Visitors to date

Web Master:

Ian Haskayne

During the first few years, Rory introduced several changes in stage wear, at one time the group wore red suits with Rory wearing a pink one. When they appeared for their first season at Butlins (Holiday camp), the Hurricanes wore fluorescent suits while Rory donned a turquoise suit and a shimmering gold shirt. In line with most Merseyside skiffle groups they changed to rock ‘n’ roll, this caused trouble at ‘The Cavern’ club which, at the time, was a jazz club and they had banned rock ‘n’ roll. When appearing on the bill with ‘The Swinging Bluegenes (still a trad jazz band), Rory opened their slot singing ‘Cumberland Gap’, a typical skiffle number, then switched to rock ‘n’ roll singing ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’. The jazz fans started throwing copper coins at them and drowned out the remainder of their slot by booing, Ray McFall the club owner was furious with them for playing rock ‘n’ roll and ‘fined’ them part of their fee, he also made them pick up all the coins from the stage, which more than covered the cost of the ‘fine’!!

Rory Storm and the Hurricanes where the first choice of Alan Williams, a Liverpool club owner, for a booking at the Kaiserkeller in Hamburg, Germany but due to the commitment of a seasons booking at Butlins, Alan sent Derry Wilkie and the Seniors instead. When the Butlins season was over, they replaced Derry and the Seniors and billed as the main group above ‘The Beatles’ who had been sent out as support to Derry and the Seniors.

During their second season at Butlins, Kingsize Taylor offered Ringo £20 a week to join the Dominoes as replacement for Dave Lovelady who was leaving to complete his studies, Ringo agreed but was then offered £25 a week by John Lennon and Paul McCartney to replace Pete Best in The Beatles . . . . the rest is history!

In 1963, the London A & R men started taking an interest in Liverpool (because of The Beatles?), Rory and the Hurricanes recorded for both Oriole’s ‘This Is Mersey Beat’ albums, Oriole also released ‘Dr Feel Good/ I Can Tell’ as a single. The recording was made on a mobile unit at the Rialto Ballroom, Liverpool, not a perfect recording and it didn’t make the charts, resulting in them missing the opportunity of recording in a ‘proper studio’. Over the next few years, Ringo offered them chances to record but, for reasons unknown, they never took him up on his offer.

In 1967, during a performance, Ty (Charles) O’Brien collapsed on stage and was taken to hospital. A short time later he died due to complications after an operation, he was 26. After Ty’s death the group broke up, some months later Rory and Johnny (Byrne) tried to revive the group with 3 new members but it didn’t last long, Rory became a disc jockey in Benidorm and then Amsterdam, an odd choice for a person who had a bad stutter.

When his father died, Rory returned to Liverpool to be with his mother, neither of them recovered from the shock. Rory developed a chest infection and couldn’t sleep properly so took sleeping tablets to help get some sleep. On 28th September 1972 both Rory and his mother were found dead at their home, many fans thought he had killed himself but a post mortem revealed he hadn’t taken enough to kill himself. When Ringo was asked why he hadn’t attended the funeral, he is reported as saying “I wasn’t at his birth either”.