King Size Taylor

Discuss the early days of the Club with the manager.
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Re: King Size Taylor

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Geoff, thanks so much for posting this link to King Size Taylor's Hallo Josephine. It is easy to see why he was so popular in the day. A great backing band and a great voice makes of a great combination. I especially like the saxophone and walking bass. It must have been a blast to have watched him at the Iron Door Club. The style and vocal is very reminiscent to the late great Chubby Checker.

A favourite of mine, sung by King Size Taylor during the Iron Door Club days, was Larry Williams Bad Boy.

Here is a rough translation of the German text.

Beethoven would have read Star-Club NEWS if it had been available.

According to many professional musicians (including Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Bill Haley and many more), King Size Taylor is Liverpool’s best singer and has the most original voice. In mid 1962, he was hired by the director of the Star Club, leaving his job at a butcher’s shop in Liverpool. From then on, he was active in Germany for almost two years with only short interruptions. His band, The Dominoes, comprised bass, piano, drums, and rhythm guitar. Through personnel changes, the band became so strong that it was rightly described by those in the music profession as the best in Liverpool in 1963-4. A drummer by the name of Richard Starkey, today called Ringo Starr, had a contract with the band, but was generously surrendered to a certain group called The Beatles. Could Ringo have done better? King Size, happily married to his German wife Gitta, remains today the kind and humble boy he always was. There isn’t enough space here to list all the albums he produced in Germany. We’ll make up for this presently in the text.

This brief reference is a reminder that Ted Taylor was rubbing shoulders with the best of them in the day. And to think that the Liverpool scene had early beginnings at the Iron Door Club is something that must warm the heart of Geoff Hogarth. :)
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King Size Taylor at the Star Club circa 1962
King Size Taylor at the Star Club circa 1962
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Re: King Size Taylor

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LztbPQb_P9w
This brief reference is a reminder that Ted Taylor was rubbing shoulders with the best of them in the day.And to think that the Liverpool scene had early beginnings at the Iron Door club is something that must warm the heart of Geoff Hogarth
The first time I listened to 'Hello Josephine' was 1960 ,Fats Domino was singing ,incidentally he was also responsible for writing and producing .First heard Kingsize Taylor and the Domino's version in 1961 ( Liverpool Jazz society) their contribution was minus Howie Casey who did not officially join the Domino's until 1963, although I have witnessed Howie performing with the group in 1961/62. Hardly surprising that he was asked to join the group because in my opinion he made a tremendous difference,enhancing to a exciting balanced sound. I could not resist posting this newer version by Ted and the Dominoes of their version in 63/64 of 'Hello Josephine' .
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Re: King Size Taylor

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My father wrote this song, it was a poem for his girlfriend when he was 16! He sent the song into a competition and won. He couldn't afford the copyright cost's so he sold the rights for $600. My dad was issued a gold record,but didn't receive any royalties or credit! . I'm in the process of writing a book based on my dad - and hoping if I can get his gold reissued since it was destroyed in a fire.
. This information was published in the comments by 'clockie' 10 years ago. It is on record that Fat's Domino purchased this material .
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Re: King Size Taylor

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13_temple_street wrote:
My father wrote this song, it was a poem for his girlfriend when he was 16! He sent the song into a competition and won. He couldn't afford the copyright cost's so he sold the rights for $600. My dad was issued a gold record,but didn't receive any royalties or credit! . I'm in the process of writing a book based on my dad - and hoping if I can get his gold reissued since it was destroyed in a fire.
. This information was published in the comments by 'clockie' 10 years ago. It is on record that Fat's Domino purchased this material .
Geoff, thanks for this good bit of additional information. A great composition for a 16 year-old. :)
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Re: King Size Taylor

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13_temple_street wrote:The first time I listened to 'Hello Josephine' was 1960 ,Fats Domino was singing ,incidentally he was also responsible for writing and producing .First heard Kingsize Taylor and the Domino's version in 1961 ( Liverpool Jazz society) their contribution was minus Howie Casey who did not officially join the Domino's until 1963, although I have witnessed Howie performing with the group in 1961/62. Hardly surprising that he was asked to join the group because in my opinion he made a tremendous difference,enhancing to a exciting balanced sound.
Couldn't agree with you more Geoff. After The Seniors decided to call it day and go their different ways, the teaming up of Howie Casey (and his saxophone) with the Dominoes driving piano based sound breathed new life into the line-up, albeit for less than two years as it turned out. That was until Teddy Taylor had a falling out with band members, possibly over money, and returned to Germany with his German-born wife.

German audiences loved the group, they were much in demand and never out of work, cutting numerous recordings on the Star-Club Records label. In 1964 Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes version of Solomon Burke's 'Stupidity' reached Number One in German singles chart, 'Hello Josephine' being on the B-side. But alas it all fell apart at the end of 1964 following a package tour of the UK as the backing band for Chuck Berry, who was on the comeback trail having not long been released on parole from a 3-year jail term.

Geoff; can you shed any light on why Teddy Taylor and the Dominoes had a falling out?
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hamilton_square wrote:
13_temple_street wrote:The first time I listened to 'Hello Josephine' was 1960 ,Fats Domino was singing ,incidentally he was also responsible for writing and producing .First heard Kingsize Taylor and the Domino's version in 1961 ( Liverpool Jazz society) their contribution was minus Howie Casey who did not officially join the Domino's until 1963, although I have witnessed Howie performing with the group in 1961/62. Hardly surprising that he was asked to join the group because in my opinion he made a tremendous difference,enhancing to a exciting balanced sound.
Couldn't agree with you more Geoff. After The Seniors decided to call it day and go their different ways, the teaming up of Howie Casey (and his saxophone) with the Dominoes driving piano based sound breathed new life into the line-up, albeit for less than two years as it turned out. That was until Teddy Taylor had a falling out with band members, possibly over money, and returned to Germany with his German-born wife.

German audiences loved the group, they were much in demand and never out of work, cutting numerous recordings on the Star-Club Records label. In 1964 Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes version of Solomon Burke's 'Stupidity' reached Number One in German singles chart, 'Hello Josephine' being on the B-side. But alas it all fell apart at the end of 1964 following a package tour of the UK as the backing band for Chuck Berry, who was on the comeback trail having not long been released on parole from a 3-year jail term.

Geoff; can you shed any light on why Teddy Taylor and the Dominoes had a falling out?
Very good question, Peter. I have spent a fair bit of time searching for the answer about the breakup of King Size Taylor and the Dominoes. The band had just shy of twenty members over the period 1957 until the summer of 1964 when they called it quits. I suspect that the end of the group was big news at the time but little has been said about the reason behind the departure of all of Ted Taylor's backing members. Perhaps someone connected with the group or one of its members will let us know in a post here. Perhaps Geoff Hogarth will have heard or will be able to find out.
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Re: King Size Taylor

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I doubt if any of the musicians involved with the Dominoes back in Liverpool from Germany with Teddy Taylor 1964 could put pen to paper and answer " What were the factors involved to cause the break up of the band ' To point a finger at any individual would be embarrassing . I am not surprised Peter that you reached a dead end with your research to find an answer. The group were in disarray . I understand that Teddy Taylor had decided to travel back to Germany any way!
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13_temple_street wrote:I doubt if any of the musicians involved with the Dominoes back in Liverpool from Germany with Teddy Taylor 1964 could put pen to paper and answer " What were the factors involved to cause the break up of the band ' To point a finger at any individual would be embarrassing . I am not surprised Peter that you reached a dead end with your research to find an answer. The group were in disarray . I understand that Teddy Taylor had decided to travel back to Germany any way!
Hello Josephine 2019

https://www.facebook.com/julius.weber.1 ... NjkxMzc%3D
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Re: King Size Taylor

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Over the years I have watched and listened to interviews given by Teddy Taylor. Whenever he’s been asked questions about his parting with the Dominoes he’s always tended to be evasive and vague on the matter. Claiming that the reasons have been lost in the mists of time. To quote Geoff Hogarth: “To point a finger at any individual would be embarrassing”. After more than half-a-century has passed any public finger pointing would serve no purpose other than to cause embarrassment. I think the reasons behind the break up of Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes are (and will remain) very much a closed book.

As for the break up being “big news at the time” I don’t really think so. I seem to recall that outside of Liverpool, and perhaps in Germany, it attracted little attention. By 1964 the action had moved on in the direction of London and away from Liverpool. The ‘British Invasion’ was getting underway and London was the base of operations, not Liverpool. I would argue that something of a backlash developed about this time against Liverpool groups who for a couple of years had been the dominant force. However, Germany still remained fertile ground for Liverpool groups, which is where a fair number of them headed to find work.

As it turned out, Howie Casey wasn’t all that far behind Teddy Taylor when it came to getting back to Germany. Howie stopped off in Liverpool just long enough to team up with the reformed PAWNS, made up of George Peckham, Dave ‘Mushy’ Cooper, Dave Myers and Sid Knapper before they to headed off to Germany.

Now Geoff there’s some names from the past for you to remember. I can recall bass player Dave Copper and drummer Sid Knapper but I’m a bit fuzzy on George Peckham and Dave Myers.

Once in Germany it wasn’t long before Howie Casey got a better offer and joined up with the Krewcats, a ensemble non-Liverpool group more musically suited to his style.

On my cyberspace travels I came across this detailed write up of Howie Casey’s time with the Krewcats …

https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/articles/t ... s-1964-65/

The piece was written by Nick Warburton. If it’s the same Nick Warburton I think it is then is day job is that of a television scriptwriter for the likes of East Enders and Holby City (both British Soap Operas).

Reading Nick Warburton’s article a light-bulb moment for me was seeing this photograph …
The-Krew-Top-Ten-Club-Hamburg-early-1965.jpg
I’ve always wondered where Johnny Philips got to after he got stranded in Hamburg while touring with The Roadrunners, the group having to return to Liverpool without him.

Johnny Philips was an American citizen and sax / flute / trumpet player who out-of-the-blue turned up one evening at The Cavern and asked the then resident group, The Roadrunners, if he could play a couple of numbers with them. He was only in Britain on a visitor’s visa. At the end of The Roadrunners stint in Germany, the American Embassy told Johnny Philips that because he’d left the UK to travel to Germany he wouldn’t be allowed to re-enter the UK on the same visitor’s visa. He would have to sit it out in Germany while he applied for a fresh UK visitor’s visa with no guarantee of getting one.

Also embedded at the very end of the Warburton article is a You Tube video clip of a then 19-year old Beryl Marsden belting out a number on German TV [circa 1966). The group backing Beryl Marsden is listed as Johnny B Great and the Quotations. One time Roadrunner Johnny Philips is the one with the longish hair playing the tenor sax.
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Re: King Size Taylor

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hamilton_square wrote:Over the years I have watched and listened to interviews given by Teddy Taylor. Whenever he’s been asked questions about his parting with the Dominoes he’s always tended to be evasive and vague on the matter. Claiming that the reasons have been lost in the mists of time. To quote Geoff Hogarth: “To point a finger at any individual would be embarrassing”. After more than half-a-century has passed any public finger pointing would serve no purpose other than to cause embarrassment. I think the reasons behind the break up of Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes are (and will remain) very much a closed book.

As for the break up being “big news at the time” I don’t really think so. I seem to recall that outside of Liverpool, and perhaps in Germany, it attracted little attention. By 1964 the action had moved on in the direction of London and away from Liverpool. The ‘British Invasion’ was getting underway and London was the base of operations, not Liverpool. I would argue that something of a backlash developed about this time against Liverpool groups who for a couple of years had been the dominant force. However, Germany still remained fertile ground for Liverpool groups, which is where a fair number of them headed to find work.

As it turned out, Howie Casey wasn’t all that far behind Teddy Taylor when it came to getting back to Germany. Howie stopped off in Liverpool just long enough to team up with the reformed PAWNS, made up of George Peckham, Dave ‘Mushy’ Cooper, Dave Myers and Sid Knapper before they to headed off to Germany.

Now Geoff there’s some names from the past for you to remember. I can recall bass player Dave Copper and drummer Sid Knapper but I’m a bit fuzzy on George Peckham and Dave Myers.

Once in Germany it wasn’t long before Howie Casey got a better offer and joined up with the Krewcats, a ensemble non-Liverpool group more musically suited to his style.

On my cyberspace travels I came across this detailed write up of Howie Casey’s time with the Krewcats …

https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/articles/t ... s-1964-65/

The piece was written by Nick Warburton. If it’s the same Nick Warburton I think it is then is day job is that of a television scriptwriter for the likes of East Enders and Holby City (both British Soap Operas).

Reading Nick Warburton’s article a light-bulb moment for me was seeing this photograph …
The-Krew-Top-Ten-Club-Hamburg-early-1965.jpg
I’ve always wondered where Johnny Philips got to after he got stranded in Hamburg while touring with The Roadrunners, the group having to return to Liverpool without him.

Johnny Philips was an American citizen and sax / flute / trumpet player who out-of-the-blue turned up one evening at The Cavern and asked the then resident group, The Roadrunners, if he could play a couple of numbers with them. He was only in Britain on a visitor’s visa. At the end of The Roadrunners stint in Germany, the American Embassy told Johnny Philips that because he’d left the UK to travel to Germany he wouldn’t be allowed to re-enter the UK on the same visitor’s visa. He would have to sit it out in Germany while he applied for a fresh UK visitor’s visa with no guarantee of getting one.

Also embedded at the very end of the Warburton article is a You Tube video clip of a then 19-year old Beryl Marsden belting out a number on German TV [circa 1966). The group backing Beryl Marsden is listed as Johnny B Great and the Quotations. One time Roadrunner Johnny Philips is the one with the longish hair playing the tenor sax.
Peter, thanks very much for this additional information and your perspective. Your comments have opened up many avenues for further exploration. The explosion of music in Liverpool in the 1960s has left us with such rich personalities and great performances. It is hard to imagine if their equal will be found in the future music scene.
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Re: King Size Taylor

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Peter McCormack and Peter (Hamilton Square ) should be congratulated for their detailed analyses , I was privileged to observe , the clip of Teddy Taylor's rendition of Hello Josephine ,I was surprised he chose to sing this number in preference to more popular of his song's , Carl Terry appeared to possibly suggest a suitable choice was 'Hello Josephine' .
But alas it all fell apart at the end of 1964 following a package tour of the UK as backing band for Chuck Berry who was on the comeback trail not long after being released from 3 years jail term
I had a conversation with Teddy regarding this tour who informed me that Chuck Berry was in a terrible state of mind at the prospect of performing on stage again also more importantly he could not play his guitar having forgotten the keys etc.Teddy spent hours coaching Chuck who gradually regained his confidence. Howie Casey was subject to a number of references , Howie is still performing he settled in the South coast harbour town of Poole, he has formed a group of like minded musicians the groups name is 'Beatles with Wings', by all accounts the band have a terrific following. Howie has medical problems , he has been advised to self isolate for 3 months.
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Re: King Size Taylor

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXf93zf ... T87SCXjFS8

Tracks' from Dominoes first LP. Recorded in Keith Hardie's ( Original founder member of The Dominoes) house.
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