#lu walters

[middle-aged-boy-wonder]

Enough about the Beatles, post Rory Storm and the Hurricanes

[rorystormandthehurricanes]

the hurricanes (from left to right) ringo starr, lou walters, and johnny guitar, ty o'brien. most likely in butlins (1960)

[swallow-wind]

Rory Storm and the Hurricanes in The Liverpool Echo, 1964

[alexamenos-the-faithful]

Where can I read more about Rory Storm? Because he seems like he’d be funny to read about

I haven't been on Tumblr in an extraordinarily long time, but found this upon coming back and figured I'd reply anyway just in case it ends up being helpful to someone.

I personally found out much of what I know about Rory Storm (and his Hurricanes) through deep dives on the internet. (Many, many hours on the internet.) But! There is also a book published by Anthony Hogan called "From A Storm To A Hurricane", which details Rory's life incredibly well, including anecdotes and personal stories from those who knew him. Truly can't recommend that book enough for fans of Rory, or those just wanting to know a little about another amazingly talented and charismatic Liverpool band/musician.

I would also like to say - I am now very much available for questions regarding him as well. Always willing to search through a book or two to get an answer out about Rory!

[ilovedig]

So John, Paul, George and Ringo recorded together for the first time in Hamburg on Oct 15, 1960.

this is from Beatles Source

According to what I heard, John, Paul and George were only on the track 'Summertime.' Johnny Guitar, Ty Brien and Ringo backed Lu on 'Fever' and 'September Song.'

I was also told that the discs cost three marks each, but only six of the acetates were bought. No one knows what happened to them. Rory Storm had one (perhaps he did attend the session, although he didn't sing, just as he attended the Wyvern auditions), Lu gave his copy to his ex-wife, Williams left his in a London pub and Ty Brien also bought one, but it couldn't be traced after his death. Johnny Guitar also recalled that John and Paul bought a copy each, but they have never mentioned doing so.

This is Paul's MO. If he doesn't think a recording is professional quality enough, it hasn't seen the light of day. Can you imagine the amount of mind blowing Beatles records Paul has in a vault that haven't seen the light of day because the quality of the sound embarrasses him?

And can he maybe get over that when he turns 80 and release all of them for his birthday or something?

Like no one will ever comment on the quality of a Beatles recording, it's literally just another piece of the puzzle, a piece of history.

[the-cosmic-empire]

Ringo with Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, 3rd May, 1960, photographed at Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool. 

These are some of the earliest photos of Rory Storm & The Hurricanes. Ringo is still known as ‘Ritchie Starkey’ at this point. It would be a few months after these photos were taken that he’d adopt the stage name Ringo Starr. The Hurricanes are supporting Gene Vincent at this show along with Davy Jones, Cass & The Casanovas, and Jerry and The Pacemakers [sic, according to the poster for the gig] and others. It was billed as “The greatest beat show ever to be staged in Britain!”

The band comprised (left to right in the bottom photo) - Johnny Byrne "Johnny Guitar" (rhythm guitar), Alan Caldwell "Rory Storm" (vocals), Wally Eymond "Lu Walters" (bass guitar/vocals), Ritchie Starkey "Ringo Starr" (drums) Charles O'Brien "Ty O'Brien" (lead guitar). 

Pics: Top - © Ringo (From Ringo’s Photograph book), bottom - Unknown photographer (via Beatle Source x)

[swallow-wind]

As the plane landed the journalists were waiting, and Rory was ready for them. When the door to the aircraft opened, Rory popped out, put a cigar in his mouth and gave the Winston Churchill 'V For Victory' sign. The Spanish loved him and rushed for an interview. When asked why he visiting Spain, Rory replied 'To find some cows, but I have not seen any yet.' They then asked if his hair was a Beatle haircut. 'No!' he replied. 'It is a work of art, I created it.' Another member of the band on leaving the plane was asked what was in his bag, and told the reporters that it was a spider that ate Beatles.

— From A Storm To A Hurricane by Anthony Hogan

[rorystormandthehurricanes]

Interview with Lu Walters regarding Ringo Starr. (July 18, 1963) (my own notes below)

" I met Ringo during the old Skiffle days. He was appearing at the Mardi Gras with Rory Storm and was dressed in a long black Teddy Boy suit. Later, I joined the group which was then known as the Raving Texans and we played numerous dates around the Liverpool area.

Ringo was not an exceptional drummer at the time, but as the group progressed he improved to such an extent that we realized he would be a very good drummer.

We had some good times when we made our first appearance at Butlin's holiday camp. Ringo was the lazy one of the group. In the mornings he used to sleep late, and if woken would be very bad tempered. The first signs of him waking took the form of one open eye which was staring round the chalet. Then it would be between one hour and 1 1/2 hours before he'd stir properly. Then he wouldn't speak for an hour or so. After that he'd revert to his normal self. He was the life and soul of any party we went to and was well liked because of his sense of humour.

We had quite a laugh watching him take swimming lessons off Ty*. At one time he seemed to be doing fine until he realized that he was out of his depth and in the twelve-footer. Then he just yelled and vanished from sight. It ended when three of us dived in and pulled him out - we had a good laugh about it afterwards. " (full interview here)

My thoughts/corrections, some things to consider, and more interviews below the cut!

This interview is strange because who is to say it actually happened, yet it does have accurate information for the most part and if it was made up the author seems to have a grasp on the Hurricanes and their individual members. However, one thing that could possibly be incorrect is the whole "swimming lesson" thing.

* Vi, Rory's mother, has a slightly different version of the swimming story.

“Rory found out that Ringo could not swim a stroke so he decided to try and teach him,” recalled Vi. “It was fine at first, but then they became more ambitious and decided to go underwater swimming which almost caused a tragedy. Rory told me that suddenly a pair of hands appeared from beneath the waves, desperately searching for something to grab onto. Ringo’s swimming obviously wasn’t good enough for underwater yet. Luckily, Rory saw what was happening and pulled him out.” (via Beatles Book monthly, section taken from this article)

Beatles Book monthly also has some mistakes and made up stories from time to time, but their interviews can be somewhat reliable, and this seems like a pretty obscure thing to make up. While memories just might be obscured because I can imagine all of them were together during the swimming incident, it's becoming a determining factor for whether or not this interview is legit.

To me, it sounds like the interview itself is legit however whoever wrote the transcript flubbed a few things. However, we will never know for sure if this is the case. If anyone has any other information, please let me know!