Anthony "Tony" Crane

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 17 April 1945) is an English musician, who is best known as the co-founder of

the Merseybeats The Merseybeats (also related vocal duo The Merseys) are an English beat band that emerged from the Liverpool Merseybeat scene in the early 1960s, performing at the Cavern Club along with the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and other simila ...

. Tony has toured with the Merseybeats since its inception in 1961.

Career

The Merseybeats

Crane was born in Anfield, Liverpool and originally wanted to be an architect as a child. Tony left school at 15 with no qualifications to work in the

Royal Liver Building The Royal Liver Building is a Grade I listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's '' Three Graces'', which line the ...

as an insurance clerk. He then started

The Merseybeats The Merseybeats (also related vocal duo The Merseys) are an English beat band that emerged from the Liverpool Merseybeat scene in the early 1960s, performing at the Cavern Club along with the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and other simila ...

, which was first called The Mavericks, with

Billy Kinsley William Ellis Kinsley (born 28 November 1946) is an English musician, who was lead vocalist and bassist with The Merseybeats until 1966 (although he temporarily left the band both to form the Kinsleys) The group disbanded in January 1966 to resurf ...

in 1960. On his lunch breaks, he played in the band at the

Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely assoc ...

. Eventually, Disc Jockey

Bob Wooler Frederick James "Bob" Wooler (19 January 19268 February 2002) was compère and DJ at The Cavern Club, Liverpool from 1961 until 1967. An important figure in the Merseybeat scene, Wooler was instrumental in introducing The Beatles to their mana ...

saw The Mavericks perform at

The Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely assoc ...

and approached Tony asking if they would like a residency at the Cavern. Bob Wooler thought their name sounded too country and western, and suggested a name change. The group changed their name to

. They signed with

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label. History Fontana started in the 1950s as a subs ...

and had their first hit single in 1963 with "It's Love That Really Counts", followed in 1964 by their million-selling record "I Think of You", which gained them their first

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

The Merseys

After their initial success had waned, the band folded and in 1966 Crane and Kinsley formed a vocal duo called the Merseys. They had a major hit with their first single, a cover of

the McCoys The McCoys were a rock music, rock group formed in Union City, Indiana, Union City, Indiana, United States, in 1962. They are best known for their 1965 hit single "Hang On Sloopy". Their name was changed from Rick and the Raiders to The McCoys, ...

' " Sorrow", which reached Number 4 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The introduction on the record featured a bowed bass played by

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...

. A line from this song, "with your long blonde hair and eyes of blue", is included in the Beatles' "

It's All Too Much "It's All Too Much" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Yellow Submarine (album), Yellow Submarine''. Written by George Harrison in 1967, it conveys the ideological themes of that year's Summer of Love. The B ...

", released in 1969 as part of the '' Yellow Submarine'' soundtrack album. The duo split in 1968, with Crane and Kinsley both going on to front a number of other bands.

The Corporation

In 1988, Crane co-formed The Corporation, a group composed of members from popular 60s British groups. They released a single in 1988, a cover of

The Showstoppers The Showstoppers (alternatively the Show Stoppers) was a four-piece African-American vocal soul group formed in Philadelphia about 1967. They are best remembered for their 1967 hit, "Ain't Nothin' But a Houseparty", which was the debut release o ...

' song '' "Ain't Nothing But a House Party"''. They briefly named themselves The Travelling Wrinklies, which was a dig at the Anglo-American all-star group The

Traveling Wilburys The Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. Originating from an idea discussed by Harrison and Lynne during the sessions for Harrison's 1987 album ...

. The group consisted of

Clem Curtis Clem Curtis (born Curtis Clements; 28 November 1940 – 27 March 2017) was a Trinidadian British singer, who was the original lead vocalist of sixties soul group The Foundations. Background Family He was the father of seven children, six sons ...

(

The Foundations The Foundations were a British soul band (m. 1967–1970). The group's background was: West Indian, White British, and Sri Lankan. Their 1967 debut single "Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the UK and Canada, and number ele ...

Mike Pender Michael John Prendergast (born 3 March 1941), known professionally as Mike Pender, is an English singer and guitarist. He was an original founding member of Merseybeat group the Searchers. He is best known as the lead vocalist on many hit s ...

(

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Wa ...

Brian Poole Brian Poole (born 2 November 1941)Eder, BruceBrian Poole Biography, Allmusic. Retrieved 17 August 2014 is a singer and performer who was the lead singer of 1960s beat band The Tremeloes (1957–62) and then Brian Poole and The Tremeloes (1962� ...

(

The Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me". After Poole's departu ...

) and

Reg Presley Reginald Maurice Ball (12 June 1941 – 4 February 2013), known professionally as Reg Presley, was an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer with the 1960s rock and roll band the Troggs, whose hits included " Wild Thing" (#1 on th ...

(

The Troggs The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English garage rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around", all o ...

Personal life

He was awarded an

in 2017 for his services to Music, charity and the community in Merseyside. As of 2022, he lives in

Hoylake Hoylake is a coast, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee, Wales, River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historic counties of En ...

and has property in

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. Tony's son Adrian was a member of The Merseybeats from 2000 to 2009, as the Keyboardist. Crane still tours with The Merseybeats along with original member

. They continue to tour and perform on the "sixties circuit", and at venues in the UK, and across Europe.

The Merseybeats discography

Albums

* ''This Is Merseybeat Volume One'' (1963) * ''The Merseybeats'' (1964) * ''The Merseybeats Greatest Hits'' (1977) * Crane Productions – ''Tony Crane Sings Elvis Presley'' (1978) * ''The Merseybeats Beats & Ballads'' (1982)

EPs

* ''I Think of You'' (1963) * ''The Merseybeats on Stage'' (1964) * ''Wishin' and Hopin'' (1964)

Singles

* ''"It's Love That Really Counts" / " The Fortune Teller"'' (1963) * ''"I Think of You" / " Mr. Moonlight"'' (1963) * ''"Don't Turn Around" / "Really Mystified"'' (1964) * ''"

Wishin' and Hopin' "Wishin' and Hopin" is a song, written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, which was a US Top 10 hit for Dusty Springfield in 1964. History The song was first recorded by Dionne Warwick in the fall of 1962, and was the B-side of Warwick's singl ...

" / "Milkman"'' (1964) * ''"Last Night" / "See Me Back"'' (1964) * ''"Don't Let it Happen to Us" / "It Would Take a Long Long Time"'' (1965) * ''"I Love You, Yes I Do" / "Good Good Lovin'"'' (1965) * ''"I Stand Accused" / "All My Life"'' (1965)

CDs

* ''The Merseybeats'' (1990) * ''The Merseybeats'' (1992) * ''I'll Get You'' (1993) * ''I'll Get You'' (Extended) (1993) * ''The Merseybeats'' (1996) * ''The Very Best of the Merseybeats'' (1997) * ''The Merseybeats Greatest Hits'' (1999) * ''I Think of You – The Complete Recordings'' (2002) * ''The Merseybeats Greatest Hits'' (2003) * Merseybeat – ''Anniversary Tour 2003'' (2003) * ''This Time'' (2003) * The Merseybeats/The Merseys - I Stand Accused - The Complete Sixties Recordings (2021)

Cassettes

* ''The Merseybeats Greatest Hits'' (1977)

Videos

* ''The Merseybeats in Concert'' (1999) * ''Tony Crane Sings Elvis Presley'' (1999)

The Merseys Discography

Singles

* ''" Sorrow" / "Some Other Day"'' (1966) * ''"So Sad About Us" / "Love Will Continue"'' (1966) * ''"Rhythm of Love" / "Is It Love"'' (1966) * ''"The Cat" / "Change of Heart"'' (1967) * ''"Penny in My Pocket" / "I Hope You're Happy"'' (1967) * ''"Lovely Loretta" / "Dreaming"'' (1968) * ''"Honey Do" / "It Happens All the Time"'' (1968) * ''"Sorrow" / "I Think of You"'' (1973)

EP's

* ''Rhythm of Love'' (1966)

The Corporation Singles

* ''"Ain't Nothing But a House Party" / "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" (Instrumental)'' (1988) * ''"Ain't Nothing But a House Party" (Extended Mix) / "Ain't Nothing But a House Party", "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" (Instrumental)'' (1988)

References

External links

* * * * The Merseybeats biography at Allmusic
Liverpool Express website

Lou Rosenthal Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2019) {{DEFAULTSORT:Crane, Tony (musician) 1945 births Living people British male guitarists British pop singers Musicians from Liverpool The Merseybeats members The Corporation (English band) members