Licorice and The Roulettes

[Chris Colverson]

Does anybody know of an occasion when Licorice played with The Roulettes before he joined The Shadows?
I have been contacted by someone writing an article about The Roulettes. He thinks it would only have been a couple of gigs, if any.
Chris Colverson

[anniv 63]

Somewhere I read that the Roulettes bass player at the time John Rogers was considered
as Jet' s replacement but Brian Locking got the gig instead. Dont think Licorice had any Roulettes
connection after he left the Shadows, but I could be wrong?

Mike

[GoldenStreet]

There is also a tenuous link between the Roulettes and the Shadows/Drifters through early member, Brian Parker who, with John Rogers and Norman Stracey, had previously been a founder member of the Hunters. Brian Parker and Cliff R had been school friends in Cheshunt. Later, of course, Bruce's Jazzmaster was sold onto Parker.

Bill

[GoldenStreet]

Does anybody know of an occasion when Licorice played with The Roulettes before he joined The Shadows?

According to a brief biography on Vince Taylor on the website of the Belgian station, Radio 68, Licorice did play a 'short stint' with the Roulettes, but no other details are reported...

https://www.radio68.be/my-generation-of ... w-2019-12/

Bill

[UlrichS]

Here's a more detailed story:

https://www.eddybonte.be/just-good-musi ... the-trade/

Hope this is of help.

Ulrich

[GoldenStreet]

Excellent reading, Ulrich. I doubt if any currently available information could be more comprehensive!

Bill

[Iain Purdon]

I have my doubts about this story.

When interviewing Licorice, he did tell me that he and John Rogers (of the Hunters) had met at the time the Shadows were looking to replace Jet. They had one of those "may the best man win" conversations and he thought John would get it because Rogers' image was more like Jet's than his was. However, Brian Bennett of course had suggested Licorice, his old Wild Cats bandmate, and that's how it turned out. Before that call came, Licorice thought the work had dried up and was considering packing it all in. That doesn't suggest to me that he was working with Adam Faith. Also, the gap between Jet's departure and BL's arrival was only a matter of days.

Unfortunately we cannot now check this out with him.

[anniv 63]

Just noticed that in the 1963 publication Meet The Shadows (Star Special) in Licorice Locking profile
it states that -" he also played for a while for Adam Faith and Joe Brown" but I would guess that refers
to the 2 I' s coffee bar period late 50s?

Mike

[Iain Purdon]

Just noticed that in the 1963 publication Meet The Shadows (Star Special) in Licorice Locking profile
it states that -" he also played for a while for Adam Faith and Joe Brown" but I would guess that refers
to the 2 I' s coffee bar period late 50s?

Mike

That seems more likely. The two Brians, B and L, were part of the house band at the 2I's in those days so they will have backed everyone at some stage.

Later on, after the Shadows, we know that Licorice carried on gigging but at a much more relaxed pace. He had his own band for a while and, of course, played double bass for the first session with Donovan, including Catch The Wind. So it's not inconceivable he could have worked with the Roulettes around then, although I think we'd all know about it already if it had amounted to much.

[JimN]

I have my doubts about this story.

When interviewing Licorice, he did tell me that he and John Rogers (of the Hunters) had met at the time the Shadows were looking to replace Jet. They had one of those "may the best man win" conversations and he thought John would get it because Rogers' image was more like Jet's than his was. However, Brian Bennett of course had suggested Licorice, his old Wild Cats bandmate, to replace Jet and that's how it turned out. Before that call came, Licorice thought the work had dried up and was considering packing it all in. That doesn't suggest to me that he was working with Adam Faith. Also, the gap between Jet's departure and BL's arrival was only a matter of days.

Unfortunately we cannot now check this out with him.

But we can piece some of it together from what we already know and other bits and pieces that some may be able to contribute.

The first firm fact we have is that Jet left the Shadows following a verbal altercation with Bruce (over Jet's drinking) at the 1962 New Musical Express Pollwinner's Concert at Wembley on Sunday 15th April 1962. I have never heard any suggestion that Jet failed to play at that engagement so it's a safe bet that The Shadows did play that day. The concert was scheduled to start at 14:30 and must have taken at least three hours, possibly four, to unfold, with equipment changes, etc.

1. http://andrewwe2.tripod.com/programmes/61-621.JPG

2. http://andrewwe2.tripod.com/programmes/61-623.JPG

The second firm fact is that Lic's first public live performance with The Shadows was at Blackpool on Sunday 22nd April. This was immediately followed by a week-long engagement at the Liverpool Empire Theatre starting Mon 23rd April. Bruce was ill and his place at Liverpool was taken, variously, by Peter Carter of The Checkmates and Chas McDevitt. I was there on the Tuesday (Peter Carter was on stage). I am as sure as I can be that The Beatles and Brian Epstein were there too (occupying the only one of The Empire Theatre's boxes to have customers that evening - John Lennon wearing glasses).

So Licorice was contacted, met, auditioned, asked to join, measured for a suit, rehearsed and travelled to Blackpool, all within the period Monday 16th April - Saturday 21st April.

As to what he was doing between the KrewKats and The Shadows, I had the opportunity to ask Brian just that, at one of our frequent meetings at Tilburg, some years ago. He was very co-operative and helpful and said that between the pit engagement for Tommy Steele (the one Brian Bennett left) and the call from Bruce, he wasn't doing anything. He was living in a flat at Crystal Palace, which is where he was contacted. Had he been touring for Marty or for Adam Faith, I am sure he would have remembered it and would have said so.

A small piece of co-lateral evidence: there were no Cliff or Shadows recording sessions at EMI between Thursday 12th April (Perfidia, South Of The Border) and 27th April (All Day). I have my doubts about whether that latter session materialised, since Friday 27th April was the last evening of the Liverpool variety week, but perhaps they travelled to London overnight, did the session on the Friday morning and got the train back to Lime Street in the afternoon (they weren't due on stage until after 21:00). The station is adjacent to the Empire Theatre and their hotel of choice (The Lord Nelson in those days) is a matter of yards from either. The next session of which there is a note at EMI was Tuesday 1st May (Cliff's Take Special Care and what is marked as an overdubbing session for The Bandit).