The Big Three were a
Merseybeat group
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. They are best known for their 1963 recording of "
Some Other Guy"
and their close connection to
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
.
Career
The Big Three evolved from a group called Cass and the Cassanovas, formed in May 1959 by
Brian Casser
Brian Cassar (21 March 1936 – 25 December 2022) was a British singer and guitarist. He led the first notable beat group in Liverpool, Cass and the Cassanovas, who were early rivals of The Beatles in the city. He later led another group, Cas ...
as a trio comprising Casser (rhythm guitar, lead vocals),
Adrian Barber (lead guitar, vocals), and Brian J. Hudson (drums) (born Brian James Hudson, 21 April 1938,
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
). The original line-up played at
St George's Hall, Liverpool
St George's Hall is a building on St George's Place, opposite Lime Street railway station in the centre of Liverpool, England. Opened in 1854, it is a Neoclassical building which contains concert halls and law courts, and is recorded in the Na ...
, on Friday, 15 May 1959. Johnny Hutchinson (born 18 July 1940) replaced Hudson in July 1959. In need of a
bass guitarist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low b ...
, Hutchinson brought in
Johnny Gustafson in December. At that time, Gustafson did not have a proper
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, so Barber converted an
acoustic for him. Gustafson's first gig was at The Tower Ballroom,
New Brighton, on 31 December 1959.
In May 1960, the band auditioned for
Larry Parnes
Laurence Maurice Parnes (3 September 1929 – 4 August 1989) was a British pop manager and impresario. He was the first major British rock manager, and his stable of singers included many of the most successful British rock and roll singers of ...
at the Wyvern Social Club, Seel Street, Liverpool, with a number of other bands including The Silver Beetles. Hutchinson sat in with the band when their drummer
Tommy Moore (born Thomas Henry Moore, in 1931, Liverpool died in 1981) failed to turn up. In December 1960, Casser left the group and moved to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, reducing them to a trio again, and the band re-emerged in January 1961 as The Big Three. Despite being a three-piece they were known as "one of the loudest, most aggressive and visually appealing acts".
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967.
Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...
signed them to his agency
and sent them over to
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
's
Star-Club
The Star-Club was a music club in Hamburg, Germany, that opened on Friday 13 April 1962, and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. In the 1960s, many of the giants of rock music played at the club. The club closed on 3 ...
. It was during that trip in July 1962 that Brian Griffiths (born 27 August 1943,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
) joined the group, and the best-known line-up of the Big Three was established.
Barber would subsequently emigrate to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, where he would later become known as an in-house recording engineer and producer at
Atlantic Records, where he produced
the Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...
's
debut album in 1969.
Epstein arranged for them to audition for
Decca Records, for which audition they recorded "
Some Other Guy". The song was a minor chart hit, and later it became a standard in the
Merseybeat scene.
The Big Three and Epstein terminated their partnership in July 1963.
Gustafson and Griffiths quit in November 1963, and with drummer Ian Broad from
Rory Storm and the Hurricanes
Rory Storm (born Alan Ernest Caldwell; 7 January 1938 – 28 September 1972) was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contempora ...
formed the Seniors and left for Germany. Hutchinson replaced them with Faron Ruffley (born William Faron Ruffley, 8 January 1942,
Walton Walton may refer to:
People
* Walton (given name)
* Walton (surname)
* Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer
Places
Canada
* Walton, Nova Scotia, a community
** Walton River (Nova Scotia)
*Walton, Ontario, a hamlet
United Kingdo ...
, Liverpool) and Paddy Chambers (born Patrick John Chambers, 3 April 1944, Liverpool, died 18 September 2000) from
Faron's Flamingos
Faron's Flamingos were an English band. In spite of having a lack of success due to poor decision making, they remain an important part of the Merseybeat history. They also have the distinction of being the first major example of the Mersey Mot ...
.
Chambers left in March 1964 and was replaced by Paul Pilnick from
Lee Curtis' Allstars. Pilnick only stayed a short time before moving on to
Tony Jackson & The Vibrations in October 1964, with Ruffley leaving around the same time.
Various musicians passed through the band after Pilnick left, including bass players John Bradley, Adrian Lord (ex
Mojos
The Mojos were a British beat group from the 1960s, best known for their hit UK single, " Everything's Alright", with two other singles charting low in the UK Singles Chart in 1964.
Biography
The band formed under the name the Nomads as a d ...
), and Mike Bankes, whilst Ray Marshall and Howie Casey played
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
on a trip to Germany. Barry Womersley was guitarist for a while, but was replaced by Brian Griffiths during the time that they were managed by Chris Wharton. Wharton had hopes of re-enlisting Johnny Gustafson but this came to nothing. Hutchinson had played with the Spidermen, but reformed the group with Barry Womersley and Ray Marshall.
Between 1964 and 1966, the line-up consisted of John Hutchinson, Ray Marshall (vocals, bass) and Barry Womersley (lead guitar). During 1966 the band folded. Hutchinson received an offer to join
Kingsize Taylor & the Dominoes but he declined, instead deciding to retire from music.
Arty Davies of 'Liverpool Beat' says that following the demise of the Womersley/Marshall/Hutchinson line-up, a couple of bookings featured the following : Dave Blackstone (lead guitar), Johnny Hutchinson (drums) and Pete Mumford (bass guitar). There is an apocryphal story in Alan Clayson's book ''Beat Merchants'' that Hutchinson packed up his drums after a first set at the Blue Angel, collected his pay and went home, with another drummer taking his place. Presumably this was the band's last gig.
In 1973, Gustafson and Griffiths teamed up with
Elton John drummer
Nigel Olsson
Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...
, and
Quatermass
Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist, originally created by the writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme, heading the Brit ...
keyboardist
J. Peter Robinson
John Peter Robinson (born 16 September 1945) is an English composer, musician, and arranger known for his film and television scores.
Early years and pop music career
He studied piano and composition at the Royal Academy of Music and enjoy ...
for a reunion album, ''Resurrection'', released on
Polydor Records
Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
. In 1999 Griffiths got together with another former Big Three member, Faron Ruffley, to do a small spot of Big Three numbers at the Merseycats charity night; the drummer for the get-together was Arty Davies (Faron's Flamingos).
In 2009,
RPM Records issued a CD compilation entitled ''Cavern Stomp''.
In 2017 Bill Kenwright released and toured the sell-out musical ''Cilla The Musical''; The Big Three (played by Jay Osborne, Chris Weeks and Tom Dunlea) appeared in the show and doubled as the show band. Following the tour the three players were 'handed down the baton' to become the next generation of The Big Three by original members Griffiths, Gustafson, and Hutchinson. The new Big Three are set to write and release brand new material in early 2020.
Johnny Hutchinson died on 12 April 2019. He, Gustafson and Griffiths all appear in the film about the band ''Some Other Guys''.
Members
* Johnny Hutchinson – drums, vocals
(1961–1966)
*
Adrian Barber – first guitarist, lead guitar, vocals
(1961–7/1962)
*
Johnny Gustafson – bass guitar, vocals
(1961–1963, 1973)
* Brian Griffiths – guitar
(7/1962–1963, 1973, 1999)
* Faron Ruffley – bass guitar
(1963–1964, 1999)
* Paddy Chambers – guitar, vocals
(1963–1964)
* Paul Pilnick – guitar, vocals
(1964)
* Ray Marshall – bass guitar, vocals
(1964-1966)
* Barry Womersley (known professionally as Barry Walmsley) – lead guitar
(1964-1966)
*
Nigel Olsson
Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...
– drums
(1973)
Related musicians
*
Cilla Black and
Beryl Marsden
Beryl Marsden (born 10 June 1947) is a British R&B and pop singer, who first came to notice on the Liverpool club scene of the early 1960s. She recorded a number of "powerful and soulful", Biography by Bruce Eder at Allmusic/ref> but unsucce ...
were backed by the Big Three
*
J. Peter Robinson
John Peter Robinson (born 16 September 1945) is an English composer, musician, and arranger known for his film and television scores.
Early years and pop music career
He studied piano and composition at the Royal Academy of Music and enjoy ...
– piano
(1973 album recordings)
* Arty Davies – drums
(1999 one-off gig)
Timeline
Discography
Singles
*"
Some Other Guy" (
Leiber, Stoller,
Barrett) / "Let True Love Begin" (Decca F 11614, 29 March 1963,
UK No. 37)
*"By the Way" / "Cavern Stomp" (Decca F 11689, 28 June 1963, UK No. 22)
*"I'm With You" / "Peanut Butter" (Decca F 11752, 11 October 1963)
*"
If You Ever Change Your Mind" / "You've Got to Keep Her under Your Hand" (Decca F 11927, 12 June 1964)
*"Some Other Guy" / "
Let It Rock" / "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" (Polydor 2058 343, 16 March 1973)
EPs
*''
At the Cavern'' (live) ("
What'd I Say
"What'd I Say" (or "What I Say") is an American rhythm and blues song by Ray Charles, released in 1959. As a single divided into two parts, it was one of the first soul songs. The composition was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charl ...
" / "Don't Start Running Away" / "
Zip A Dee Doo Dah" / "
Reelin' and Rockin'
"Reelin' and Rockin'" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry. It was originally recorded in 1957 and released as the B-side of "Sweet Little Sixteen".
Recording
The song was recorded on December 29-30, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois.
* Chuck Be ...
") (Decca DFE 8552
ono 22 November 1963; reissued 1981)
Albums
* ''Resurrection'' (Polydor 2383199, March 1973)
Compilation albums
* ''Cavern Stomp'' (LP, Edsel ED 111, 1982)
* ''Cavern Stomp'' (CD, Deram, 1994)
* ''Cavern Stomp (The Complete Recordings)'' (RPM Records, 2009)
References
External links
Mersey Beat: The Big Three Storyby
Bill Harry
William Harry (born 17 September 1938) is the creator of '' Mersey Beat'', a newspaper of the early 1960s which focused on the Liverpool music scene. Harry had previously started various magazines and newspapers, such as ''Biped'' and ''Premier ...
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Three, The
English pop music groups
English rock music groups
British rhythm and blues boom musicians
British rhythm and blues musical groups
Musical groups from Liverpool
Musical groups established in 1961
Musical groups disestablished in 1964
British musical trios
Beat groups
Decca Records artists
Polydor Records artists
1961 establishments in England