| The Big Three | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Liverpool, England |
| Genres | Beat Pop Rock and roll |
| Years active | 1961–1964, 1973 |
| Labels | Decca, Polydor |
| Associated acts | Cass & The Cassanovas |
| Members | |
| Brian J Hudson Brian Griffiths John Gustafson John 'Hutch' Hutchinson Adrian Barber Paddy Chambers Faron Ruffley Paul Pilnick Ian Broad Nigel Olsson |
|
The Big Three were a Merseybeat group from Liverpool. They are best known for their 1963 recording of "Some Other Guy".
Contents |
The Big Three evolved from a group called Cass & The Cassanovas, formed in May 1959 by Brian Casser (born 21 March 1936, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland) as a trio comprising Casser (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), Adrian Barber (lead guitar, vocals) (born 13 November 1938, Ilkley, Yorkshire) and Johnny Hutch (drums, vocals) (born John Hutchinson, 18 July 1940, Malta), replacing original drummer, Brian J Hudson (born Brian James Hudson, 21 April 1938, Cleveland, Yorkshire) in July 1959. The original line-up played at St George's Hall, Liverpool on Friday 15 May 1959. In need of a bass guitarist, Hutchinson brought in Johnny Gustafson (born John Frederick Gustafson, 8 August 1942, Liverpool, Lancashire) in December 1959. At that time Gustafson did not have a proper bass guitar so Barber converted an acoustic for him. Gustafson's first gig was at The Tower Ballroom, New Brighton on Thursday 31 December 1959.
In May 1960 the band auditioned for the famous pop manager Larry Parnes 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 Moore, in 1924, Liverpool died in 1981) failed to turn up. In December 1960, Casser left the group and moved to London, 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"[1] in Liverpool due to Barber's talents in the electronics field. He built the band giant amps, standing over five feet high, which were nicknamed 'coffins', and built one for Paul McCartney.
Brian Epstein signed them to his agency[1] and sent them over to Hamburg. It was during that trip in August 1962 that Brian Griffiths (born 27 August 1943, Liverpool) joined the group, Barber left, and the best-known line-up of the Big Three was established.[1]
Epstein arranged for them to audition for Decca Records, for which audition they recorded "Some Other Guy". The group was not happy with the demo recording, and was appalled when they were told that Decca would be releasing it and would not allow them a proper recording session so they could perform the song the way they wished it to be played. The song was a minor chart hit.[1]
The Big Three and Epstein terminated their partnership in July 1963.[1] Gustafson and Griffiths quit in November 1963, and with drummer Ian Broad from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes formed the Seniors and left for Germany. Hutchinson replaced them with Faron (born William Faron Ruffley, 8 January 1942, Walton, Liverpool) and Paddy Chambers (born Patrick John Chambers, 3 April 1944, Liverpool, died 18 September 2000) from Faron's Flamingos.[1]
Chambers left in March 1964 and was replaced by Paul Pilnick (born 17 March 1944, Liverpool) from the All Stars. Pilnick only stayed a short time before moving on to Tony Jackson & the Vibrations in October 1964. Between 1965 and 1966 the line-up consisted of John Hutchinson, Roy Marshall (vocals, bass) and Barry Womersley (lead guitar).[2] During 1966 the band folded. Hutchinson received an offer to join Kingsize Taylor & the Dominoes but declined and ended his drumming career.
In 1973, Gustafson and Griffiths teamed up with Elton John drummer Nigel Olsson for a reunion album, Resurrection, on Polydor Records. 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 (Farons Flamingos).
In 2009, RPM Records issued a CD compilation entitled Cavern Stomp, combining The Big Three's complete recordings for Decca plus the reunion LP for Polydor.