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Original
Outrageous Inspirators - The Original British Punks
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6th
February, 1960. Fresh out
of the army and eager to catch up with old friends,
new sounds and
happenings Carlo, now aged 21, returned to his old haunt, The
Cannibal Pot coffee bar in Sudbury's Harrow Road. All of his old
pals had now moved on so he was all alone that evening. Finding he
was the only person to select Rock & Roll on the jukebox, a
young girl named Gill asked, "are you Carlo?" Surprised,
because he didn't  know this person, he replied, "yeah. How do
you know that?" "Because of the records you are
playing", she replied. She must have known him from his
reputation. Gill proceeded to tell him that she was waiting for
her boyfriend, who also played the same records, and said they
might get on well together because of this.
 Carlo
aged 21
Soon
after, the coffee bar door opened and in walked this guy with a
long camelhair coat, 18 inch long hair, and a pair of goggles -
minus the glass! "I said to Gill, 'Hey, look at him', and
she said, 'Oh that's my boyfriend David (aka Screaming Lord) Sutch.'
He was a strange looking guy and really stood out." They were
introduced and found they had much in common. Their strongest bond
was the joint opinion of a dislike of the current British pop
scene, which by this time was littered with tame pop stars such as
Cliff Richard, Adam Faith and Pat Boone. Rock & Roll and
Rhythm & Blues, it seemed, was on rationing. There was only
one thing for them to do. They decided to meet up again, with the
intention that Carlo would try to get a Rock & Roll group
together, with David tagging along, maybe with a role as manager.
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David Sutch,
early 1960's |
A few weeks
later, now back at his old job, Carlo had purchased his first full
drum kit. After checking Macarie's Music Shop in Wembley, the
local music enthusiasts' hang out, Carlo and David were given a
few local names to approach, eventually ending up with 16 year old
classically trained guitarist Bernie Watson. Bernie suggested 15
year old guitar/bassist Rick Brown (aka Fenson), who suggested 16
year old pianist, another who was classically trained, Nicky
Hopkins. The first collective meeting was arranged for the rear
hall of the pub next door to the Cannibal Pot, the Sudbury Swan.
"During a 12 bar rock and roll jam Bernie screamed his guitar
loudly. Excited by his playing
Sutch went crazy with his head, his hair fell down, the full 18
inches, and screamed his head off,
'Yeah, man!' It was such as funny sight that none of us could play
any longer for laughing." Carlo then suggested that he try
singing, but he said, "I'm not sure how." Carlo then
said, "Well, I could teach you," and from then on he
became the band's singer. 
The
Original Savages, 1960
At this point in
time Carlo was being influenced by drummers such as Earl Palmer, Sandy Nelson,
Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich and Ronnie Verrell, and sounds like
Honky Tonk by Bill Doggett, and Bo Diddley, and King Curtis. And
he had been practising so hard and got that much better, that in
his parent's house the walls had cracked and chunks of plaster
fell down!
Carlo's first full drum
kit, 1960, which he later covered in leopard skin
fabric.
He taught Keith Moon to play on it, and used it in gigs
with The Rolling Stones
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| Three
months later the new group had perfected enough songs for an act. The
band
made their first public appearances as The Savages at the
British Legion in South Harrow. The
early covers included Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard
and Elvis. They managed to get one or two gigs a month, as the now
famous Screaming Lord Sutch and The Savages, during that same year
at local halls and built up a small following. See
the early gigs listing here. Soon after, Carlo
was asked to join Dougie Dee And The Strangers, semi-professional,
which he did from June 1960 to April 1961 (see right picture). In the same time space
Sutch had auditioned at the famous 2i's Coffee Bar, and become
such as hit that the 2i's manager Tom Littlewood put him on the
road, backed by the Vince Taylor and the Playboys. After a while
Sutch realised he had to have his own group again, and in April
1961 he asked Carlo if he would reform The Savages.
A new line-up
was needed. Ken Payne, the bassist from the Strangers, was brought
in by Carlo. Andy Wren (piano) had been auditioned; another one
in. The audition for a guitarist proved more of an ordeal. Carlo:
"Ritchie Blackmore, who could have only been 15 at the time,
came along with his girlfriend and his dad. We heard about 7 or 8
blokes, but it was a toss up between Ritchie and Roger Mingay (aka
'Scratch & Scrape Bailey').
Roger just had the edge, because he was older and more
experienced." The new Savages then became full-time
professional, playing all over Britain's dance halls until
September 1961, when the original members re-joined.
There was much of this twoing-and-froing amongst the musicians,
but it was the original line-up that is best remembered. This line-up
also cut the Joe meek-produced first single 'Till The Following
Night'.
The Savages most famous track Jack The Ripper, also Meek
produced, was a big crowd pleaser but banned by all UK radio
stations. Without much airplay the band remained a big club draw
but did not hit the big time. See Jack The Ripper early
Scopitone video here and live
1964 performance here (minus Carlo but with Ronnie
Harwood and Paul Nicholas in the band). The White Stripes
used to perform a cover of 'Jack The Ripper' in their live shows. Jack
White said: "I got it as a teenager, because it had members
of Led Zeppelin on it. I liked the way his vocals were very
intense, but at the same time sort of 'blown off' as not that
important. His ideas seemed very interesting to me because he
obviously wanted to break some new ground... Joe Meek's work with
him is pretty amazing, and I'm very fond of the track 'Til The
Following Night' which has a great vocal track".
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Dougie Dee & The Strangers
The 2i's Coffee Bar in
Soho
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|
 Being a
Savage involved a lot of one-night stands, a lot of
cheap bed and breakfasts, a lot of travelling back from
the middle and north of England overnight in run-down
old vans never designed for such wear and tear, but it
sure beat working in an office, and the rewards were,
emotionally at least, if not financially, tangible.
"There were a handful of other acts on the road
too, maybe half a dozen," says Little. "None
of us had big hit records, but you knew that if you came
to see us you'd be entertained. It would be a good night
out. There was nobody to follow or copy. You had all
your records that you got your act from - Little
Richard, Elvis, Chuck Berry - and you worked your act
round that." But none of the other acts could hold
a candle to the voluminous show that was Screaming Lord
Sutch and the Savages, one of the biggest live draws in
the country during the early 60s. The band were arguably
ahead of their time due to the heavy, amplified sound
that they were creating at a time when the electric
guitar had barely become established as a group
instrument. See
their gigs listing here.
Left to right:
Bernie, Sutch, Carlo, Rick and Nicky |
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 But
much of the Savages' excitement emanated from the back of the
stage where, as if by divine intervention, there sat a British
drummer who understood what it took to play rock'n'roll.  Over
the years the line-up of the Savages would include some of the key
musicians of the Sixties and Seventies, and their galvanising
effect on others can only truly be garnered by talking to those
who saw them. "They were the equivalent of a hard rock band
today," says the Escorts' bass player Colin Haines.
"They would grab you by the scruff of the neck and thrash it
out. They were very dynamic and loud." Rob Lemon had no doubt
where that on-stage energy was derived from. "Carlo Little
played drums in the UK like no one else. He was original like you
can't believe. And it was all to do with the bass drum."
"He was a fantastic heavyweight rock'n'roll drummer,"
says Gerry Evans, "and we were in awe of him. He used to hit
the bass drum like you'd never seen. It was like a cannon, like a
bomb going off when he hit it."
Carlo himself
would hardly be the one to disagree. "When I hit something I
didn't just tap it. I walloped it. 'Take that!' It hit you. It
was impressive. Especially in those days, because I took it hard
as it could go. We were the loudest band ever." Quite apart
from their energy, disregarding their exhibitionism, ignoring for
a moment their choice of material and even discounting the drummer
who hit his kit with such a violent passion, these fellow
musicians also on the scene had added reason to be inspired by -
and jealous of - the Savages.
Pic: The
Savages with (unrelated) singer Edna Savage. She was once married
to 50's pop star Terry Dene and died aged 62 in 2001.
 Carlo:
"We were such an excitingly loud, hard-hitting rock
and roll band that wherever we played the audiences
couldn't believe what they were hearing, and every town we
played in we were getting the local young groups coming
and asking our advice." At one such gig on June
25, 1962, Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages headlined
at Wembley Town Hall. Keith Moon was among several hundred
who attended the show. In fact, it was so crowded that
many of the girls stood on the bench seats around the hall
perimeters to see the band properly and promptly punctured
the leather with their stiletto heels, causing a mile
furore that made the local papers. Everyone applauded the
opening act, Paul Dean (who later became actor Paul
Nicholas) and the Dreamers, another bunch of local boys.
And they went ape at the Savages.
L-R:
Ricky Brown, Carlo, Paul Nicholas
Back
in 1957, out of all the first wave of rock'n'roll, it was Little
Richard's records that had featured the drums most prominently. If
you turned them up loud enough - which meant risking your parents'
wrath for daring to play the devil's music in the first place -
you could actually hear the kick drum thudding away, and of all
those singles, none has so prominent a bass drum as 'Lucille'. So
of course the Savages, rock'n'roll historians despite their youth,
opened their set with 'Lucille'. And the audience just stood there
with their mouths agape.  It wasn't the ludicrously loud orange
shirts and the white boots that set the Savages apart so much as
the sheer noise, particularly that made by Carlo Little on the
drums - every component of which was noticeably bigger than those
on the average kit - flailing away like he was trying to beat them
up. It was also the visual impact of the singer. Sutch was the
consummate performer. No matter what the song, he had a corny prop
to go with it. So for Bobby Darin's 'Bull Moose', he put on a
helmet with two foot long horns; for 'Blue Suede Shoes', he
pranced around in boots several sizes too big painted lurid blue;
during the group's self-penned single 'Till The Following Night',
he found his way into a coffin; and on 'Great Balls Of
Fire'...well, you had to laugh really: he jumped round the stage
holding a biscuit tin alight. He generally terrified the audience
alike with his reckless stunts, such as chasing people with knifes
and axes.
Dave
Wendels, Savages member May-Oct 1964:
"I'd come
home with my guitar with dings and dents in it. I had to duck
out of the way while he was rolling all over the floor and
hanging from the rafters...every gig was an adventure. I mean,
getting to the gig was an adventure. Sutch would stop the van in
some little town, take out his axe - not a real one, but it
looked real - and run out and chase the bass player around the
local Woolworths..."
From an interview by Mike Stax in
'Ugly Things', Issue 12.
Left to right: Ritchie Blackmore,
Rick Brown, unknown, David Sutch, Carlo Little, unknown
Part 2 continues
here
or
read more about the antics of The Savages here
List
of early Savages gig dates here
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The
Savages backstage, 1964
