Larry Wallis (19 May 1949 – 19 September 2019) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

guitarist,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

and producer. He was best known as a member of the

Pink Fairies Pink Fairies are an English rock band initially active in the London (Ladbroke Grove) underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, and anarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and other stunts, ...

and an early member of

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

Biography and career

Early bands

In 1968, he formed a band called The Entire Sioux Nation with Terry Nolder on vocals, Tim Taylor on bass and Paul Nichols on drums (born in 1949). The band split up in late 1969.

Shagrat

Steve Peregrin Took Steve Peregrin Took (born Stephen Ross Porter; 28 July 1949 – 27 October 1980) was an English musician and songwriter, best known for his membership of the duo Tyrannosaurus Rex with Marc Bolan. After breaking with Bolan, he concentrated on ...

and

Mick Farren Michael Anthony Farren (3 September 1943 – 27 July 2013) was an English rock musician, singer, journalist, and author associated with counterculture and the UK underground. Early life Farren was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and aft ...

formed Shagrat with Wallis and his ex-Entire Sioux Nation bandmate Taylor in February 1970. (Previously, Took and Farren had been with Twink and girlfriend Sally "Silver Darling" Melzer in a prototype Pink Fairies lineup. Twink and Melzer left the band and in late January 1970, Twink formed Pink Fairies ''Mark 2'' with Farren's former bandmates from The Deviants who had just returned to Britain after having previously sacked Farren in Canada in late 1969, leaving Farren bandless and then found themselves stranded in North America for several months.) Very soon though, Farren left after having a falling-out with Took. Shagrat thus became Took's band outright. Took, Wallis and Taylor were joined by drummer Phil Lenoir, formerly of

Black Cat Bones Black Cat Bones were a British heavy blues rock band that existed with various lineups from 1966 to 1971. The band had English musicians Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke in its lineup, both of whom later helped form Free in 1968 with Paul Rodge ...

. This lineup recorded three tracks at Strawberry Studios in Stockport played one gig at the

Phun City Phun City was a rock festival held at Ecclesden Common near Worthing, England, from 24 July to 26 July 1970. Excluding the one-day free concerts in London's Hyde Park, Phun City became the first large-scale free festival in the UK. History Or ...

Festival in July 1970 before Taylor and Lenoir left. Took and Wallis carried on with drummer Dave Bidwell and in early 1971 the trio recorded four acoustic Took songs. All seven tracks were released in the early 1990s on limited edition vinyl and were later compiled together on the CD ''Lone Star'' in 2001 by Japanese label Captain Trip Records, later re-released in 2016 on

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, D ...

with bonus tracks from the 1972 sessions described below.

Blodwyn Pig, Took and UFO

Wallis then joined

Blodwyn Pig Blodwyn Pig was a British blues rock band, founded in 1968 by guitarist–vocalist–songwriter Mick Abrahams. Career Abrahams left Jethro Tull after their debut album, '' This Was'', was released, due to a falling-out with Tull vocalist Ian A ...

, which changed its name to ''Lancaster's Bombers'' (later shortened to ''Lancaster'') with

Jack Lancaster Jack Lancaster is a British composer, record producer and musician. In the late 1960s, Lancaster co-founded the British rock group Blodwyn Pig with Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams and in the late 1970s he was a member of the British progres ...

. They were a short-lived band although they toured supporting Yes in 1971. In February 1972, Wallis joined

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

, but left in October 1972, after a tour by Europe. Wallis did not record with the band, although a bootlegged live recording of a UFO performance featuring Wallis is known to exist, as does a black and white

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...

print of a live set on French TV show ''Rock En Stock''. Sometime during 1972 Wallis recorded sessions with

at Took’s basement flat in Mayfair. These very casual sessions contain appearances by Twink, Mick Wayne, Duncan Sanderson, and almost certainly Syd Barrett. Material from these sessions was released in 1995 as ''The Missing Link To Tyrannosaurus Rex'', a posthumous Took solo album on

The Pink Fairies

In November 1972, Wallis joined the

, substituting for Mick Wayne. The band released an album '' Kings of Oblivion'' which contained mostly Wallis-penned tracks. The band played with an extended line-up for a special gig in July 1975. Several years later, in 1982, their only live performance was released as '' Live at the Roundhouse 1975''. In 1991, it was reissued under the name ''At the Roundhouse/Previously Unreleased'', comprising the original live album, plus additional songs by Larry Wallis from 1984, and an EP by Twink from 1977.

Motörhead

While still a member of the Pink Fairies, in May 1975 Wallis joined a new band called

with Lemmy and

Lucas Fox Lucas Fox is an English drummer who was a founding member of British rock band Motörhead and London punk rockers Warsaw Pakt. Motörhead In 1975, Fox picked up Lemmy from London Airport after he was sacked from Hawkwind. Lemmy, Fox and Pin ...

. In September 1975 Fox left the band and Motörhead recruited a new drummer,

Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor Philip John Taylor (21 September 1954 – 12 November 2015), better known as "Philthy Animal", was an English drummer. He was a member of the rock band Motörhead from 1975 to 1984 and 1987 to 1992, recording eleven studio albums and four live ...

. Wallis recorded an album with the band, ''

On Parole ''On Parole'' is a studio recording released by British Rock music, rock band Motörhead. It was intended as their first album and left unreleased at the time of its completion in 1976, and it was not released until over three years later, on ...

''. It remained unreleased until 1979 when Motörhead had established some reputation for themselves. In February 1976 Wallis was joined by "Fast" Eddie Clarke on guitar. Later in the same month Wallis left Motörhead.

Steve Took

During 1975 and 1976, Wallis did further recording work with Took although none of these sessions have been released to date. Wallis was present, by chance, at

Pathway Studios Pathway Studios was an independent recording studio in North London. Founded in 1970, the studio became an early favorite of Stiff Records' Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera, and was the location for early recordings by The Damned, Madness, ...

on 29 November 1977 when Steve Took's Horns recorded material which would eventually be released in 2004.

Stiff Records - performer and producer

Wallis remained with Pink Fairies, which continued as a trio, until July 1976 when they gained additional guitarist, Martin Stone. In September 1976 the band released a single, "Between the Lines"/"Spoiling for a Fight" on Stiff Records. Four months later in January 1977 the band split up. In the same month Wallis guested at a one-off gig with members of

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or som ...

and

Rat Scabies Christopher John Millar (born 30 July 1955), known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known as the drummer for English punk rock band the Damned. Career Millar was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. He played drums with Tor ...

of The Damned. Wallis then became an in-house producer at Stiff Records. He released a solo single, "Police Car"/"On Parole" produced by

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and New wave music, new wave,Eddie And The Hot Rods; bassist Paul Gray, and drummer Steve Nicol. "Police Car" has been covered by

The Members The Members are a British punk band that originated in Camberley, Surrey, England. In the UK, they are best known for their single "The Sound of the Suburbs", reaching No. 12 in 1979, and in Australia, "Radio" which reached No. 5 in 1982. Ca ...

and

Snips Snips, also known as shears, are hand tools used to cut sheet metal and other tough webs. It is a cutting tool. Workers use various types of snips, either straight or blend one be obtained. The straight or bent being not only for straight cuts b ...

. As well as appearing on a compilation album ''

A Bunch of Stiff Records ''A Bunch of Stiff Records'', also known as ''A Bunch of Stiffs'', is a various artists album to promote some of the first acts to be signed by Stiff Records. It is subtitled ''Undertakers to the Industry – If They're Dead - We'll Sign 'Em''. ...

'', Wallis was part of an ''ad hoc'' line-up called The Takeaways which included Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe and Sean Tyla. Wallis took part in the ''Live Stiffs Tour'' in 1977 and appears as 'Larry Wallis' Psychedelic Rowdies' on the album, ''

Live Stiffs Live ''Live Stiffs Live'' is a live album released in 1978 by Stiff Records. It compiles concert performances by several of the record label's artists recorded during the "Stiff Records#The Stiffs Tours, Live Stiffs Tour", which ran from 3 October to 5 ...

'', that was released later that year. Wallis also produced albums for a number of Stiff Records artists including

Wreckless Eric Eric Goulden (born 18 May 1954), known as Wreckless Eric, is an English rock/ new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in ''M ...

The Adverts The Adverts were an English punk band who formed in 1976 and broke up in late 1979. They were one of the first punk bands to enjoy chart success in the United Kingdom, UK; their 1977 single "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" reached No. 18 in the UK Single ...

and

's EP ''Screwed Up'' (November 1977) and album ''

Vampires Stole My Lunch Money ''Vampires Stole My Lunch Money'' is a 1978 album by the UK underground artist Mick Farren. Farren had left music performance after his 1970 album ''Mona – The Carnivorous Circus'' to concentrate on journalism and writing. However, in 1976 ...

'' (August 1978). His song, " As Long As The Price is Right", first appeared on Dr. Feelgood's 1977 album, '' Be Seeing You''; and a live version of the track was later issued as a single in April 1979. In 1980, Wallis recorded an album for Stiff Records but it was left unreleased when Wallis refused to sign a seven album contract with the label and was consequently dropped. Individual tracks have surfaced on various compilations or were rerecorded by Wallis for subsequent projects.

Farren/MC5 collaborations and his own bands

In September 1978, Wallis became a member of another Farren project Mick Farren & The Good Guys; featuring Mick Farren (vocals), Andy Colquhoun (guitar), Willy Stallybrass (harmonica),

Gary Tibbs Gary Tibbs (born Gary Brian Tibbs, 25 January 1958) is a bass guitarist and actor. He is best known as a member of Adam and the Ants and Roxy Music. He appeared alongside Hazel O'Connor in the film '' Breaking Glass'' (1980) as bass guitarist ...

(bass) and Alan (

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

) Powell (drums). In March 1979 Wallis joined ex-

MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

band member Wayne Kramer, Andy Colquhoun and George Butler for a series of live gigs. In February 1982 Wallis formed Larry Wallis & The Death Commandos of Love with Johnny Reverb on guitar, Big George Webley on bass and Jim Toomey on drums. This line-up was short-lived and Wallis soon began playing a regular series of gigs, mostly at

Dingwalls Dingwalls was a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden, London, England. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, ...

, with a line-up completed by Duncan Sanderson, Andy Colquhoun and George Butler. This line-up began life as 'The Police Cars', playing a Christmas gig as The Police Sleighs before using a large number of aliases such as The Pearl Divers of Death, The Starry Smoothounds, The Knob Artists, The Death Commandoes of Love, The Donut Dunkers of Death (as support to The Deviants, but actually the same band with Mick Farren on vocals) before settling on the more permanent Love Pirates of Doom. This line-up lasted up until the 1987 Pink Fairies reunion, though in 1986 Sanderson was replaced by another bassist called Tony. In 1984 Wallis was once again working with Mick Farren, who resurrected The Deviants name to record a live album, ''Human Garbage'', featuring Mick Farren on vocals, Wayne Kramer and Wallis on guitars, Duncan Sanderson on bass and vocals, and George Butler on drums.

Pink Fairies resurrection

In 1987 the Pink Fairies were revived with Wallis on guitar and vocals, Andy Colquhoun on guitar, Duncan Sanderson on bass and vocals, and both Twink and Russell Hunter on drums. This resulted in the album ''

Kill 'Em and Eat 'Em ''Kill 'Em and Eat 'Em'' is a 1987 album by the UK underground group Pink Fairies. This is a reformed Pink Fairies, prompted by an offer from Jake Riviera, head of Demon Records. Of the five original group members, Paul Rudolph wasn't involv ...

''. By 1988 Twink had left the band, who continued to gig sporadically, even playing European gigs in Germany and France, until Wallis too left. A final throw of the dice took place on 5 March 1989 at the Bob Calvert Memorial show in

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

under the umbrellas name 'Pink Fairies Psychedelic Revue' though in reality this comprised separate sets from Flying Colours (Sanderson, Hunter, Colquhoun) and Larry Wallis' Bandanna Club, featuring various friends such as Pete Thomas (drums) and Canvey Islands Kennedy brothers,

Dr. Feelgood links

Around 1991 Wallis worked with Lee Brilleaux and Phil Mitchell (both from Dr. Feelgood) on the ''On The Bench'' recording, with Ian Gibbons. This led to the formation of Wallis's new band, The Redbirds, featuring Wallis (guitar, vocals), Mitchell (bass) and Chris North (drums). The Redbirds released one 12 inch EP, ''Truth, Justice and a Wholesome Packed Lunch''. Wallis also wrote many songs that Dr. Feelgood later performed, such as "As Long as the Price is Right", "Punch Drunk", "Talk of the Devil", and "Can't Find the Lady", among others.

Back in business

2001 saw the first Wallis solo album to reach release stage, ''Death in the Guitarfternoon''. A comeback gig for The Fairies was planned for

The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhous ...

, Chalk Farm, London on 22 January 2007, however, this was cancelled due to Wallis having a trapped nerve in his back. It was never rescheduled.

Death

Wallis died on 19 September 2019, aged 70.

Discography

;Albums with the

, The Deviants and

*Pink Fairies – '' Kings of Oblivion'' – June 1973 *Pink Fairies – ''Flashback'' – July 1975 (compilation) *Mick Farren and the Deviants – ''Screwed Up'' – November 1977 (EP produced by Wallis) *Mick Farren – ''

'' – August 1978 (produced by Wallis) *Pink Fairies – '' Live at the Roundhouse 1975'' – June 1982 *Pink Fairies – '' Previously Unreleased'' – 1982 *The Deviants – ''

Human Garbage ''Human Garbage'' is a 1984 live album by the UK underground artist Mick Farren and friends, released under the name The Deviants. Farren had relocated to New York but a return visit to London gave him the opportunity for this one-off performa ...

'' – 1984 *Pink Fairies – ''

'' – 1987 *Pink Fairies – ''At the Roundhouse/Previously Unreleased'' – 1991 *The Deviants – ''Fragments of Broken Probes'' – 1998 with

, Andy Colquhoun *The Deviants – ''The Deviants Have Left the Planet'' – 1999, with Jack Lancaster ;Albums with the 'Live Stiffs' package *'' Stiffs Live'' – 1978 - Larry Wallis' Psychedelic Rowdies - "Police Car", and with

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and New wave music, new wave,I Knew the Bride "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll)" is a song written by Nick Lowe and first popularized by Dave Edmunds. It was released on Edmunds's 1977 album '' Get It'' and a year later in a live version by Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the S ...

" and "Let's Eat" ;As a member of

*''

'' – 1979 ;Solo singles *"Police Car"/"On Parole" - 1977 *"Leather Forever"/"Seeing Double" – 1984 ;Albums with On The Beach *''Escape From Oil City'' – 1991 album shared with Canvey Island All Stars with Lee Brilleaux and Phil Mitchell ;12 inch EP as Larry Wallis and the Redbyrds *''Truth, Justice and a Wholesome Packed Lunch'' – Shagrat Records, distributed by Pyg Track, 1991 ;Albums with

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origin ...

and Friends *''Live in Concert'' – 1995 ;Solo Albums *''Death in the Guitarfternoon'' - 2001 *''The Sound of Speed'' (Rare and unreleased) - 2017 ;Various Artists *''

'' – 1977 – one track by The Takeaways – "Food" *''

Hits Greatest Stiffs ''Hits Greatest Stiffs'' is a various artists compilation album, drawn from ten of the first eleven Stiff Records singles, BUY 1 to BUY 11. The tracks follow the numerical order of the singles, but feature mostly the B-sides, although several si ...

'' – 1979 – one track by the Pink Fairies – "Between the Lines" *''What's In the Pub in 1996'' – 1995 – one track by Wallis – "Touch and Go"

Albums produced by Larry Wallis

– ''A Louder Silence'' – 1977 *Wreckless Eric – ''Wreckless Eric'' – 1978 (Wallis also plays guitar)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallis, Larry 1949 births 2019 deaths English rock guitarists English heavy metal guitarists English songwriters English record producers Motörhead members UFO (band) members Pink Fairies members Place of birth missing The Deviants (band) members