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Carlo Little
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"I met Carlo Little in Cheltenham on 3rd
July 1999 and he talked about the early 60's rhythm and blues
scene. He had a lot of time for Brian. Carlo had just returned
from Paris where he had been a V.I.P guest of the Stones on
their 'Bridges to Babylon' tour. He reached into his jacket and
showed me photos of himself backstage with Keith and Ronnie, he
was really thrilled that the Stones had laid on the trip for
him".
John
MacGillivray
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John MacGillivray's snapshot of Carlo and
Pat Andrews chatting alongside Brians grave.(July 1999) |
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Carlo Little was born on the 17th December 1938 in
Sudbury, Middlesex and as an infant, along with his sister Carole, was
evacuated out of London to the relative safety of Cardiff for the
ensuing war years. Returning to the Sudbury area of Wembley once
hostilities had ceased, young Carlo attended local schools where as a
teenager his interest in music had him dreaming of playing the drums
professionally, and soon after leaving school he bought his first set,
simply consisting of a snare and high hat.
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A
teenager with ambitions, Carlo at 16 years of age. |
National Service interrupted
his plans but demobbed in February 1960, Carlo returned to his old
haunts, including 'The Cannibal Pot' coffee bar in Sudbury where he met
a young girl who introduced herself as Gill. Gill was dating a David Sutch at the time and, with both young men having a common interest in
the 'rock and roll' and 'rhythm and blues' phenomena sweeping the
country at the time, Carlo and David soon became firm friends. They
talked of forming their own band and making their plans known to other
musicians in the area soon achieved their early ambitions. Together with
Bernie Watson, Rick Brown (Fenson) and Nicky Hopkins, Carlo and David
arranged their first rehearsal in the hall behind the Sudbury Sun public
house. The embryonic 'Savages' were on their way and three months later
achieved their first gig with David, now Screaming Lord Sutch, up front
belting out covers of Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis Little Richard and of
course, Elvis.
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The Savages - left to right, Bernie, Sutch, Carlo, Rick and
Nicky. |
The Savages went through many changes in their
early line-up and Carlo even had a spell with another band, Dougie Dee
and the Strangers but in April 1961 'Sutch' and Carlo reformed the band
adding Ken Payne, Andy Wren and Roger Mingay to the original line-up.
They cut their first disc, the Joe Meek produced 'Till The Following
Night' and went full-time professional playing dance halls all over the
country. Much of the Savages' energy emanated from the drummer's seat
behind the group where Carlo Little knew what it took to play rock 'n
roll. "He played drums like no one else, he was original like you can't
believe and it was all to do with the bass drum" commented Rob Lemon and
Gerry Evans added, "he was a fantastic heavyweight rock 'n roll drummer
and we were all in awe of him, he used to hit the bass drum like you've
never seen, it was like a cannon, like a bomb going off when he hit it".
Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages became one of
the biggest live draws in the country during the early sixties and the
band was arguably way ahead of its time. After their performances, the
Savages could be found holding court backstage and many budding
musicians wanted to meet and chat with these 'savages' who'd turned
their backs on the likes of the Shadows, with their neatly tailored
suits and carefully choreographed stage moves more common of the time.
Amongst those most interested in this raw, energetic style of music were
young budding musicians who would go on to form Led Zeppelin, the Kinks
and the Rolling Stones.
In October 1962 the Savages split again and Carlo
joined Cyril Davies and the R & B All Stars. From the end of November
they became known as 'the best British blues band of the early sixties'
and, gigging in and around London the line up produced a raw mixture of
Chicago R & B and rock 'n roll with Cyril's amazing harmonica playing,
and Carlo's powerhouse drumming whipping the crowds into a frenzy, even
outdoing the Savages early stuff.
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Carlo chats to Keith backstage in
Paris on the Stones 'Bridges To Babylon' tour. |
Keith Richards later quoted, "Ricky Fenson and
Carlo Little, they were the ones who gave us the power shot. Ricky
Fenson, bleached hair, his hair was black but was dyed peroxide blonde.
Him and another guy called Bernie, they used to call him Strawberry, the
guitar player. I wish I could remember his last name. He would sit on
the stage with his gloves on his head, on this peroxide thing cos he had
the same hairdo as Rickie Fenson. Bernie, what a guitar player. I
thought, well, I might as well go home, this is ridiculous, this cat's
so good. Cyril Davies put that band together – listen to a record called
'Country Line Special by Cyril Davies All Stars, with Nicky Hopkins,
Bernie, Ricky Fenson and Carlo Little….."
Hard up for a permanent drummer and bass player,
the not so long formed Rolling Stones asked Carlo and Rick Fenson to
help them out with some gigs and the Stones line-up of December 1962 and
January 1963 consisted Brian, Mick, Keith, Rick, Carlo and Ian Stewart.
Stew noted at the time that "Brian was quite enthralled with Carlo. He'd
never heard anything like it before. Brian wanted someone flash like
Carlo Little because by then, Brian was starting to see dollar signs".
But when Brian begged Carlo to stay on with the
Stones, he was turned down by the drummer. The Stones were only semi-pro
at that time and couldn't afford to pay Carlo what he could earn with
Cyril Davies, so after his short stint with the Stones Carlo went back
to the All Stars. He did however help Brian out in two ways, firstly
buying Brian's Johnny Cash records so he could buy food and secondly,
suggesting that Brian talk to a young jazz drummer, Charlie Watts – and
the rest, as they say is history……
The Stones, with new members Charlie Watts and Bill
Wyman, were soon supporting the All Stars in the twenty minute intervals
during their regular Thursday residency at the Marquee. Wyman, in his
book 'Stone Alone' recalls, "after working with Cyril Davies and his All
Stars, one night I had a crack at copying the 'walking bass' style of
their bass player Ricky Fenson. I remember Brian looking round at me and
saying – hey, that's good, where did you get that from? – at that moment
I joined the Stones on a new level. All the Stones loved the Davies
band; the way they interpreted Chuck Berry's 'Deep Feeling' had to be
heard to be believed".
When Carlo was later replaced by Micky Waller in
the All Stars he returned to the Savages, but he would continue to work
with the Stones on the odd occasion. On the 23rd April 1963, Brian
managed to get the band an audition for 'Jazz Club', the BBC's only R &
B radio show. On the day, Charlie and Bill couldn't get away from their
regular jobs and Brian looked again to Carlo and Rick to help out,
happily they obliged. Songs for the audition included 'I'm A Hog For You
Baby' (a Savages favourite) and 'I'm Moving On' and were later played to
the show's entertainment booking manager who instantly rejected the
Stones music for the show, complaining that "the singer sounds too
black" ….!
In March 1964 Charlie failed to return from holiday
on the planned date, which happened to coincide with a gig in Kent.
Hurriedly a last-minute search to find a competent stand-in started. Two
names were put forward, Carlo Little and Micky Waller. Immediately Brian
and Mick rushed round to Carlo's house to ask him to stand in for
Charlie, but his mother told the two Stones that Carlo was away gigging
with the Savages, it may have been their preference to have Carlo, but
Micky ended up with the gig.
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The original Cyril Davies All Stars with left to right,
Nicky Hopkins, Cyril Davies, Carlo Little, Rick Brown and
Bernie Watson. |
Carlo Little went
on to play with many bands throughout his distinguished career. Always
supported by Iris, his wife whom he met in early 1968 (and married
within 6 months) Carlo formed friendships with many of the greats of
rock 'n roll, but those early formative days with Cyril Davies would
always hold the most treasured memories. Today, Cyril Davies and the All
Stars are gone, but certainly not forgotten. They were the pioneers of
British popular music, so one might ask why did they never make the big
time? In his own words Carlo Little offered this judgment, "Cyril was a
real blues enthusiast. Whenever we used to suggest playing something
more upbeat, like in the style of Chuck Berry or Bo Diddley, the kind
that really got the crowd going, he would say – no. It took me weeks to
convince him to let us do 'What I'd Say' by Ray Charles, but when we
did, the crowd went wild. John Baldry sung that one great with the
Velvettes, but Cyril didn't really go for the commercial sound. Instead,
the Stones filled the commercial R & B gap, and look where they are
today……."
Sadly, in May 2003 Carlo was diagnosed with
terminal lung cancer; expected to survive for only six months his dogged
determination to beat the disease saw him continue his drumming in
between bouts of chemotherapy. He remained resilient and at one stage
was told that the chemo 'had worked for him', but the good news was
eventually to turn to bad when he was admitted to South Tyneside
Hospital with excruciating back pain on the 25th June 2005. Two days
later his family were told he had only days to live and Carlo finally
passed away on the 6th August as a result of small cell lung cancer, the
most vigorous and life threatening form of the disease. It normally
kills people within six months of being diagnosed – Carlo fought it and
survived for over two years. Carlo Little was a fighter all his life…...
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Some
of the many flowers for Carlo, a bouquet from the Stones is in
the centre and the accompanying condolence card. |
Carlo is survived by his wife Iris, daughters
Giselle and Emma and two Grandchildren and I know that you'll all join
me in wishing them well, with their memories, for the future.
This brief tribute to Carlo has been adapted from
his website and it's with thanks to the Little family that we've been
allowed to reproduce the photographs belonging to the family. To learn
more about Carlo's fascinating life and the many legendary people who
got to know and respect this talented musician, please follow this link
to the website dedicated to the memory of Carlo Little.
Trevor Hobley
A NIGHT TO
CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF CARLO LITTLE
To be held Sunday 26th March 2006,
7.30pm at York House, Richmond Road, Twickenham, London. £10 in advance,
£12 on the door. All profits to Ward 10, South Tyneside Hospital, where
Carlo was a patient.
A night of music provided by Carlo's
peers and friends. Dick Taylor and Phil May of The Pretty Things, Rick
Parfitt of the Qou, Gordon Haskell, Wee Willie Harris, Dave Berry, The
Good Old Boys including Deep Purple's Nick Simper, Mike Berry, Art Wood,
John Hawken (Nashville Teens/Strawbs), The Downliners Sect. Other acts
to be confirmed, watch this space (the Rolling Stones office have asked
to be kept informed).
Tickets email
aspects@blueyonder.co.uk
or phone 0208 9733605. Organised by Gina & Warren from the Eel Pie Club,
Richmond.
** NEW INFORMATION **
A special auction of items to be held on
the night, signed donations from celebrity musicians. All proceeds to
Ward 10, South Tyneside Hospital to be used on improving facilities for
terminally ill patients and their visiting families.
items include:-
A pair of Carlo's drumsticks donated by
Carlo's family.
A mystery item from the Rolling Stones.
A signed CD from Chris Farlow.
and much more.....
PLUS
A special showing of footage of Carlo
with the Cyril Davies All Stars from 1963.
On the Home Page of
Carlo Little's website you'll
find information on a celebration being organised by his family which
should prove to be a great night. I've reproduced the details above.
Tickets are limited to 400 and are going fast. As you can see above, the
Stones office has asked the family to keep them informed of progress and
many other guests who knew Carlo are hoped to be in attendance, as well
as the friends listed.
Pat, Dick, John Mac and myself are going along and
would welcome any of you fan club members joining us. Unfortunately it's
not been possible to organise a fan club re-union weekend in February as
we had earlier this year, so this might be a good opportunity for us to
all meet up again.
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