Brian "Licorice" Locking (22 December 1938 – 8 October 2020) was an English musician and songwriter known for his tenure as bassist with '' The Wildcats'' in 1959 and

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

, between 1962 and 1963. During his time with the Shadows he appeared with

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

in the musical film '' Summer Holiday''. Locking also toured as a session player with numerous artists including rock stars Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and Joe Brown, as well as Conway Twitty and

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' hit aged 12 i ...

Early life and music career

Locking was born on 22 December 1938 in Bedworth,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, England and after moving to Grantham Lincolnshire attended St. Anne's School, Spittlegate, and then Huntingtower Road School. After leaving school he worked as a fireman and trainee train driver for

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...

. He began playing

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

in several bands, and was a member of ''The Harmonica Vagabonds'', subsequently called ''The Vagabonds Skiffle Group''; he performed regularly at

The 2i's Coffee Bar The 2i's Coffee Bar was a coffeehouse at 59 Old Compton Street in Soho, London, that was open from 1956 to 1970. It played a formative role in the emergence of Britain's skiffle and rock and roll music culture in the late 1950s, and several m ...

in Soho, London, where he was asked to tour with Terry Dene and with fellow Grantham-based rocker Vince Eager, whom he had performed with in The Vagabonds.

''The Wildcats''

He switched to bass guitar, later joining The Wildcats, a backing group for the

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

singer Marty Wilde. A fellow Wildcat was the drummer and future member of The Shadows,

Brian Bennett Brian Laurence Bennett (born 9 February 1940) is an English drummer, pianist, composer and producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group the Shadows. He is the father of musician and Shadows band memb ...

. Locking also played several other instruments including

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

and

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

(nicknamed the "licorice stick", which earned Locking the nickname "Licorice"). Vince Eager (previously Roy Taylor) came up with the nickname "Licorice" when introducing Locking on stage when he played in skiffle band The Vagabonds in Ingoldmells in 1956. When Marty Wilde parted company from ''The Wildcats'', they changed their name to "the Krew Kats" and recorded

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

s with modest success. Bennett then left to join the Shadows.

''The Shadows''

In April 1962, whilst having just started performing with Adam Faith, at Bennett's suggestion, Locking was himself invited to join

to replace the departing bassist Jet Harris. Stylistically, Locking had a solid "less is more" approach, which was the obverse of Harris's adventurous hard-driving style. The Shadows' sound changed as a result. Locking played on some of their best known tracks, including "Dance On", "Foot Tapper" and "Atlantis". He also played the harmonica in live shows and on his signature album track, "Dakota". He appeared in the 1963

film, '' Summer Holiday''. After being in the Shadows for only eighteen months, Locking left to pursue his activities with the

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

. He remained on the music scene at a more compatible pace and was invited to play double bass on

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

's first recording session. He briefly played with the Shadows again five years later while his successor

John Rostill John Henry Rostill (16 June 1942 – 26 November 1973) was an English musician, bassist and composer, recruited by the Shadows to replace Brian Locking in autumn 1963. He wrote many of the tunes by the Shadows including " The Rise and Fall ...

was in hospital. In later life Locking was a regular guest playing at Shadows guitar clubs across the UK and abroad. He was also frequently invited to perform with various Shadows-style bands and was fundamental to honouring their legacy in such countries as France and Germany In 1998, he performed at the Pipeline Instrumental Convention in London alongside other former members of The Shadows under the band name Local Heroes. He reprised his role in the Wildcats at Marty Wilde's 50th Anniversary Concert, where he also appeared on stage with all the surviving Shadows members.

Death

Brian Locking suffered from

Bell's palsy Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary f ...

, and he was registered blind. He died in a hospice in North Wales on 8 October 2020 aged 81, after having been diagnosed with a tumour on the bladder.

Early career groups (pre-Shadows)

* 1956 – The Harmonica Vagabonds, subsequently called The Vagabonds Skiffle Group ** Roy Clarke + Mick Fretwood + Brian Locking + Vince Eager (Roy Taylor) * 1958 – Vince Taylor & the Playboys ** Vince Taylor (v) + Jim Sullivan (g) +

Tony Sheridan Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity (21 May 1940 – 16 February 2013), known professionally as Tony Sheridan, was an English rock and roll guitarist who spent much of his adult life in Germany. He was best known as an early collaborator of th ...

(g) + Brian Locking (b) + Brian Bennett (d) * 1958 – Janice Peters & the Playboys **Janice Peters (v) + Jim Sullivan (g) + Tony Sheridan (g) + Brian Locking (b) + Brian Bennett (d) * 1959 – Marty Wilde's Wildcats ** Jim Sullivan (g) + Tony Belcher (g) + Brian Locking (b) + Brian Bennett (d) * 1961 – The Krew Kats **Jim Sullivan (g) + Tony Belcher (g) + Brian Locking (b) + Brian Bennett (d)

References

External links

*
Discogs.com entry for Vince Taylor And His Playboys

Discogs.com entry for Janice Peters and The Playboys

Discogs.com entry for The Krew Kats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Locking, Brian 1938 births 2020 deaths English rock bass guitarists English male bass guitarists English double-bassists British male double-bassists English Jehovah's Witnesses British rock and roll musicians People from Bedworth People from Grantham The Shadows members 21st-century British double-bassists 21st-century British clarinetists Deaths from cancer in Wales Deaths from bladder cancer in the United Kingdom