Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

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kiramdear
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Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

Post by kiramdear »

I'm so excited!
I just received a nice message from Ritchie Routledge concerning his joining us in participation in the Liverpool Project. I'll take the liberty of posting it, as he mentions some names and places of interest:

HI KIRA, NICE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
IF I CAN HELP IN ANY WAY PLEASE LET ME KNOW, AS WELL AS PLAYING MUSIC AROUND LIVERPOOL SINCE 1962 I ALSO WORKED FOR THE MUSIC PAPER MERSEY BEAT AND MUSIC ECHO BOTH OF WHICH WERE BASED IN LIVERPOOL. BEFORE I JOINED THE CRYIN SHAMES, AND STILL KEEP IN TOUCH WITH ALOT OF THE PLAYERS WHO WERE MAKING RECORDS IN THE 60s
I AM STILL A WRITER /PLAYER/SOUND/ ENGINEER/SESSION SINGER AND I LIVE IN LAS VEGAS AT PRESENT. BUT I STILL GET BACK TO LIVERPOOL WHEN I CAN. THE FIRST TIME I LAID EYES ON A RICKENBACKER WAS EARLY 1963 THERE WAS A MUSIC SHOP BY THE MERSEY TUNNEL CALLED STANLEYS THAT HAD A DISPLAY IN THEIR WINDOW OF 3 OR 4 GUITARS A COUPLE OF TWELVE STRINGS AND 1 OR TWO SIX STRINGS, I WAS BLOWN AWAY BY THEIR LOOKS. THIS WAS BEFORE I EVER SAW THE BEATLES USING THEM.I THINK THEY GOT ON TO THEM A BIT LATER. THE FIRST TIME I SAW A BASS WAS WHEN MY FRIEND MIKE GREGORY FROM THE ESCORTS GOT ONE YOU SHOULD SPEAK TO MIKE. TERRY SYLVESTER WHO ALSO PLAYED WITH THE SAME BAND GOT A SIX STRING AT THE SAME TIME I BELIEVE.
RITCHIE ROUTLEDGE Ex CRYIN SHAMES PAUL AND RITCHIE AND THE CRYING SHAMES, KIRKBYS,JOEY MOLLANDS BADFINGER[90s] AND SO MANY MORE


I was puzzled about the music store he mentioned. He wrote back to explain:

The Music Shop i was talking about was not Hessy's in Stanley Street, But Stanleys they had two shops in the 60s one in Manchester Street. and one in Whitechaple. You dont seem to hear much about these shops in relation to the 60's Merseybeat scene. You only seem to hear or read about Hessy's and Rushworths. maybe it was because both of these shops were closer to the Cavern Club so if you broke a string or needed something fixing quick they were 5 to 10 minutes round trip.While a round trip to Stanleys down by The Mersey Tunnel would be a bit longer.Rushworths and Hessy's were also much quicker to jump on to The Mersey Beat Beatle Band wagon.
I have just got off the phone with Pete Clarke The Escorts drummer of that period.and he agrees with me.He also said and i think he might me right that Mike Gregory The Escorts bass player was the first to play a Rickenbacker bass for live gigs around Liverpool,I have sent Mike an e-mail to get confirmation on that fact. Ritchie.


Ritchie assured me that he'll join us here as soon as his registration is approved. :mrgreen:
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

Post by kiramdear »

Here's the second Cryin' Shames video I found:

What's News Pussycat - Cryin Shames 1966 - Liverpool Group - Joey Kneen/Vocals, Charlie Crane/Harmonica, Charlie Gallagher/Drums, George Robinson/Bass, Phil Roberts/Farfisa Organ, John (Ben) Bennett/Guitar. These are the names of the people who played on the record. The same people appeared on the video, except for John (Ben) Bennett, he was replaced by Richie Routledge

again, embedding is disabled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qODmgxe_too

While many Brits booed when Dylan went electric, others like the Cryin' Shames were open to assimilating the folk-rock style. This was the B-side of "Please Stay". Well worth a listen.
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIk-RU-g ... re=related

(Embedding appears to be disabled for me too).
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

Post by admin »

I hope we hear from Ritchie soon, Kira. :)

Peter: Please let me know if you can see the embedded youtube file now.
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

Post by leftyguitars »


nope, it says it is there, but it isn't!
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

Post by rickrout »

I have just found some old photographs with my two Rick 480s and my 1949/50 Rick lap steel that i had in 1989 and used when i played with Joey Molland's Badfinger for a Tour of the Midwest.Joey was a member of the last line-up of Paul and Ritchie and The Crying Shames before he joined Gary Walker and Rain and then Badfinger. I am in the process of getting someone to scan them for me.
I also found a photograph of myself with the first guitar my Dad bought for me aged 11. a Zenith F hole guitar that we got from the shop in Whitechaple 1959/60 i spoke about in the last e-mail.And a photograph of me playing the same guitar with my first band 3/years later. I got an e-mail back from Mike Gregory and he remembers the smaller shop that they downsized to in Manchester Street. This is the shop that had the display of Rickenbacker guitars that i spoke of
it was next to Erics the Tailors.I am pretty sure. it was called Stanleys.The shop in Whitecaple that i bought that first guitar at was full of accordions and F hole guitars and one or two electric guitars.And i think they got left behind a little when Rushworths and Hessys came on the scene. As soon as i get the photos scanned i will e-mail them to you.


Ritchie


Mike Gregory to me


Hi Ritchie,
Yes, I think I was the first to play a Rickenbacker in Liverpool (Circa 1964-65) - I can't remember anyone else having one at that time.
As to the other question - the only other music shop I can remember other than Hesseys and Rushwoth & Drapers around Whitechapel was a little shop by the tunnel next to Erics the tailors.
Hope all is well
Greg
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

Post by kiramdear »

Hi, Ritchie,
It's great to have you with us! I'm looking forward to getting your photos posted so we can all see them.

Just for the record and to kick things off, could you trace the Cryin' Shames evolution and timeline for us, including the re-grouping and various manifestations through the years? What led to the breakup of Paul & Ritchie and the Cryin' Shames following "Come On Back/September In The Rain"? It seemed you were poised for bigger things after your singles' successes, especially "Please Stay". Please be as detailed as you like in explanation.

Does Mike still have his RM1999? That would be astounding. Some pictures of it are already to be found in the Escorts thread here.

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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

Post by admin »

Hello, Ritchie. This is great information and it will be great to see those photos.

Mike Gregory, has just become a member here and so it will be nice to see his comments as well. I hope he will be able to relate some information about the Escots and Swinging Blue Jeans days.
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

Post by rickrout »

Hi Peter, Thanks for the welcome, I am so glad MIKE or GREG as we call him has signed on.A great bass player and singer.
And just like myself, still at it after all these years. The Escorts stuff is first class very well informed.


Ritchie
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

Post by 13_temple_street »

HI Kera,
I remember Pete Clarke wondering in and out of the Iron Door in Temple Street Liverpool 2 1962/3.I understand that he is living in America.
I would be grateful if you could pass on a message,he may be interested to contact me.
Geoff(Irondoor)Hogarth
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

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13_temple_street wrote:HI Kera,
I remember Pete Clarke wondering in and out of the Iron Door in Temple Street Liverpool 2 1962/3.I understand that he is living in America.
I would be grateful if you could pass on a message,he may be interested to contact me.
Geoff(Irondoor)Hogarth
Geoff, I've been searching for Pete online and sent out some inquiries, but I'm not sure if it's our Pete that I've contacted. I'll wait for replies and hope for the best. When Ritchie turns up again maybe he can shed a light on Pete's whereabouts.
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

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Hi Geoff How Are You, I will pass on you message to Pete I should hear from him tomorrow Ritchie
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

Post by kiramdear »

Ritchie gave me permission to post this for him, a copy of his myspace blog describing the Cryin' Shames story. Sorry I'm just getting around to it:


THE CRYIN’ SHAMES by Ritchie Part 1

When Brian Epstein took over the music paper Mersey Beat from Bill Harry the name changed to Music Echo, Brian Harvey was brought in to run the paper as Managing Editor. He was a friend of the Epstein family. He seemed a nice person and took a genuine interest in the Mersey Beat staff that he inherited.

The Beatles Fan Club also moved in to the new office in Hackins Hey, we had moved there from the very small Mersey Beat office in Renshaw Street and what at first seemed a spacious new work place, was fast becoming just as cramped as Renshaw Street. At the same time I was being courted by The Bumblies (who were later to change their name to The Cryin' Shames) to join their band.

When I worked for Mersey Beat/Music Echo I had my own band The Aztecs on the go and we were doing fine -plenty of gigs at the Cavern. Bob Wooler liked The Aztecs alot and gave us some great gigs supporting the likes of The Who, and we were becoming popular on a local level, but The Aztecs were never going to be a pro band. We had two agents Peppermint Promotions which was run by Geoff Leak. It was part of the Peppermint Lounge Club on London Road owned by the Blott brothers George and Jim and the Cavern, plus what gigs we got ourselves I was finding out that working for Mersey Beat/Music Echo a big help for getting gigs I was happy with the Aztecs it was a fun band we kind of grew together we were closer in age than any of the bands I had played with before them The Drumbeats and the Detonators both bands were much older than I was.

Charlie (Paul) Crane who was a regular visitor to the office and was a personal friend of mine, long before I joined the band and a fellow Mod. He was older than me hey everybody was, we got on great, we liked the same music, we were both lead singers, he played harmonica and I played guitar. sounds like a duo. little did we know at the time that we would become one in the not too distant future. He was always making the point that his band was pro and I should join them.They were going to fire Ben (John Bennet) because he did not look the part. Sad but true. I used to say but I am a second guitar player not a lead player, to which he replied Ben did not play much lead anyway and the extra voice would be great and I know you can do it if you want to, he had more confidence in me being able to do the gig than I did myself.

I would brush it off with The Aztecs had more gigs and played better venues than The Bumblies.and we played The Cavern and they did not. I dont think Bob Wooler liked Norman Eastwood.That was the impression I got when I spoke to Bob many years later. Norman Eastwood was George Robinson the bass player's brother-in-law, and was The Bumblies manager/roadie for a couple of years. Their gigs at the Cavern had all but dried up. Brian Harvey became aware of this ongoing soap opera in the office and was also aware of my desire to be a professional musician. Ritchie was called into the big mans' office for a chat. I filled in the blanks of the things he did not know, one of which was that The Bumblies had done some recording for Joe Meek but up to that time had come to nothing but a promise. Joe Meek had played the tracks to various company's but none of them would make a firm commitment.

Brian Harvey immediately saw my problem, why should I join a pro band on a promise that was earning less money than my own, and remember I was meeting the kind of people you could only dream about working for Music Echo. Only a few months before this meeting Paul Simon had been in to do an interview with Mike Chamberlain and everyone was out to lunch (pub). Yours truly had to entertain him and make excuses until they got back from lunch. I was also getting to know the best of the local bands around at the time The Escorts, The Kirkbys, The Masterminds etc.

Brian Harvey asked me if I would like him to have a chat with Joe Meek when he went down to London to report to Nems Enterprises for a meeting with Brian Epstein, as it was not that much out of his way. He phoned Joe, set up a meeting, told me he would have a chat with me when he got back. Charlie (Paul) Crane was really happy about this because deep down i thought he felt that maybe the Meek session may have come to nothing. When Brian Harvey returned from London he called me into his office and put on a demo pressing of 'Please Stay' with the voice brought forward in the mix, different to how it came out on the record, Charlie had a great voice - it sounded so good. Brian asked me what I thought. I told him it was a hit and he agreed with me.He told me Joe Meek was talking to Columbia about a possable realease date in January. He then asked me to get Charlie down to the office to have a listen, which I did. We played it a couple of times more and I agreed to join The BUMBLIES this was early December 1965. Brian Harvey said he would be interested in looking after the band. If Brian Epstein would give his blessing, rehearsals followed and better gigs, All this without a contract with Brian Harvey.

Joe Meeks' contract arrived - followed by a phone call to my home off Joe. I was only just 16 in November 65 so I needed my folks permission, which they gave. Joe Meek asked me if I wanted to put some guitar on 'Please Stay', to which I replied there is not much guitar on it anyway and it would only delay things, he cracked up laughing. We had gigs to do and I loved playing live.

We changed the name to The Cryin' Shames and another meeting was set up with Brian Harvey at his home. Where we met Brians' wife Rachel, All of the band. A new release date was set for February 18th 1966.on Decca Norman Eastwood who i beleive at this point thought his days were numbered Everyone was happy and looking forward to the new year except Norman, he feared for his position with the band.

Joe Meek liked Brian Harvey and approved of the relationship,and he also approved of myself joining the band why shouldn't he? He used the Nems Enterprise connection to obtain a definite release date for 'Please Stay' with Decca, one of the the companys that would not commit themselves before myself and Brian Harvey came on the scene. We were the Nems connection that i keep reading about on the web. Brian Harvey would manage the band, Joe Meek would produce the records, Norman would be our tour manager Freddie the roadie , and Nems would be our agent for gigs. The band and Joe Meek had not met Brian Epstein at that time that would come later for the band But JOE MEEK ONLY MET WITH BRIAN HARVEY.

Brian Epstein was much too busy with THE BEATLES.

Unknown to anyone except Norman Eastwood and i beleive George Robinson also knew that Norman was talking to The Walker Brothers managers to try and secure a better deal for himself as personal manager for the band but only if he could persuade the band to sign with them.

Somebody leaked a story to Michael Steel from The Daily Sketch that came out on Tuesday FEBRUARY 22nd 1966 that had a headline that read (IT'S THE GROUP THAT GOT AWAY) FOUR MEMBERS OF THE POP GROUP THE CRYIN SHAMES WERE WORKING FOR BRIAN EPSTEIN AT MUSIC ECHO AND HE DONT KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT whoever gave that story to the Daily Sketch wanted Brian Epsteins attention and it worked.

It was not Brian Harvey he had nothing to gain and it was nobody at Music Echo It was such a blatent lie they would have lost there job over something like that. Although i was now pro with the band i was in the office every day and the people who were woking there were friends of mine. Brian Epstein must have read the article or heard something about this down in London because he phoned Brian Harvey and asked him to set up a meeting with the band. The meeting took place at The Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool with Joe Meeks' approval. Up to that point and to my knowledge, Joe Meek still had not met with Brian Epstein, he had no need to, it was a done deal as far as he was concerned. to be continued....................(may not be reproduced without the authors permission ©


I want to double check with Ritchie before I post part 2 :)
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Re: Ritchie Routledge on the Liverpool Project!

Post by JimN »

Just a small point...

The litle shop in Manchester Street ("by the Mersey Tunnel") referred to by Ritchie was in fact called "Samuel's", rather than (the similar) "Stanley's".

I too remember them advertising Rickenbacker guitars there; they had the "Rickenbacker - the Beatle Backer" posters and other endorsement material including a sheet with a quote from Gerry Marsden saying something very like: "As soon as I played a Rickenbacker I knew it was the guitar for me". On the other hand, I don't remember ever seeing a Rick in stock there - perhaps they flew off the shelves before Saturday morning...

HTH,

Best wishes,

JimN
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