Sixties City presents a wide-ranging series of articles on all aspects of the Sixties, penned by the creator of the iconic 60s music paper  Mersey Beat

Johnny Kidd and The Pirates


Johnny Kidd and The Pirates Johnny Kidd was one of the leading British rock 'n' roll stars at the beginning of the Sixties. Born Frederick Heath in Willesden, north-west London, on 23rd December 1939, he formed his first group, Freddie Heath & The Nutters, during the skiffle boom. An EMI recording contract brought him his first hit with his debut record 'Please Don't Touch', which reached No.25 in the charts in 1959. By that time he'd changed his name to Johnny Kidd and dubbed his backing band The Pirates.

The group comprised Brian Gregg on bass guitar, Art Caddy on lead guitar and Clem Cattini on drums. This line-up left him in 1961 to become The Tornados.
With a touch of showbiz, Johnny capitalised on the Pirates' name, presenting a show which featured a pirate theme. He wore swashbuckling leather gear and a black eye-patch over his left eye. It was rumoured that he had originally worn the patch one night on stage after a guitar string broke and caught his eye. Joe Brown used to comment that Jack Good made Johnny wear the patch to stop him winking at the Vernons Girls!

It became a trademark and he always carried six of them, due to the fact that fans kept pinching them. When his original backing group left, he took on Cuddly Dudley's former backing band and later formed the trio which was to have some influence on heavy metal bands of the future - Mick Green on guitar, Johnny Spencer on bass and Frank Farley on drums. 'Please Don't Touch' was followed by 'You Got What It Takes', which also reached No.25. His next release, the classic 'Shakin' All Over', reached the No.1 spot. This was followed by 'Restless', also in 1960, which reached No.22. There were several other hits, which included 'A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues' and 'I'll Never Get Over You.'

Johnny Kidd & The Pirates appeared for a week at the Cavern from Monday 14th May 1962 and later topped the bill above The Beatles on Friday 10th August 1962 during the Riverboat Shuffle on the Royal Iris. In the midst of a hectic schedule of one-nighters, Johnny was killed in a car crash at Radcliffe, Lancashire on 7th October 1966. He was 26 years old.

Singles Discography:

"Please Don't Touch" b/w "Growl" (May 1959) (His Master's Voice 45-POP 615)
"If You Were the Only Girl in the World" b/w "Feelin'" (December 1959) (His Master's Voice 45-POP 674) (a-side credited to Johnny Kidd with Chorus and Orchestra)
"You Got What It Takes" b/w "Longin' Lips" (January 1960) (His Master's Voice 45-POP 698)
"Shakin' All Over" b/w "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" (June 1960) (His Master's Voice 45-POP 753)
"Restless" b/w "Magic of Love" (September 1960) (His Master's Voice 45-POP 790)
"Linda Lu" b/w "Let's Talk About Us" (March 1961) (His Master's Voice 45-POP 853)
"Please Don't Bring Me Down" b/w "So What" (September 1961) (His Master's Voice 45-POP 919)
"Hurry On Back to Love" b/w "I Want That" (January 1962) (His Master's Voice 45-POP 978) (both sides credited to Johnny Kidd with The Michael Sammes Singers and Orchestra)
"A Shot of Rhythm and Blues" b/w "I Can Tell" (November 1962) (His Master's Voice 45-POP 1088)
"I'll Never Get Over You" b/w "Then I Got Everything" (June 1963) (His Master's Voice POP 1173)
"Hungry for Love" b/w "Ecstasy" (November 1963) (His Master's Voice POP 1228)
"Always and Ever" b/w "Dr. Feelgood" (April 1964) (His Master's Voice POP 1269)
"Jealous Girl" b/w "Shop Around" (June 1964) (His Master's Voice POP 1309)
"Whole Lotta Woman" b/w "Your Cheatin' Heart" (October 1964) (His Master's Voice POP 1353)
"The Birds and the Bees" b/w "Don't Make the Same Mistake As I Did" (February 1965) (His Master's Voice POP 1397)
"Shakin' All Over" (New Recording) b/w "Gotta Travel On" (May 1965) (His Master's Voice POP 1424)
"It's Gotta Be You" b/w "I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" (April 1966) (His Master's Voice POP-1520)
"Send for That Girl" b/w "The Fool" (posthumous, November 1966) (His Master's Voice POP 1559)


Mersey Beat Magazine Bill Harry attended the Liverpool College of Art with Stuart Sutcliffe and John Lennon and made the arrangements for Brian Epstein to visit The Cavern, where he saw The Beatles for the first time. Bill was a member of 'The Dissenters' and the founder and editor of 'Mersey Beat', the iconic weekly music newspaper that documented the early Sixties music scene in the Liverpool area and is possibly best known for being the first periodical to feature a local band called 'The Beatles'. He has worked as a high powered publicist, doing PR for acts such as Suzi Quatro, Free, The Arrows and Hot Chocolate and has managed press campaigns for record labels such as CBS, EMI, Polydor. Bill is the critically acclaimed author of a large number of books about The Beatles and the 60s era including 'The Beatles Who's Who', 'The Best Years of the Beatles' and the Fab Four's 'Encyclopedia' series. He has appeared on 'Good Morning America' and has received a Gold Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

Article Text Bill Harry       Original Graphics SixtiesCity      Other individual owner copyrights may apply to Photographic Images

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