Tony Meehan

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Tony Meehan
Polydor
  • Marmalade Records
    • Formerly of

    Daniel Joseph Anthony Meehan (2 March 1943 – 28 November 2005

    hits and on early Shadows instrumentals
    .

    Meehan was professionally nicknamed "The Baron" by his many admirers and friends within the British pop-rock music industry. He is reckoned to have influenced many thousands of teenage boys and adolescents to take up music as a career, including Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, as a result of his iconic film performance in Cliff Richard's film The Young Ones. His drumming style (cf. "Bongo Blues", "

    Brian Bennett, Clem Cattini and Trevor Spencer
    . In his contribution to the 1961 book The Shadows by Themselves, Meehan gives advice to all would-be drummers on drum-kit care and maintenance.

    Biography

    Tony Meehan was born to Irish Catholic parents at New End Hospital, New End, Hampstead, North West London, England.[1] He was 10 when he became interested in playing drums. By 13, he had his first job with a band playing in a dance hall at Willesden, London. He also played timpani with the London Youth Orchestra.[citation needed]

    Meehan left the Shadows in October 1961 to work as an

    hit in the UK. Harris and Meehan had two further hit singles together – "Scarlett O'Hara" and "Applejack".[1]

    On 1 January 1962, the Beatles were auditioned at Decca by Meehan, performing a selection of covers they had performed in various clubs over the years, interspersed with three Lennon–McCartney originals. The Beatles later found out that their manager Brian Epstein had paid Meehan to produce the recordings made that day in order for the Beatles to retain ownership of the tapes. Decca rejected the Beatles choosing the Tremeloes, who auditioned the same day as the Beatles. After talks with Epstein, Decca did arrange for Meehan to produce the Beatles at Decca if the Beatles manager agreed to cover the expenses of about £100. On 7 February 1962, Epstein met Meehan, who made condescending comments about the Beatles' audition. With the meeting not going well and Epstein not impressed with Meehan, Epstein rejected the Decca offer.[2]

    Meehan briefly played with the Shadows some years later when Brian Bennett was in hospital. He quit the music industry in the 1990s for a major career change as a psychologist, as a result of a lifelong hobby/interest. He worked in London at a local college lecturing in psychology until his death. He was a regular churchgoer at his local Roman Catholic church in Maida Vale.[citation needed]

    Early career groups (pre-Shadows/Drifters)

    1956 – (Skiffle Trio)
    • John 'Frog' Steiner (guitar/vocals), Tony Kessler (guitar/harmonica) and Tony Meehan (washboard/side-drum)


    1956–57 – (Trad-Irish-band)
    • Billy Flynn (guitar/vocals), Raymond Cleary (guitar), David Rees (stand-up bass guitar) and Tony Meehan (washboard)


    1958 – The Vipers
    • Wally Whyton (vocals/guitar), Johnny Booker (vocals/guitar), Freddy Lloyd (vocals/guitar) Jet Harris (bass) and Tony Meehan (drums)

    Death

    On 29 November 2005, BBC News quoted Bruce Welch as saying that Meehan had died the previous day, as a result of head injuries, following a fall down the main staircase at his London flat in Maida Vale.[1] Meehan died at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London.[3]

    As the drummer with the Shadows, Tony Meehan helped to lay the foundations for British rock’n’roll, both backing Cliff Richard and on a long string of instrumental hits recorded under the group's own name. John Lennon once claimed that before Cliff and the Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music. As the first backing band to emerge as stars in their own right, they were early trailblazers for the beat-group boom that eclipsed them. – Shadows drummer who became an A&R man for Decca – The Times (Obituaries), 30 November 2005.

    At his death, Meehan had been twice married and had seven children.

    Groupography

    • The Vipers Skiffle Group
    • The Drifters
    • Cliff Richard and the Drifters
    • The Shadows
    • Cliff Richard and the Shadows
    • Jet Harris & Tony Meehan
    • The Tony Meehan Combo

    Discography

    Performance credits

    • Cliff Richard and the Shadows – "Cliff Sings" – 1959 /1960 (Columbia/ABC Paramount)
    • Cliff Richard and the Shadows – "Me and My Shadows" – 1960 (Columbia)
    • Cliff Richard and the Shadows – "The Young Ones" – 1961 (Columbia)
    • Cliff Richard and the Shadows – "Move It" – 1958 (Columbia)
    • Cliff Richard and the Shadows – "Living Doll" – 1959 (Columbia)
    • Apache
      " – 1960 (Columbia)
    • The Shadows – "Wonderful Land" – 1960 (Columbia)
    • The Shadows – "Man of Mystery" – 1960 (Columbia)
    • The Shadows – "The Shadows" – 1961 (Columbia)
    • The Shadows – "Kon-Tiki" – 1961 (Columbia)
    • F.B.I.
      " – 1961 (Columbia)
    • The Shadows – "See You in My Drums" – 1961 (Columbia)
    • The Shadows – "Meeting with the Shadows" – 1962 (Columbia – 33QPX 8027)
    • Roger Daltrey – "Ride A Rock Horse" – 1975 (Track / MCA)

    As Jet Harris and Tony Meehan

    Albums

    • Remembering – LP – Decca
    • Best of – CD
    • Diamonds and Gems – CD

    Singles

    • "
      Diamonds" / "Footstomp" – 7" – Decca, #1 on British charts[4]
    • "Scarlett O'Hara" / "Hully Gully" – 7" – Decca #2 on British charts[4]
    • "Applejack" / "Tall Texan" – 7" – Decca, #4 on British charts[4]

    EPs

    • Jet and Tony – EP – Decca 33 on British EP charts[4]

    As solo artist

    • "Song of Mexico" / "Kings Go Fifth" – 7" – Decca – 1964
    • "Zola / Reaching Out For Gold" – 1984 (Magus)

    Production credits

    Albums

    Singles

    References

    1. ^ a b c d Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 2005 July To December". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
    2. ^ "Brian Epstein and the quest for a contract". Blog.oup.com. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
    3. ^ "The Shadows founder member dies". BBC News. 29 November 2005. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
    4. ^ a b c d Brown, Tony, Jon Kutner & Neil Warwick, The Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles and Albums, Omnibus Press, London, 2002, p. 451
    5. ^ "Louise Cordet – Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying". Discogs. Retrieved 26 January 2021.

    Further reading

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