I start this collection of pre Beatles British rock with the 1956 Rock Island Line by Lonnie Donegan. This song I think is the best place to start to understand how Britain became a hotbed for Rock and Blues-even eventually selling it back to the people who invented in the first place !
I certainly remember that song along with Heartbreak Hotel which was REALLY different ! At the time I did not know that this was “Black” music entering the white mainstream.
“The first English record that was anywhere near good rock was ‘Move It’ by Cliff Richard and the Shadows. Before there’d been nothing” Move It
Oh Boy was the first TV show on the new commercial station ITV in the UK dedicated to the new musical trend. This clip is from 1959
Fried Onions-Lord Rockingham’s XI was a group of British session musicians, led by Harry Robinson (1932–1996), who had a No. 1 hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1958 with “Hoots Mon”.
The group was created to perform as the resident band on the pop TV program Oh Boy! which was produced by Jack Good and shown nationally on Britain’s ITV network during 1958/59. (SEE HERE) They were fronted by Harry Robinson and also included jazz baritone saxophonist (later writer/broadcaster) Benny Green, and organist Cherry Wainer. Other members were Wainer’s husband Don Storer (drums), Reg Weller (percussion), Red Price (tenor sax), Rex Morris (tenor sax), Cyril Reubens (baritone sax), Ronnie Black (double bass), Bernie Taylor (guitar), Eric Ford (guitar). Joining the group later were Kenny Packwood (guitar) and Ian Fraser (piano).
Cheryl Wainer doing Last Night in 1963 here.
Cheryl Wainer doing Peter Gunn in 1966 here
In addition to backing singers such as Marty Wilde and Cuddly Dudley they recorded several novelty rock instrumentals for Decca Records, the first being “Fried Onions”, which failed to chart in the UK but did slip into the US Billboard charts for a week at No. 96. The second single, Robinson’s “Hoots Mon”, a rocked-up version of the traditional Scottish song “A Hundred Pipers”, featuring cod Scotticisms like “Hoots mon, there’s a moose loose aboot this hoose!”, rose up the charts supported by weekly TV exposure, and stayed at number one for three weeks. They played “Long John” among others.
Following a legal case brought by descendants of the real Lord Rockingham, which was settled out of court, the group toured and made several less successful follow-ups, including “Wee Tom” (#16, 1959). They disbanded with the end of the TV show in 1959, although the name was revived for a couple of albums in the 1960s. Harry Robinson’s career in TV and music continued, one notable credit being for his string arrangement on Nick Drake’s track “River Man”.
“Fried Onions” was used in a television advertisement for Options indulgence chocolate drink, first shown on UK TV in December 2011.
Cherry Wainer died in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 14, 2014, at the age of 79.
Above The original Beatle Boots were called “Baba” boots made at Annello and Davide in Soho for flamenco dancers. The company also made specialized shoes for dancers of all kinds.
