Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

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CharliePalloy
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Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby CharliePalloy » 01 Dec 2008, 10:16

Image

Been playing this old compilation this morning ,apart from making the first real British Rock N Roll record "Shakin all over" (respectful nod to Cliff And the shadows) ,they did pretty decent covers of the likes of Bo Diddley's "I can Tell" ,Artur Alexander's "Shot of Rhythm and blues" and there own excellent "Please don't touch" . They seem all but forgotten now but along with the likes of Vince Taylor and the Playboys they must have been the only chance the average British teenager would have had of hearing first hand Rock N Roll .Anybody else remember ?

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby soundchaser » 01 Dec 2008, 10:43

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Last edited by soundchaser on 25 Nov 2017, 12:52, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 01 Dec 2008, 10:46

CharliePalloy wrote:Image

Been playing this old compilation this morning ,apart from making the first real British Rock N Roll record "Shakin all over" (respectful nod to Cliff And the shadows) ,they did pretty decent covers of the likes of Bo Diddley's "I can Tell" ,Artur Alexander's "Shot of Rhythm and blues" and there own excellent "Please don't touch" . They seem all but forgotten now but along with the likes of Vince Taylor and the Playboys they must have been the only chance the average British teenager would have had of hearing first hand Rock N Roll .Anybody else remember ?


:shock:

....you didn't mention their GREATEST cover - and one of the greatest songs ever ever ever!

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby CharliePalloy » 01 Dec 2008, 11:04

Im sorry about that ! . . . . . . . will you tell us the title ? :oops:

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 01 Dec 2008, 11:11

CharliePalloy wrote:Im sorry about that ! . . . . . . . will you tell us the title ? :oops:


have a guess!

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby CharliePalloy » 01 Dec 2008, 11:21

Oh all right ! er . . . . . "My Babe" ? or how about the later version of the Pirates without Johnny who did the great live version of "Lonesome Train" ? :x

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 01 Dec 2008, 11:27

CharliePalloy wrote:Oh all right ! er . . . . . "My Babe" ? or how about the later version of the Pirates without Johnny who did the great live version of "Lonesome Train" ? :x


No....but the later version of the band did the song.... ;)

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Jeff K » 01 Dec 2008, 14:19

I've been meaning to get myself a well-rounded, comprehensive compilation of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates.

Any suggestions?
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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Brin » 01 Dec 2008, 14:21

Shakin all Over is a great record and i think its the only song ive ever heard by them.
Is there much available?
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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 01 Dec 2008, 15:45

Sir John Coan wrote:
CharliePalloy wrote:Oh all right ! er . . . . . "My Babe" ? or how about the later version of the Pirates without Johnny who did the great live version of "Lonesome Train" ? :x


No....but the later version of the band did the song.... ;)


......

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby CharliePalloy » 01 Dec 2008, 16:32

Sir John Coan wrote:
Sir John Coan wrote:
CharliePalloy wrote:Oh all right ! er . . . . . "My Babe" ? or how about the later version of the Pirates without Johnny who did the great live version of "Lonesome Train" ? :x


No....but the later version of the band did the song.... ;)


......

Come on Sir John ,you have kept it going all day ,tell us man ! :x

As for a good over view of the band this double cd at £6.98 from Amazon is great Image

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby The Modernist » 01 Dec 2008, 16:42

CharliePalloy wrote:
As for a good over view of the band this double cd at £6.98 from Amazon is great Image


I've not seen that cover before - I'm impressed that he really was a pirate!

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby NickC » 01 Dec 2008, 19:12

I bought the recent Green/Spence Skulduggery which is excellent. Mick Green must be considered one of the slickest guitarists around. Great versions of Baby Please Dont Go/Mayhem On An E-String and the 'almost as good as Shakin' All Over' Please Dont Touch.
Image

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 01 Dec 2008, 19:45

CharliePalloy wrote:
Sir John Coan wrote:
Sir John Coan wrote:No....but the later version of the band did the song.... ;)


......

Come on Sir John ,you have kept it going all day ,tell us man ! :x


AMAZING that no-one has mentioned it.

'Castin' My Spell' is a piece of pure golden brilliance, and their version beats all.

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Muskrat » 01 Dec 2008, 20:11

Sir John Coan wrote:'Castin' My Spell' is a piece of pure golden brilliance, and their version beats all.


The same song that Johnny Otis did?

Can't really go wrong with that one, though, could you?









Better search through my Kidd CDs again (for somebody who's "forgotten," quite a bit has been released during the last few decades).
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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 01 Dec 2008, 20:28

I dunno - all those versions have a jokey, jerky kind of rhythm to them. The Pirates changed and simplified the riff just a little, and brought out the menace in the song.

Shame there's no youtube clip.

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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby LMG » 01 Dec 2008, 21:05

'Castin' Your Spell' isn't a Johnny Kidd record, which is probably why no one got it.

It is the b-side of 'My Babe', which is the only (?) 60's single by the Pirates, the 1964 version of his backing band. Both sides appear on some Johnny Kidd and the Pirates compilations.

Although there had been a number of Pirates, the 1964 lineup with Mick Green, Frank Farley, and Johnny Spence got the legal use of the name under the approval of Johnny Kidd and his management. At the time it was considered likely that the Pirates would become a band in their own right while JK's solo career developed.

Kidd's solo career never took off, so he formed the New Pirates, because the former musicians had the rights to the Pirates name. Though they were not using it because Mick Green had gone to play with Billy J Kramer as a member of the Dakotas.

Johnny Kidd and the New Pirates never got the chance to make it because when returning from a cancelled show in October 1966 they were involved in a crash which killed the singer and injured bassist Nick Simper.

Nick Simper recovered and went on to become the first bassist in Deep Purple. A decade later after the crash, in 1976, the three Pirates who played on the single reformed as part of the pub rock rock and roll revival.

And that's another story for another day...
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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Matty Red Sox » 01 Dec 2008, 23:48

Another great thread...I had a compilation back in the 80's and have no idea what became of it...will rectify soon.
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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Charlie O. » 02 Dec 2008, 00:34

The indisputable greatness of "Shakin' All Over" notwithstanding, I always thought the Pirates - the Green/Spence/Farley Pirates - were better without Kidd than with him, whether in '64 or in '77.
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Re: Johnny Kidd and The Pirates

Postby Tomahawk Kid » 02 Dec 2008, 17:37

LMG wrote: A decade later after the crash, in 1976, the three Pirates who played on the single reformed as part of the pub rock rock and roll revival.

And that's another story for another day...



...and were one of the best live acts going at that time. Absolutely fantastic band. Looked like three motor mechanics when they were stood at the bar pre-gig, but boy did they rock. Mick Green, one of the UK's great treasures.


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