CHARLIE HARCOURT .... How it all began
I think the start of this long standing ‘love affair’ with the guitar began with Lonnie Donegan, an old TV programme called The 6.5.Special had people like Lonnie on alongside some of the up and coming English rock n rollers, somewhat ‘tame’ to their American counterparts, I mean you can hardly compare Elvis with Dickie Pride!!!!!!!!!
Another major influence being Radio Luxemburg, listening to the Top Twenty on a radio whose signal would fade in and out, but was the only station playing American music; occasionally you could get American Forces Overseas radio from Germany, bringing music by Elvis, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Cochrane etc.
The Shadows music Apache and such was how I learned various chords alongside a lot of Buddy Holly tunes, I remember I used to truant from school and a mate and myself would go to his folks house when they’d left for work we would sneak back in and get the guitars out, learning as much rock n roll as we could.
There became a crowd of us budding guitar players showing each other the latest things we had learned and copying off each other. Obviously from these various pals a group was formed playing Shadows numbers in our parent’s front rooms, we couldn’t get enough, like many other youngsters this completely overtook our lives.
Eventually after playing all the youth clubs, church halls etc, a band called The Berries was formed with mates Arthur Cookson, Doug Tate, Joe Rankin (Hank Marvin’s younger brother) and myself, needless to say our repertoire being mainly Shadows numbers, eventually copying The Beatles first album.