Telstar by Original Tornados (1975)

Four of the five original Tornados reformed in 1975 to issue a re-working of their 1962/63 mega hit. Telstar / Red Rocket was recorded on George Bellamy’s SRT label and manufactured on extra thick vinyl. What became of the band members? Heinz was the first to leave the group, in May 1963, persuaded by their recording manager Joe Meek to pursue a solo career. He was initially replaced by Brian Gregg, but Brian was only with the band a few months and was replaced by Ray Randall. Ray still performs around his home town of Whitby, Yorkshire. Heinz died in April 2000, aged 57, after a five year battle with motor neurone disease. George Bellamy was next to move on, in August 1963. The strain of constant touring took its toll when he collapsed on stage, so he stood down for health reasons. He went on to own his own record label - SRT, and his own music publishing business - Geobell Music. He is now retired and living in Alicante on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. George was replaced in the Tornados by Bryan Irwin. Bryan died of a heart attack in 1999, aged 55. Roger LaVern left shortly after George, perceiving the onslaught on the mersey sound. The band, by this time were very disatisfied with the deal they were getting from Joe Meek, with comparatively little remuneration for their world wide fame and relentless hard work. Roger made a name for himself in Mexico as “El Lobo“, appearing in many TV commercials. He is now living in Bromley, Kent fighting an ongoing battle with cancer. His successor on the Tornado’s keyboards was Jimmy O’Brien, who has disappeared without trace. Alan Caddy remained with the band until February 1964, when he moved to the other side of the microphone and became a record producer. He co-founded “Sound Venture“. He died in August 2000, aged 60, after spending time in and out of rehab centres for the treatment of alcohol abuse. Alan’s successor on lead guitar was Stuart Taylor, who later worked with Dusty Springfield. Stuart migrated to the USA, battled with multiple sclerosis and died in 2005, aged 60. Clem Cattini, drummer and group leader, left in February 1965. He went on to become Britain’s most prolific drummer, and the most sought after session drummer, performing on at least 45 No.1 hit singles. In 1989 he formed a new Tornados line-up which gigged around the UK for 20 years until Clem’s retirement in 2010. Clem lives in north London. Two tracks from Clem’s “Tornados Now“ are on YouTube - “Robot“ and “Doctor Who“. Dr Who - Robot - Clem’s role in the Tornados in 1965 was filled by Peter Adams, who has disappeared without trace. In 1966 Joe Meek formed a new line-up of Tornados with Peter Holder on lead guitar, Roger Holder on bass guitar, Robb Huxley on rhythm guitar, John Davis on drums and Dave Watts on keyboards. The latest Telstar satellite, “Telstar 11N“ was launched on 27th Feb 2009. The satellite carries transponders able to reach customers in North America, Western Europe and Africa. Telstar 11N also includes an Atlantic Ocean beam to provide mobile broadband services to ships and aircraft on transoceanic routes. For more info on the Tornados go to Facebook Tornados CDs can be obtained from Amazon. Recommended are “The Complete Tornados“ double CD containing all 55 of their released tracks, and “Ridin’ the Wind, the anthology“ double CD, which excludes 2 released tracks (Telstar 75 and Red Rocket) but includes 11 previously unissued tracks. Image credits: Image at 0:18 Telstar launch by Thor Delta rocket on 10th July 1962 courtesy of NASA. Image at 2:45 courtesy of NASA.