Brian Locking (22 December 1938 – 8 October 2020) was an English musician and songwriter known for his brief tenure as bassist with '' The Wildcats'' in 1956 and

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

, 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 an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million ...

in the musical film '' Summer Holiday''. Locking also toured as a session player with numerous artists including rock stars

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", "C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...

and Joe Brown, as well as

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

and

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

Early life and music career

Locking was born on 22 December 1938 in

Bedworth Bedworth ( or locally ) is a market town and unparished area in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwickshire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : It is situated between Coventry, 6 miles (9.5 km) to the sout ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...

, England and 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 of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British ...

. He began playing

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

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 maj ...

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, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

singer

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s hit singles including " Endless Sl ...

. 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 me ...

. 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 in ...

and

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitch ...

(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 Ingoldmells ( ) is a coastal village, civil parish and resort in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A52, and north from the resort town of Skegness. Most housing is found in the west of the village in l ...

in 1956. When Marty Wilde parted company from ''The Wildcats'', they changed their name to "the Krew Kats" and recorded

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

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

''The Shadows''

In April 1962, whilst having just started performing with

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. A teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart with " What Do You Want?" (1959) and "P ...

, 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 millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

. 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 developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

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

, 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 Vince Taylor (14 July 1939 – 28 August 1991), born Brian Maurice Holden, was an English rock and roll singer. As the lead singer of Vince Taylor and His Playboys, sometimes Vince Taylor and The Playboys, he was successful primarily in France ...

(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 Clarinetists English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists English double-bassists Male double-bassists English Jehovah's Witnesses British rock and roll musicians People from Bedworth People from Grantham The Shadows members 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century clarinetists Deaths from cancer in Wales Deaths from bladder cancer