What Happened With Jackie

While working on this month’s episode of The Forgotten Beatles podcast, I did a deep dive into the career of singer Jackie Lomax.

Jackie was a contemporary of The Beatles in Liverpool, and the group that he sang with, The Undertakers, was once as popular, if not more popular, at The Cavern as The Beatles. The two groups often shared top billing and competed for who generated the longest line of fans waiting to get into the club.

The Undertakers were known for the raw energy of their live act, as well as Lomax’s distinctive voice. Unfortunately when they eventually landed a record deal with Pye Records the production of the resulting singles pretty much robbed the performance of that vitality.

After The Undertakers split during a US tour Jackie Lomax’s career was somewhat unfocused until he signed to Apple Records where he and George Harrison formed a close working relationship.

He recorded several singles and an album at Apple, but despite Paul, Ringo, and George, with assistance from Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, and Klaus Voorman at various times, all being invested in his career and producing or playing on his records, his career never seemed to take off.

Over the years he recorded several albums for different labels as well as playing in different groups. All of which I go into more detail on in the podcast episode.

It seems The Beatles were somewhat confused as to why their compatriot never enjoyed the career they felt he deserved as either a songwriter or singer. And I must admit after listening to a lot of his songs I’d agree with them.

Check out this track, Sour Milk Sea, written and produced by George Harrison, with George, Paul, Ringo, and Eric Clapton all contributing.

Alan

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I’m delighted to report that THE SAVAGE YOUNG BEATLES will be making a return appearance at the excellent Abbey Road On The River festival.

This year’s festival will be held in Jeffersonville Indiana from May 22 to 26.

If you haven’t been to an AROTR event I highly recommend it.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to join the festivities this year due to some long-standing travel plans around an upcoming book launch.

You can find out more at the festival’s website

And here’s a taster of The Savage Young Beatles on the main stage at a previous AROTR.

The latest Forgotten Beatles episode is now live and can be found on your favorite podcast platform, or directly right HERE.

This month the spotlight falls on singer Jackie Lomax (above) and Quarry Men pianist John “Duff” Lowe

This collection of transcripts from previously unpublished interviews done while researching Peter Brown’s previous book provides some fascinating insights, but it has a few fatal flaws.

1. Verbatim transcripts do not good copy make. We don’t speak the same way that we process the written word, so often the interviewees come across as unfocused (especially when clearly trying to sort out memories in response to a question).

2. The vast majority of the interviews were conducted in 1980 so they read as being very dated. Some items discussed have been further written about in more detail over the last 40 years, plus the 1980 interviews largely discussed complicated events from just a decade previously and there are obviously still emotional scars. Many of these have been addressed and healed over the intervening years. As an example the book ends with an interview with Ringo who is wistful that Paul doesn’t talk to him anymore - reading that just weeks after the two played together on stage is a bit jarring.

3. The interviews are also very focused on the period from 1967-1970 as the Fab Four fractured. Yet the order in which the transcripts are presented seems somewhat haphazard with no real sense of a coherent chronology.

Overall it’s interesting to have these conversations available, but I’d say it’s one for the Beatles completist rather than a general audience.

Valentine was a weekly comic in the UK that ran from 1957 to 1974. From its 3rd issue in February 1957, all the way up to April 1969 its front cover would include a strip based on a popular song of the time.

The Beatles made their cover debut on the 5th October 1963 issue with Please, Please Me

With follow-up appearances (as far as I’ve been able to track down) for

• All My Loving on 15th February 1964,

• This Boy on 14th March 1964,

• You Can’t Do That on 11th May 1964

• Hold Me Tight on 20 June 1964

• Tell Me Why on 3rd October 1964

• When I Get Home on 21 November 1964

• I Feel Fine on 26 December 1964

• Every Little Thing on 6 March 2965

• Yes It Is on 5 June, 1965

• Act Naturally on 11 September 1965

• We Can Work It Out on 8 January 1966

• Think For Yourself on 19 February 1966

• Within You, Without You on 15 July 1967

• All You Need Is Love on 2nd September 1967

If anyone knows of other Valentine cover appearances by the Fab Four that I’ve missed I’d love to hear about them.

If you would like to listen to full versions of the songs mentioned in either the main Before They Were Beatles podcast, or the new Forgotten Beatles series you can now find them on my new YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@AlanPorterWriter

Or you can check out the Before They Were Beatles playlist on Spotify at

For more information on what else I have going on with writing, podcasting, and general slice-of-life stuff, check out my regular FREE weekly CAN’T SEE THE FOREST newsletter -

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See you next time.

Alan J. Porter

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