Johnny Kidd and the Pirates

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Johnny Kidd and the Pirates were a rock and roll group from England who performed in the late 1950s and 1960s. The group frequently appeared wearing eye-patches and other pirate-style clothing, but sometimes showed real rock power behind the gimmick.

1 Early days
2 The big time
3 The later days
4 Post Kidd
5 Discography
- 5.1 Singles
6 External links

[edit] Early days

Johnny Kidd, real name Frederick Heath, was the group's frontman and sometime songwriter. The original group was signed to HMV in 1959 under the auspices of Walter J. Ridley and the group's first single was the raw and rocking "Please Don't Touch". This became a minor hit reaching number 25 on the UK singles charts in 1959. The song has since been covered many times, most successfully by Motörhead and Girlschool.

After this initial success the band was reorganised to streamline the sound and visual appeal. Kidd would naturally take centre-stage at the front, but with Clem Cattini (drums) directly behind. Flanking Kidd on either side would be Alan Caddy (guitar) and Brian Gregg (bass); and Kidd would high-kick in time to the beat. In an attempt to re-create the feel of his recordings Kidd employed the use of an echo unit on his vocals, one of the first UK rock acts to attempt this onstage.

[edit] The big time

Kidd and the Pirates finest moment came with the powerful song "Shakin' All Over", which features memorable opening guitars and solo from Joe Moretti, (who also featured on the follow up "Restless"), and reached number one in the UK singles charts in 1960. The song and the group's power trio line-up both made a strong impression on The Who, who would cover it in their 1970 album Live at Leeds, whose CD liner notes proclaim the original to be the UK's best pre-Beatles rock single . Music critics, Roy Carr and Tony Tyler would later write that "Shakin' All Over" was the second-ever genuine British rock classic, following Cliff Richard's "Move It" and preceding The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There".

The distinctive 'Shakin' effect on the track, was created by Joe Moretti sliding Brian Gregg's cigarette lighter very fast up and down the guitar strings.

Despite some interesting cuts the hits tailed away in the shadow of "Shakin'". The swansong recording of this line-up in 1961, the b-side of "Please Don't Let Me Down" turned out to be a minor UK rock 'n' roll classic. The follow-up "So What" featured a racy piano solo from Thunderclap Jones. Some of The Pirates, namely (Clem Cattini, Alan Caddy and later Brian Gregg) decided to jump ship, and went on to join Joe Meek's The Tornados. Kidd cut a "solo" single backed by a bigger band sound. "Hurry On Back To Love" was more bluesy than anything Kidd had previously attempted and indicated a possible new path for him.

A new Pirate trio was recruited, Johnny Spence (bass), Frank Farley (drums) and Johnny Patto (guitar), whom had recently backed Cuddly Dudley. Patto soon left and was replaced by Mick Green (guitar), who had also backed Dudley. The new line-up's first single with Kidd, "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues" (coupled with "I Can Tell") was way ahead of the game, but only managed to enter the lower reaches of the charts toward the end of 1962.

Over time, a very visual show had developed. The group would deck out in 19th century Pirate costume in front of a huge backcloth of a pirate galleon, Kidd toying with a cutlass to great effect. Many a wooden stage received scarring from this prop until insurance cover could not be obtained for it. The group's German tours tightened their sound, as it did with many Liverpool combos who also made the trip. A projected single in keeping with the new sound, "Some Other Guy" was left unreleased in early 1963, allowing The Big Three to score their first chart entry.

The explosive rise of the 'beat groups' outshone the slow-burning R&B scene, and Kidd opted for the safety of Merseybeat with "I'll Never Get Over You", which reached number 4 on the charts in the summer of 1963. The recording session for the follow-up, "Hungry For Love", which also broke into the top twenty saw the Pirates record their own single. Both sides "My Babe", and "I Can Tell", were powerhouse R&B that put many of the Liverpool bands in the shade, with both tracks being recorded in one take.

[edit] The later days

The hits again tailed away and the long-awaited debut album, featuring the expanded line-up with Vic Cooper on organ/piano duties, was never mastered for release. One step behind The Beatles and losing ground, Kidd abandonded dual-tracking his voice and switched back to R&B, with mixed results. Green left to join Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas to form a twin lead guitar line-up, alongside Mike Maxfield. Eventually the group and singer parted company. The Pirates recorded one single, "Shades Of Blue" for Polydor before calling it a day.

Kidd kept recording. His single "It's Got To Be You", and an unreleased version of Otis Redding's "Can't Turn You Loose", showed that a mix of R&B and soul may have been where Kidd's future lay.

With Kidd on the verge of a comeback with a promising 'New Pirates' group - Mick Stewart (Guitar), Nick Simper (bass), Ray Soaper (organ) and Roger Truth (Drums), his luck ran out. On returning from a cancelled gig, Nick Simper was injured and Johnny Kidd was killed in a motor car accident in Lancashire on 7 October 1966.

The single "Send For That Girl" was released posthumously in November but failed to chart. This line-up of The Pirates (with John Kerrison replacing Truth) carried on in tribute until mid 1967, although there were no further recordings.

[edit] Post Kidd

The best-known line-up of The Pirates, Mick Green, Johnny Spence and Frank Farley, reformed in 1976, surprising everyone with their powerful brand of R&B. Although officially quitting in the mid 1980s they still perform occasionally today, although due to ill-health Frank Farley is sometimes deputised for. They have also recorded a number of reunion albums since 1978's well-received Out of Our Skulls and still perfom "Shakin' All Over" in their set.

Another set of Pirates - with Joe Moretti (guitar), and re-uniting original Pirates, Brian Gregg (bass) and Clem Cattini (drums) have also started playing occasional gigs in recent years. A little-known fact is that Joe Moretti actually played on "Shakin' All Over" and it's follow-up "Restless", and went on to play on countless hit records as a session musician, including "It's Not Unusual", " Don't Sleep in the Subway" etc. However in this Pirates line-up it is Joe Moretti's son - also called Joe Moretti - on guitar.