Larry Wallis

Larry Wallis (19 May 1949 – 19 September 2019) was a British rock guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead.

Biography

Early bands

In 1968, he formed a band called The Entire Sioux Nation with Terry Nolder on vocals, Tim Taylor on bass and Paul Nichols on drums (born in 1949). The band split up in late 1969.

Shagrat (Steve Peregrin Took - first time)

Steve Peregrin Took and Mick Farren formed Shagrat with Wallis and his ex-Entire Sioux Nation bandmate Taylor in February 1970. Previously, Took and Farren had been with Twink and girlfriend Sally "Silver Darling" Melzer in a prototype Pink Fairies line-up in 1969. Twink and Melzer left the band and Twink formed Pink Fairies ''Mark 2'' in February 1970 with Farren's former bandmates from The Deviants. The Deviants had just returned to Britain after having previously sacked Farren in Canada in late 1969, leaving Farren bandless and then found themselves stranded in North America for several months. Very soon though, Farren left after having a falling-out with Took.

Shagrat thus became Took's band outright. Took, Wallis and Taylor were joined by drummer Phil Lenoir, formerly of Black Cat Bones. This line-up recorded three tracks at Strawberry Studios in Stockport and played one gig at the Phun City Festival in July 1970 before Taylor and Lenoir left. Took and Wallis carried on with drummer Dave Bidwell and in early 1971 the trio recorded four acoustic Took songs. All seven tracks were released in the early 1990s on limited edition vinyl and were later compiled together on the CD ''Lone Star'' in 2001 by Japanese label Captain Trip Records, later re-released in 2016 on Cleopatra Records with bonus tracks from the 1972 sessions described below.

Blodwyn Pig, UFO and Steve Peregrin Took (second time)

Wallis then joined Blodwyn Pig, which changed its name to ''Lancaster's Bombers'' (later shortened to ''Lancaster'') with Jack Lancaster. They were a short-lived band although they toured supporting Yes in 1971.

In February 1972, Wallis joined UFO, but left in October 1972, after a tour by Europe. Wallis did not record with the band, although a bootlegged live recording of a UFO performance featuring Wallis is known to exist, as does a black and white kinescope print of a live set on French TV show ''Rock En Stock'', in which the band play Eddie Cochrane's Rockabilly standard, C'mon Everybody.

Sometime during 1972 Wallis recorded sessions with Steve Peregrin Took at a basement flat below Tony Secunda's office in Mayfair. These very casual sessions contain appearances by Twink, Mick Wayne, Duncan Sanderson, and almost certainly Syd Barrett. Material from these sessions was released in 1995 as ''The Missing Link To Tyrannosaurus Rex'', a posthumous Took solo album on Cleopatra Records

The Pink Fairies

In November 1972, Wallis joined the Pink Fairies, substituting for Mick Wayne. The band released an album '' Kings of Oblivion'' which contained mostly Wallis-penned tracks. The band played with an extended line-up for a special gig in July 1975. Several years later, in 1982, their only live performance was released as '' Live at the Roundhouse 1975''. In 1991, it was reissued under the name ''At the Roundhouse/Previously Unreleased'', comprising the original live album, plus additional songs by Larry Wallis from 1984, and an EP by Twink from 1977.

Motörhead

While still a member of the Pink Fairies, in May 1975 Wallis joined a new band called Motörhead with Lemmy and Lucas Fox. In September 1975 Fox left the band and Motörhead recruited a new drummer, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. Wallis recorded an album with the band, '' On Parole''. It remained unreleased until 1979 when Motörhead had established some reputation for themselves. In February 1976 Wallis was joined by "Fast" Eddie Clarke on guitar. Later in the same month Wallis left Motörhead.

Steve Peregrin Took (third and fourth time)

During 1975 and 1976, Wallis did further recording work with Took although none of these sessions have been released to date. Wallis was present, by chance, at Pathway Studios on 29 November 1977 when Steve Took's Horns recorded material which would eventually be released in 2004.

Stiff Records - performer and producer

Wallis remained with Pink Fairies, which continued as a trio, until July 1976 when they gained additional guitarist, Martin Stone. In September 1976 the band released a single, "Between the Lines"/"Spoiling for a Fight" on Stiff Records. Four months later in January 1977 the band split up. In the same month Wallis guested at a one-off gig with members of Thin Lizzy and Rat Scabies of The Damned.

Wallis then became an in-house producer at Stiff Records. He released a solo single, "Police Car"/"On Parole" produced by Nick Lowe