Chris Curtis Dead

[mygeneration]

The BBC 2 lunchtime news reported that Chris died today

[admin]

So sad to hear this Gary.

[admin]

From BBC.CO.UK

The Searchers drummer Curtis dies

"Chris Curtis (far left) was part of the original Searchers line-up Chris Curtis, original drummer of 1960s pop group The Searchers, has died at the age of 63 after a long illness. Named after the 1956 John Ford western, the Liverpool-based beat combo were formed in 1960 and sold millions of records in their heyday.

Their hits included Needles and Pins, Sugar and Spice and their cover of The Drifters' Sweets For My Sweet.

Curtis - real name Christopher Crummey - stayed with the group until 1966 when he was replaced by John Blunt.

Curtis, from Oldham in Lancashire, was part of the original line-up, which also included Mike Pender, Tony Jackson and John McNally.

The group were signed to Pye Records in 1963 and had their first number one the same year.

Decline in fortunes

The band was rocked in 1964 when Jackson quit the band, to be replaced by Frank Allen, a close friend of Curtis.

But while they had further hits with Love Potion Number 9 and He's Got No Love, the band's fortunes declined after Curtis' departure.

In 1967, Curtis reached number four in the UK with Let's Go To San Francisco, recorded under the alias of The Flowerpot Men.

He then formed Roundabout - the band that went on to become Deep Purple - with his brother Dave, though both dropped out long before the group hit the big time.

Curtis produced records for other performers, notably Paul and Barry Ryan, but his music career faltered and he eventually took a job in the civil service.

All change

After ill-health forced him to retire, he made a belated return to performing and recently sang with charity group The Merseycats.

The Searchers continue to perform on the cabaret circuit, though the line-up has changed over the years.

Pender left the group in 1985 and set up an alternative Searchers, prompting his former bandmates to take legal action over the name.

Tony Jackson died penniless in Nottingham in August 2003 at the age of 63"

[royclough]

Yes sad news indeed, but he has not been a well man for years, becoming somewhat of a reculse.

[admin]

While I appreciate that the above article about Curtis may have been written in haste, there are several inaccuracies that should be noted.

To begin, The Searchers were not rocked by Jackson's departure and there are some who maintain that he did not jump ship but was pushed, proabably by Curtis.

Moreover, I don't believe Curtis ever played with the Flowerpot Men.

In addition, the vocal lead of the US hit Love Potion No. 9 was actually sung by Jackson even though he was not with the group at the time of its success.

[royclough]

I like to think I know something about The Searchers career and I am unaware of the fLower pot men connection, I believe it to be rubbis.

[tim]

Weren't the Flowerpot Men a John Carter creation(he also created First Class)? Sad news about Chris Curtis though. I knew he was in failing health but I never expected his demise to come so soon.

[dbrandon]

Yes your right Tim about the Flowerpotmen being a John Carter creation and I just like to mention that it was Chris Curtis that was responsible for me to have a life long addiction to music. I was a 14 yr.old teenager when the Searchers made it in America and until then I played drums in the school marching and concert bands and it was because of him (Chris Curtis) that I got the rock "n" roll fever. REST IN PEACE CHRIS and thanks

[royclough]

Part of the reason for the, in my view false link ,to the Flowerpot men is because two members of Roundabout, a group that Curtis was involved with albeit very briefly, did at one time form part of a backing band that backed the touring version of the Flowerpot Men, they were Nick Simper and Jon Lord who eventually formed Deep Purple after Roundabout. No doubt some paper will claim Curtis was in Deep Purple.

[sowhat]

...what the?..
love you Chris...

[sowhat]

...their seas are meltin' in their skies,
The truth is coming out their doubts,
The stars are sparklin' in their eyes,
They see the sun behind the clouds...

[admin]

Here is an article from The Daily Telegraph.

Chris Curtis
(Filed: 02/03/2005)

Chris Curtis, who has died aged 63, was the drummer, vocalist and
charismatic frontman of the Searchers, one of the best known bands
to emerge from Liverpool at the same time as the Beatles in the
early 1960s; with harmonious pop hits such as Sweets for My Sweet,
Sugar and Spice and Needles and Pins, the Searchers achieved
international success and the band was established as one of the
closest rivals to to Brian Epstein's "Fab Four".

During their heyday, Curtis, unusually for a drummer, dominated the
group. Intense and hyperactive, both on and off stage, in the mid-
1960s he steered the Searchers towards melancholy folk-rock
material, the best known of which, Needles and Pins heralded a new
sound with jangly melodies and the 12-string guitar. But Curtis was
prone to temper tantrums and had regular clashes with the lead
vocalist and bass guitarist Tony Jackson (who died in August 2003).
Eventually their differences came to a head and Jackson left the
band, after which the Searchers had several further hits.

But by 1966, exhausted by endless touring, Curtis was beginning to
rely heavily on drugs. During the Australian leg of the tour ("I
hated Australia," he said later, "I thought it was a country full of
dreadful people") he fell off the stage. A row followed, after which
his fellow band members flushed his tranquillizers down the
lavatory. "On the way back home," he later recalled, "I wrote a
Searchers' song on a sick bag, but it wasn't used as I left the
group."

He was born Christopher Crummey on August 26 1941 in Oldham,
Lancashire, after which his parents moved to Liverpool. Christopher
attended St Mary's College in Crosby, and persuaded his father to
buy him a drum kit. He was soon jamming with his schoolfriend
Michael Prendergast (later Mike Pender, the lead guitarist of the
Searchers).

After leaving the Searchers, Curtis recorded a single entitled
Aggravation , but it failed to make a dent in the charts. His next
venture, a band called Roundabout, was with the guitarist Ritchie
Blackmore and the keyboard player Jon Lord, with whom Curtis was
staying in London. But Curtis's behaviour had become increasingly
erratic. "I came back from being up north for a few days," Lord
recalled, "and my entire flat was covered in silver paper. The
tables, chairs, the toilet, the toilet seat … Chris came out of the
loo and said, `Hey man, what do you think? New concept.' I knew he'd
lost it." Roundabout went on to become Deep Purple, one of the most
successful rock bands in the world.

Curtis joined the Inland Revenue. "It was difficult for me," he
later recalled, "but the people in the office were lovely. They went
out of their way to be nice to me." He remained with the civil
service for almost 20 years before ill-health forced him to retire.

He continued to dabble in music, and at one stage joined forces with
a guitar-playing accountant he had met at the Inland Revenue.
Recently he had taken to karaoke singing at his local pub where the
regulars were treated to rousing versions of Lean On Me. "Anything
good that the Searchers ever did," said John McNally (former rhythm
guitarist) in 2003, "is down to him."

An eccentric but likeable man, in his later years Curtis was less
irascible but suffered from depression and found it difficult to
concentrate. On one occasion he boarded an early morning bus and
handed out his record collection to the surprised
passengers. "People who don't know me well," he would explain, "may
think I'm off my cake."

Chris Curtis was found dead at his home in Liverpool on Monday.

[admin]

While this piece is nicely written, you begin to wonder whether any article can be written about the music and times of a 1960 artist that is factual. As an example

Needles and Pins heralded a new sound with jangly melodies and the 12-string guitar.

The Needles and Pins original recording did not include a 12 string guitar. It was two six strings played by John McNally (a Hofner Club 60) and Mike Pender (a Gibson ES345). Admittedly a small point but an example of not getting things right.

[edcal]

The Searchers have always been my favourite musical group from the British Invasion days. Chis Curtis was my favourite. Very sad, it is the end of an era. May God bless you and rest in peace Chris. You shall not be forgotten. Thank you for your talent and gift of song. Condolences to your family.

Ed

[pam]

I always knew this day would come but I am still shocked. Chris was an old soul and old souls have the hardest life. Most people delt the life hand he had would not have survived during the 50s and 60s but somehow he made it. Wish someone would write some factual stuff about him without all the ****** bits. Maybe Spencer Leigh could write something suitable. Vale Chris, you will always be remembered. Love you, will miss you. God bless and may the next life be kinder to you.