The Tornados
Alan Caddy - lead guitar (born February 2nd 1940, London)
George Bellamy - rhythm guitar (born October 8th 1941, Sunderland)
Roger Lavern - keyboards (born Roger Jackson, November 11th 1938, Kidderminster)
Heinz Burt - bass guitar (born July 24th 1942, Hargin, Germany, died 7th April 2000)
Clem Cattini - drums (born August 28th 1939, London)
The first British group to top the American charts, the Tornados are best remembered for their ethereal organ-dominated instumental "Telstar".
The band were London-based session musicians who were assembled by the legendary, maverick producer Joe Meek in 1961 as a deliberate challenge to The Shadows. They also worked as a backing-band for solo singers John Leyton, Don Charles and Michael Cox.
In 1962, while working as Billy Fury's backing group, they made their first recording "Love And Fury". That failed but the Meek-penned follow-up "Telstar" - inspired by watching the first live television pictures transmitted via the Telstar satellite - was an international hit. The record was the first by a British group to top the American charts and went on to sell five million copies worldwide.
Heinz Burt left for a solo career in 1963 but The Tornados carried on despite dwindling sales figures until '66, when the group disbanded and the members all returned to session work.
Singles
|
Jan '63 |
Globetrotter/Locomotion With Me |
UK#5 |
|
Apr '63 |
Robot/Life On Venus |
UK#17 |
|
Jun '63 |
Ice Cream Man/Scales Of Justice |
UK#18 |
|
Oct '63 |
Dragonfly/? |
UK#41 |
|
Feb '64 |
Hot Pot/Joystick |
- |
|
Apr '64 |
Monte Carlo/Blue, Blue, Blue Beat |
- |
|
Aug '64 |
Exodus/Blackpool Rock |
- |
|
Jan '65 |
Granada/Ragunboneman |
- |
|
Jun '65 |
Earlybird/Stompin' Through The Rye |
- |
|
Sep '65 |
Stingray/Aqua Marina |
- |
|
Mar '66 |
Pop Goes Mozart/Too Much In Love To Hear |
- |
|
Aug '66 |
Is That A Ship I Hear?/Do You Come Here Often? |
- |
E.P.s
|
May '63 |
More Sounds From The Tornados - Chasing Moonbeams/A Summer Place/Swinging Beefeaters/The Breeze And I |
|
Apr '64 |
Tornado Rock - Ready Teddy/Blue Moon Of Kentucky/My Babe/Long Tall Sally |
L.P.
|
Jan '64 |
Away From It All - Indian Brave/Flycatcher/Dreams Do Come True/Lullaby For Angelina/Costa Monger/Lonely Paradise/Chattanooga Choo Choo/Rip It Up/Alan's Tune/Cootenanny/Night Rider/Hymn For Teenagers |
Heinz
Singles
|
Jul '63 |
Just Like Eddie/Don't You Knock At My Door |
UK#5 |
|
Nov '63 |
Country Boy/Long Tall Jack |
UK#26 |
|
Feb '64 |
You Were There/? |
UK#26 |
|
Jun '64 |
Please Little Girl/For Loving Me This Way |
- |
|
Sep '64 |
Questions I Can't Answer/The Beating Of My Heart |
UK#39 |
|
Feb '65 |
Diggin' My Potatoes/She Ain't Coming Back |
UK#49 |
|
Apr '65 |
Don't Think Twice/Big Fat Spider |
- |
|
Jul '65 |
End Of The World/You Make Me Feel So Good |
- |
|
Nov '65 |
Heart Full Of Sorrow/Don't Worry Baby |
- |
|
Jun '66 |
Movin' In/I'm Not A Bad Guy |
- |
E.P.s
|
Aug '63 |
I Get Up In The Morning/Talkin' Like A Man/That Lucky Old Sun/Lonely River |
|
Dec '63 |
Live It Up/Don't You Understand/Dreams Do Come True/When Your Loving Goes Wrong |
L.P.
|
Dec '63 |
Tribute To Eddie - Hushabye/I Ran All The Way Home/Summertime Blues/Don't Keep Picking On Me/Cut Across Shorty/Three Steps To Heaven/Come And Dance/Twenty Flight Rock/Look For A Star/My Dreams/I Remember/Rumble In The Night/Just Like Eddie |
Selected Re-issues
|
1997 |
The Very Best Of The Tornadoes - Telstar/Hymn For Teenagers/Jungle Fever/Costa Monger/Red Roses And A Sky Of Blue/Locomotion With Me/Ridin' The Wind/Joystick/Popeye Twist/Dreamin' On A Cloud/Blue, Blue, Blue Beat/Ice Cream Man/Alan's Tune/Monte Carlo/Love And Fury Music Club 50029 |
|
1998 |
The Tornados - Telstar/Jungle Fever/Love And Fury/Popeye Twist/Locomotion With Me/Globetrotter/Robot/Life On Venus/Ice Cream Man/Theme From The Scales Of Justice/Hymn For Teenagers/Dragonfly/Joystick/Hot Pot/Monte Carlo/Blue, Blue, Blue Beat/Exodus/Blackpool Rock/Granada/Early Bird/Stingray/Pop Art Goes Mozart/Is That A Ship I Hear Rialto 228 |
