Friday, August 19, 2022

Reg Calvert and the School of Rock - Update

 Reg Calvert and the School of Rock - Update.

by Pete Clemons.


Pete Clemons has written a number of articles on Reg Calvert and his musical enterprises in the Midlands and I've linked them here so you can catch up on the background if you missed them.

Reg Calvert was the manager of The Fortunes, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours, Screaming Lord Sutch, and other pop groups. In 1964, after hearing Radio Caroline, he decided to start his own pirate radio station, and made use of an old World War II fort in the Thames Estuary. Originally, the station was called Radio Sutch, and it started broadcasting on 27 May 1964, on 1542kHz.

Links to Pete Clemons articles on Reg Calvert on this blog - 

Reg Calvert - A Rock n Roll Rollercoaster


Clifton Hall – The School of Rock

Danny Storm, Buddy Britten, Robby Hood

Reg Calvert and Johnny Washington


The Fortunes - Fifty Year Milestone

Below is a new family update on Reg Calvert by Pete Clemons

Calvert 'family' update

 A recent article about Danny Storm, Buddy Britten and others prompted Susan (Calvert) Moore to get in touch. She wanted to update me with news she had recently received regarding some of the musicians mentioned within the article. It's mostly sad I'm afraid.


DANNY STORM (David Hurran) passed away 7th/8th May 2022. He had been unwell for some time with dementia.

Danny led an extraordinary life, first as a 'rock' star, discovered by my father, Reg Calvert, in 1960. Danny moved with the 'Calvert' family to Clifton Hall in 1961. He was teamed up with a backing band, The Strollers – Roger James and Tony Clarke (who later produced for The Moody Blues). And from there headlined many a dance.

Danny retired 'young' from show business and became a semi-professional footballer, then had his own successful business as a coffee importer.

ROGER JAMES (Scarrott) passed away Sunday 15th May 2022.

He had cancer. I know he had been unwell all of this year, but he did not say how he was suffering.

His partner contacted Susan Calvert to say they were going to have to 'let him go'. Roger was quite a 'character', and an exceptional musician and performer.

PETE MIST passed away last year, 2021, in Spain. He was in the Strollers, backing Danny Storm, and then became part of the Regents, backing Buddy Britten. Pete moved to Spain where he married a Spanish girl.

BUDDY BRITTEN (Geoffrey Glover-Wright) Sadly Geoff died on Wednesday October 11th 2017 in the care of Jersey Hospice.

Geoffrey became passionate about the guitar as rock & roll swept the U.K. This passion solidified after seeing Buddy Holly in 1958. For a while he was guitarist for Billy Fury. Then he joined Vince Taylor and the Playboys. He was approached by Reg Calvert. Reg encouraged him to sign a management deal and gave him the new stage name of Buddy Britten. Britten's backing band were The Regents - bassist Pete Mist and drummer Barney Peacock. Buddy and the Regents became a top billing band. Later in life Glover-Wright became a successful businessman and author.


SUSAN CONTINUED: 'On a personal note, I am feeling very sad, losing the Clifton Hall 'brothers' I grew up with. We were quite an unusual 'family'.

Although it took more than five years, I am pleased I managed to record so many 'memories' of those times and weave them into the books. A history of the music, musicians, and crazy days, are now recorded for posterity. Behind all of this, is the love story of my parents, and their determination.

During lock-down year I completely rewrote and enlarged Book One: 'Popcorn to Rock 'n' Roll'.

It begins as a romance, described as being like a Catherine Cookson, before it gets into the early days of 'rock 'n' roll' and the zany characters.

Book Two: Clifton Hall - School of Rock is still available as a Kindle E-Book and as hardback 'Life and Death of a Pirate'.

http://www.susan-moore.co.uk/books-by-s-k-moore.php







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