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Rory Storm and the Hurricanes

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Rory Storm and the Hurricanes was an English band from Liverpool. The singer and leader was Rory Storm, the stage name of Alan Caldwell, born in 1938 in Liverpool. His father was a window cleaner. Storm worked as a cotton salesman before he started a skiffle group. In 1958 he opened the Morgue Skiffle Club in the cellar of a large Victorian house, where, besides his own group, the Quarrymen, the later Beatles, also played.

Music and breakthrough

In their day the Hurricanes were among the most popular groups in the clubs of Liverpool and Hamburg. On record the success failed to materialise. In the early 1960s they released only two singles, and neither made the charts. The second and last single was a version of America from West Side Story, produced by Brian Epstein, the manager of the Beatles. Storm stuttered, but that did not hamper his singing. He died in 1972.

Influence

The band is historically important above all because of its drummer. Ringo Starr played with the Hurricanes before he joined the Beatles in August 1962, replacing Pete Best. The two groups already knew each other from Hamburg. The Hurricanes show how big the Liverpool scene was, with many groups who knew one another and sometimes exchanged a musician.

Listening

Listening tip. Look up a recording by the Hurricanes, for example their version of America, and listen to the guitars and the drums. Can you hear how the band sounds like a hard-hitting live act from the clubs of Liverpool and Hamburg?

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists