Hank on Piano - Bruce on Lead Guitar

[Gatwick1946]

I never cease to be amazed by the depth of knowledge displayed on this site. I was a member in 2002/2003, but did not post much, as there was just so much of interest in other members' postings. I have recently joined again because some questions continue to tease the old grey brain cells.

In March 1963 Cliff and The Shads played a 41 tour of the UK. Publication 'The Cliff Richard Files' by Mike Read (Pub. Roger Houghton, London 1986) lists the support acts as:-

The Trebletones
Xylophone player Alan Randall
Patsy Ann Noble
The Vernons Girls
Canadian compere Frank Berry

My memory (slightly dodgy 48 years after the event) replaces Patsy Ann Noble with Jackie Trent, later to be the wife of Crossroads theme composer Tony Hatch.

I saw the tour at Lewisham, South East London. I believe it was at a venue that was mainly a cinema, but could also double as a live gig. I remember that Hank played a black
grand piano (left side of stage) during one or more songs of Cliffs' set. On 'IT'LL BE ME' Hank played piano and Bruce played the lead guitar break!

I have read on this site that Bruce has acknowledged that he played the lead break on the recording of 'STAND UP AND SAY THAT', but I have not noticed another mention of him
having played a lead break live on stage in the 1960's. However one cannot predict what will turn up on U-Tube.

Are my little grey cells playing me false? As David Frost used to say to Loyd Grossman, "Over to you".

Kindest Regards

Christopher Hill

[JimN]

I never cease to be amazed by the depth of knowledge displayed on this site. I was a member in 2002/2003, but did not post much, as there was just so much of interest in other members' postings. I have recently joined again because some questions continue to tease the old grey brain cells.

In March 1963 Cliff and The Shads played a 41 tour of the UK. Publication 'The Cliff Richard Files' by Mike Read (Pub. Roger Houghton, London 1986) lists the support acts as:-

The Trebletones
Xylophone player Alan Randall
Patsy Ann Noble
The Vernons Girls
Canadian compere Frank Berry

My memory (slightly dodgy 48 years after the event) replaces Patsy Ann Noble with Jackie Trent, later to be the wife of Crossroads theme composer Tony Hatch.

That was in 1962, with a completely different supporting bill, including Frank Ifield and Chas McDevitt & Shirley Douglas (trust me - I have a copy of the programme).

I saw the tour at Lewisham, South East London. I believe it was at a venue that was mainly a cinema, but could also double as a live gig. I remember that Hank played a black grand piano (left side of stage) during one or more songs of Cliffs' set. On 'IT'LL BE ME' Hank played piano and Bruce played the lead guitar break!

I have read on this site that Bruce has acknowledged that he played the lead break on the recording of 'STAND UP AND SAY THAT', but I have not noticed another mention of him
having played a lead break live on stage in the 1960's. However one cannot predict what will turn up on U-Tube.

The chances of anyone in the audience in 1963 having a video camera about their person are fairly slim!

Are my little grey cells playing me false? As David Frost used to say to Loyd Grossman, "Over to you".

Kindest Regards

Christopher Hill

[Bill Bowley]

As an aside, the Patsy Ann Noble mentioned is another Australian who snuck off to UK seeking fame and fortune, Here's her bio if anyone is interested:
Biography
Noble was born in Sydney, Australia. Her father was comedian and singer Buster Noble and her mother was the entertainer Helen De Paul.[1]

Noble rose to fame as a teenage singing star in the 1960s under the name Patsy Ann Noble. Her singing career was founded by Brian Henderson, the compere of the Australian version of Bandstand, where she made many appearances. She was signed to the Australian HMV label where she released her first single "Like I'm In Love" b/w "I Love You So Much It Hurts" in 1960. She became good friends with a young Peter Allen, who had formed the successful Allen Brothers with Chris Bell, and released one of his compositions "Busy Lips" in late 1960. However, it was not until Johnny Devlin, a New Zealand singer/songwriter of that era, handed her the lyrics of "Good Looking Boy" in 1961 that she had her first No. 1 hit. "Good Looking Boy" was on top of the charts all over Australia, but did not chart internationally. It was released in the United Kingdom, but did not dent the Top 100.

Noble won the "Best Female Singer of the Year" award in Australia in late 1961. By December 1962, Patsy Ann had scored herself two No. 1 and four Top 10 singles in Australia. With this success, she travelled to London in 1963 where she was given a two-year contract with Columbia Records. In London, she released many "girl group"-sounding pop songs including "Sour Grapes" (1963), "I'm Nobody's Baby" (1963) and "Accidents Will Happen" (1963), but received little commercial success (although she continued to score hits between 1963 and 1965 in her native country, Australia.) In 1963, she appeared in the British musical film Live It Up! (with music produced by Joe Meek), although only in a singing role. In June 1965, Noble released "He Who Rides a Tiger" which peaked at No. 21 on the British Top 30, and No. 15 on Australia's Top 40. This was to be her last successful single.

During the 1960s, Noble released six albums in Australia and one in England, the most popular being 1961's The Blonde Bombshell which received an award for most outstanding vocal performance on an album. In the second half of the 1960s, she turned to acting and made her dramatic acting debut in a 1965 BBC television production entitled The Snowball and soon found herself appearing on other television series and films, most notably the 1966 Danger Man episode "Not So Jolly Roger" (in which her recording "He Who Rides a Tiger" was featured), Callan and Carry On Camping.

After 1967, Noble had changed her name to Trisha Noble in order to distance herself from her fame as a teen singer. She relocated to the United States beginning in 1971 and appeared in many films and TV series there, and is well remembered for her role as buxom Detective Rosie Johnson in the ultra-violent series Strike Force (starring Robert Stack) on ABC in 1981–82. She is also widely recognized from her guest-starring role in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century as Sabrina, a superhuman thief from the episode "Cruise Ship to the Stars"; as well as for a 1976 guest appearance on The Mary Tyler Moore Show where she played a female reporter who tries to seduce Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) during a convention in the episode "Ted's Temptation".

In 1975, Noble appeared in the Columbo episode Playback, where she meets the murderer (played by Oskar Werner) in an art gallery wearing a low-cut dress. She was cast by the director who spotted her in a party wearing the same dress and was impressed by her immense sex appeal. In 1979, she also appeared in The Rockford Files as Odette Lependieu in the two-part episode, "Never Send a Boy King to do a Man's Job". Soon after Strike Force was cancelled, Noble returned to Australia in 1983 with her son Patrick because her father was seriously ill. She then re-established a successful career there as a stage actress. She later filmed a small role as Padmé Amidala's mother Jobal Naberrie in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones which was cut from the final film (but included on the DVD release). Noble briefly reprised the role in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 2005.

She also continues to perform on the live stage and most recently appeared with the new National Music Theatre Company, Kookaburra, in their premiere season of Pippin as Berthe at the Sydney Theatre.

[UlrichS]

Hi Christopher,

I can only second what Jim already wrote. The 1963 spring tour was as follows:

Programme: The Trebletones – Frank Berry – Alan Randall – The Vernon Girls – Frank Berry – The Shadows – interval – The Trebletones – Patsy Ann Noble – Frank Berry – Cliff Richard & The Shadows
Sa 23.02.1963, Cardiff / Su 24.02.1963, Birmingham / Tu 26.02.1963, Bristol / We 27.02.1963, Cambridge / Th 28.02.1963, Northampton / Fr 01.03.1963, Romford / Sa 02.03.1963, Portsmouth / Su 03.03.1963, Plymouth / Mo 04.03.1963, Exeter / We 06.03.1963, Croydon / Th 07.03.1963, Kingston / Su 10.03.1963, Liverpool / Mo 11.03.1963, Newcastle / Tu 12.03.1963, Manchester / We 13.03.1963, Huddersfield, Th 14.03.1963, Carlisle / Fr 15.03.1963, Glasgow / Sa 16.03.1963, Edinburgh / Su 17.03.1963, Stockton / Tu 19.03.1963, Cleethorpes / We 20.03.1963, Chesterfield / Th 21.03.1963, Lincoln / Fr 22.03.1963, Leeds / Sa 23.03.1963, Leicester / Su 24.03.1963, Ipswich / Tu 26.03.1963, Dover / We 27.03.1963, Hastings / Th 28.03.1963, Southend / Fr 29.03.1963, Watford / Sa 30.03.1963, Finsbury Park / Su 31.03.1963, Coventry / Tu 02.04.1963, Hull / We 03.04.1963, York / Th 04.04.1963, Wolverhampton / Fr 05.04.1963, Cheltenham / Sa 06.04.1963, Walthamstow / Su 07.04.1963, Brighton

As you can see no Lewisham on the list.

The 1962 spring tour has these details:

Programme: The Trebletones - The Two Tones - Tony Marsh - The Dallas Boys - The Shadows - interval - The Trebletones - Patti Brooks - Cliff Richard & The Shadows
Su 21.01.1962, Liverpool / Tu 23.01.1962, Belfast / We 24.01.1962, Dublin / Su 28.01.1962, Derby / Mo 29.01.1962, Chesterfield / Tu 30.01.1962, Huddersfield / We 31.01.1962, Carlisle / Th 01.02.1962, Glasgow / Sa 03.02.1962, Edinburgh / Su 04.02.1962, Leeds / Tu 06.01.1962, Brighton / We 07.02.1962, Bournemouth / Th 08.02.1962, Exeter / Fr 09.02.1962, Plymouth / Sa 10.02.1962, Lewisham / Su 11.02.1962, Southampton / Tu 13.02.1962, Lincoln / We 14.02.1962, Cleethorpes / Th 15.02.1962, Sheffield / Fr 16.02.1962, Manchester / Sa 17.02.1962, Newcastle / Su 18.02.1962, Hull / Tu 20.02.1962, Cardiff / We 21.02.1962, Taunton / Th 22.02.1962, Wolverhampton / Fr 23.02.1962, Southend / Sa 24.02.1962, Ipswich / Su 25.02.1962, Coventry / Tu 27.02.1962, Cambridge / We 28.02.1962, Northampton / Th 01.03.1962, Cheltenham / Fr 02.03.1962, Hastings / Sa 03.03.1962, Portsmouth / Su 04.03.1962, Croydon / Tu 06.03.1962, Southall / We 07.03.1962, Kingston / Th 08.03.1962, Leicester / Fr 09.03.1962, Stockton / Sa 10.03.1962, Worcester / Su 11.03.1962, Bristol

1962 Lewisham is on the list (10.2.) but the programme is completely different and does not include Jackie Trent either. However, Jackie Trent was on the bill of the 1962 autumn tour, which also included Lewisham:

Programme: The Trebletones - Alan Randall - Alan Field - The Breakaways - The Shadows - interval - The Trebletones - Jackie Trent - Alan Field - Cliff Richard & The Shadows
Fr 30.11.1962, Doncaster / Sa 01.12.1962, Sheffield / Su 02.12.1962, Derby / Fr 07.12.1962, Bournemouth / Sa 08.12.1962, Bristol / Su 09.12.1962, Southampton / Fr 14.12.1962, Lewisham / Sa 15.12.1962, Bradford / Su 16.12.1962, Sunderland

I have attached scans of the three relevant programmes, perhaps these can be of help for you.

Ulrich

[Gatwick1946]

Many thanks Jim, Bill and danke schoen Ulrich.

From the tour details you have provided Ulrich, I believe the venue was Lewisham on either 10.02.62 or 14.12.62. I kept the programme with the red background colour for years until it was lost after a house move.

I had lived in East Dulwich and had family in Peckham, New Cross and Lewisham. Schoolboys in those days did not stray far from their home patch.

I associate the name Johnny Wiltshire with The Trebletones. They provided backing for the support acts and would have been described as a 'beat combo'.

Even as schoolboys we devoured the music press and the rare colour magazines for details of our idols.Snippets of information were prized like gold nuggets. The good quality photograph of Hank showing his guitar to Princess Margaret (in the book 'The Shadows by Themselves') provided the first details of the front of a Stratocaster, maybe even down to the american cross head screws.

Therefore, Hank playing the piano with Bruce covering the lead guitar break, struck me as out of the ordinary. Even on the 45 rpm single of It'll Be Me, the lead guitar break sounds to me to be not the full Hank! But this is likely to be due to the gradual change in the sound of The Shadows. Just compare the lead guitar on the album '21 Today' with '32 minutes and 17 seconds with Cliff Richard'.

Kindest regards,

Christopher Hill

[Derek Mowbray]

The first two albums by The Shadows in 1961 and 1962 Hank played piano on two numbers, "Stand Up and Say That" on the first one and then" Kinda Cool "on the second.I think Bruce played the lead guitar breaks on those two tunes. In 1962 The Shadows did their own TV special, Cliff came on disguised as a teaboy giving The Shadows some tea,he then took of his overall and burst into song singing "It`ll Be Me" which was mimed and Hank played the lead guitar part, so I would assume that on the record either the piano or lead guitar were overdubbed by Hank so when it came to a live concert Bruce would have to play lead as Hank was playing piano, I never did see Hank play piano on stage when I saw them play

[JimN]

The first two albums by The Shadows in 1961 and 1962 Hank played piano on two numbers, "Stand Up and Say That" on the first one and then" Kinda Cool "on the second.I think Bruce played the lead guitar breaks on those two tunes. In 1962 The Shadows did their own TV special, Cliff came on disguised as a teaboy giving The Shadows some tea,he then took of his overall and burst into song singing "It`ll Be Me" which was mimed and Hank played the lead guitar part,

I remember that show, even down to the miming on It'll Be Me. Tha Shadows performed live-in-the-TV-studio versions of Perfidia, Wonderful Land, Bo Diddley (!!), Never On Sunday (on bouzoukis) and Guitar Tango (on electric guitars).

...so I would assume that on the record either the piano or lead guitar were overdubbed by Hank so when it came to a live concert Bruce would have to play lead as Hank was playing piano, I never did see Hank play piano on stage when I saw them play

He played Stand Up And Say That at the Liverpool Empire in April 1962 - but the lead break was played by Peter Carter...

JN

[iefje]

What about "That's The Way It Goes" and "The Dreams I Dream", do those feature Hank on piano as well?

[neil2726]

It would seem that Frank berry was around for quite a while. I have the Autumn Tour 1964 programme
Johnny Hawkins and his Orchestra
Frank Berry
Faye Fisher
Frank Berry
The Shadows (Hank Brian, Bruce and John)
Interval
Johnny Hawkins
Frank Berry
Cliff Richard

Frank Berry - born Canada. In 1961 left on a 10 month world tour starting in South Africa. Played Australia, Honolulu, Canada and America. Played the part of Lt. Dietrich in "Dr Strangelove". Other appearances "Comedy Bandbox" "Big Night Out" *Blackpool Night Out" and ATV's "Nightspot"

Faye Fisher ( a very nice, slim blonde!) New name on the British scene, well known in South Africa, Australia and the Far East. Visited Britain in 1961 but left to tour South Africa before returning in 1963. Appeared in many night clubs and "The Frank Ifield Show". returned to tour South Africa with Russ Conway.
She is listed as recording "This is My Special Day/I'm Feeling oh So lovely" - (From Aladdin) with Joan Palethorpe,Audrey Bayley,Cliff Richard, Norrie Paramor and the MIke Sammes Singers on 11 Dec 1964.
Recorded "Our LOve" on Columbia in 1965.

[Gatwick1946]

Thanks Derek. I was not aware of that 1962 TV special.

Regarding who played piano on early Shadows tracks, Norrie Paramour is a name which springs to mind. He was an experienced bandleader, songwriter, producer and arranger and I recall a photograph of Norrie standing at a piano in a recording studio (Barcelona 1963?) with Bruce beside him.

Liner notes on early Shadows LPs don't provide much information. I have always thought that as Brian Bennett wrote 'Fourth Street' (on LP Shadow Music), he plays the piano on the track. In a 1980s tour programme I remember a photo of Brian in his study or home studio, with a keyboard instrument in the background.

Alan Hawkshaw is an experienced session player. Could he have appeared earlier (uncredited), prior to LP 'Shades of Rock'?

If Hank had the time to devote to the piano,(he has mentioned that touring/recording did not leave him enough time to practice guitar) he could have overdubbed the piano parts.
But, off the cuff, I cannot recall visual evidence of Hank playing piano later than the TV Special (circa 1969?) which celebrated the end of the 1960s.

Perhaps this is an area where the evidence is lacking, or research is yet to be done. My error if I have missed any earlier postings.

Kindest regards,
Christopher Hill