Brierly Hill 90210 presents... 1961

As a new year begins, tensions are rising between the US, led by newly elected President John F Kennedy, and Cuba, two years after the revolution that installed Fidel Castro as it's leader. On the other side of the world, pressure is also building as communism spreads in south-east Asia. The United States is keeping it's finger in that pie as well. Musically, while I didn't expect there to be the flick of a switch to turn off the rock 'n' roll of the 50s and turn on what we think of as the “sound of the 60s”, I did expect a gradual fade of one into the other. But what I hadn't thought through was a musical revolution occurring between the two. R&B artists such as Etta James, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Roy Orbison and The Shirelles were recording hit records that certainly stand-up better today than the awful “bubblegum rock” that it was competing with. That continues into 1961 but, while Johnny Kidd & The Pirates were already, in my opinion, way ahead of their time, there's a single by Tony Sheridan in 1961 that went almost unheralded in the UK but that is of incredible significance in predicting what is to come. If you know your musical history, you already know what I'm talking about. But, if not, listen out for the pieces falling into place and I'll reveal all at the end of this show.