Tommy Quickly (born Thomas Quigley, 7 July 1945, in

Norris Green Norris Green is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, in the east of the city. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 17,784, which had fallen to 15,047 at the 2011 Census. History Historically a part of Lancashire, Norris Green's develo ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

) is an English

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

singer who recorded mostly in the early 1960s. He was a later signing of

artist manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee the day-to-day ...

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 ...

, whose biggest act was

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. He was born to Patrick Quigley and Dorothy Gower. He is the twin brother of Patricia Quigley.

Professional career

Spotted as the vocalist with local group the Challengers, Epstein liked Quigley but not the band, suggesting first a name change (to "Tommy Quickly and the Stops"), then pairing him instead with

the Remo Four The Remo Four were a 1950s–1960s rock band from Liverpool, England. They were contemporaries of The Beatles, and later had the same manager, Brian Epstein. Its members were Colin Manley (born Colin William Manley, 16 April 1942, in Old Swan ...

. The next change was in song selection; while Quickly's voice was best suited to

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

, Epstein steered him toward

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

songs, starting with his first single, " Tip of My Tongue", written by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. He then made the usual round of appearances on stage and in public, and was promoted by Epstein as part of his NEMS Enterprises artist stable. "Tip of My Tongue" was a flop, as were his next four singles. His fifth single, "Wild Side of Life", made the Top 40 of 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 ...

, spending eight weeks there. Quickly was offered the

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

song " No Reply", but when he failed to issue it, the Beatles took it back and recorded it themselves. Described as young, naive and impulsive, and seemingly overwhelmed with matters since parting with the Challengers, Quickly was ill-prepared for the spotlight. When follow-up hits did not materialise, and with manager Epstein unable to push him further, Quickly retired from the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

in 1965, and for a short time hosted a British variety show for under-twelves, ''The Five O'Clock Club'', his last appearance on the show and in any sort of spotlight being in January 1966. Later that year he spent tıme in Walton Hospital, Liverpool, suffering from a breakdown. Tommy Quickly and the Remo Four can be seen performing "Humpty Dumpty" in the 1965 film ''

Pop Gear ''Pop Gear'' (U.S. title: ''Go Go Mania'') is a British music revue film, directed by Frederic Goode, which was released in 1965. It contains live concert footage of the Beatles, and lip-synched performances of some of the British Invasion bands ...

'' (billed in the United States as ''Go Go Mania'').

Singles

*" Tip of My Tongue" (Lennon–McCartney) / "Heaven Only Knows" (August 1963,

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cour ...

7N 35137) *"Kiss Me Now” / "No Other Love" (1963, Piccadilly 7N 35151) *"Prove It" (Gerry Marsden) / "Haven't You Noticed" (1964, Piccadilly 7N 35167) *"You Might as Well Forget Him" / "It's as Simple as That" (1964, Piccadilly 7N 35183) *"

The Wild Side of Life "The Wild Side of Life" is a song made famous by country music singer Hank Thompson. Originally released in 1952, the song became one of the most popular recordings in the genre's history, spending 15 weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' co ...

" / "Forget the Other Guy" (October 1964, Pye 7N 15708) UK No. 33 *"Humpty Dumpty" / " I'll Go Crazy" (December 1964, Pye 7N 15748)

In popular culture

Tommy Quickly is portrayed by British actor Andrew Gower in the 2020 independent short film, ''Humpty Fu*king Dumpty'', which depicts Quckly's mental breakdown after his career failed. The film was written and directed by Stephen Walters, and released on 8 May 2020 on their official website HumptyFilm.com.

References

External links

Tommy Quickly: A Manager Recalls
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Tommy Quickly Oxford Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quickly, Tommy 1945 births Living people English male singers Musicians from Liverpool People from Norris Green