing The Big Three to score their first chart entry. The explosive rise of the 'beat groups' in 1963 outshone the slow-burning R&B scene; without a single release, Kidd and his Pirates were losing valuable momentum on the chart front.
Hub AI
Johnny Kidd & the Pirates AI simulator
(@Johnny Kidd & the Pirates_simulator)
Johnny Kidd & the Pirates
Johnny Kidd & the Pirates (known simply as the Pirates after their reunion) were an English rock band led by singer/songwriter Johnny Kidd. From 1959 to the mid-1960s they achieved considerable success with hit songs like "Shakin' All Over" and "Please Don't Touch".
Their stage act was theatrical, like their rock 'n' roll contemporaries such as Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages and Nero and the Gladiators. The group disbanded after Kidd's death in a 1966 car accident. Former members of the band reunited as the Pirates, and continued performing until the late 2000s.
The original group came under the management of Guy Robinson and was signed to His Master's Voice in 1959 under the auspices of producer Walter J. Ridley. Their first single was the raw "Please Don't Touch", penned by Kidd. This became a minor hit, reaching number 25 on the UK singles charts in 1959.
When the group appeared on Saturday Club between 1959 and 1961, Mike West and Tom Brown shared the vocals with Kidd.
Kidd and the Pirates' most famous song was "Shakin' All Over", memorable for opening guitars and solo from Joe Moretti. It reached number one in the UK singles charts in 1960. The song and the group's proto-power trio line-up both made a strong impression on the Who, who would cover it in their 1970 album Live at Leeds, whose CD liner notes proclaim the original to be the UK's best pre-Beatles rock single. A cover version by Canada's The Guess Who reached No. 1 in their home country and skirted the US Top 20 in early 1965.
The swansong recording of this line-up in 1961, "Please Don't Bring Me Down", failed to chart. However, it featured a B-side which turned out to be a minor UK rock 'n' roll classic. "So What" featured a piano solo from Morgan "Thunderclap" Jones. When the single failed to chart, the Pirates—Clem Cattini, Alan Caddy and Brian Gregg—jumped ship and joined Colin Hicks as his "Cabin Boys" on a six-week tour to Europe. After this liaison, Cattini and Caddy joined a Joe Meek backing band who evolved into the Tornados. Kidd meanwhile cut a "solo" single backed by a bigger band sound. "Hurry on Back to Love" was more bluesy than anything Kidd had previously attempted and indicated a possible new musical path.
A new Pirate trio was recruited. Johnny Spence (born 26 January 1942, bass), Frank Farley (drums) and Johnny Patto (lead guitar) had recently backed Cuddly Dudley as "The Redcaps". Patto soon left and was replaced by Mick Green (lead guitar), who had also backed Dudley. The new line-up's first single with Kidd, "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues" (coupled with "I Can Tell"), broke Kidd's dry spell, entering the lower reaches of the chart toward the end of 1962. In retrospect this disc, which debuted Green's unique playing style incorporating alternating lead and rhythm guitar figures, can be viewed as the sonic bridge marking the transition of British rock and roll into British beat.
Over time, Kidd developed a visual show. The group would deck out in 19th-century pirate costume in front of a huge backcloth of a pirate galleon, with Kidd toying with a cutlass. A projected single in keeping with the new sound, "Some Other Guy", was left unreleased in early 1963, allowing The Big Three to score their first chart entry. The explosive rise of the 'beat groups' in 1963 outshone the slow-burning R&B scene; without a single release, Kidd and his Pirates were losing valuable momentum on the chart front.