According to the web site www.carlolittle.com, Carlo Little has been one of the world's most influencial drummers: he taught Keith Moon how to drum and turned down a job with the Rolling Stones...



Legendary 1960's rock'n roll drummer Carlo Little was drummer in Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages, featuring Ritchie Blackmore and Nick Simper of Deep Purple. Little also played with Jon Lord and Nick Simper in The Flowerpot Men, and with Cyril Davies R&B All-Stars. This last outfit was a regrettably short-lived blues band was assembled by harpist/singer Cyril Davies (1932-1964) in 1963, following his exit from Blues Incorporated.



In 1962 a young band named The Rolling Stones were looking for a drummer. Several drummers came and went, including Carlo Little, and it was not until as late as January 1963 that drummer Charlie Watts reluctantly accepted the job behind the drum kit.



Biography:

17 December 1938; amid World War II and rationing Carl O'Neil Little was born in hard times to Mabel and Charlie. Living in the Sudbury area of Wembley, Middlesex they managed to survive like any other suburban family, hiding in bomb shelters when the eerie drone of the air raid warnings invaded their short-lived peace. Like many other war babies Carlo and his sister Carole were sent away to the secure haven of Cardiff, Wales as refugees.



Back in Sudbury, shortly after Germany were no longer a threat, Carlo attended the Sudbury Infants School and later on East Lane Secondary School (now known as Wembley High School). All through these school years he had always dreamed of playing the drums. It was just after he left school, working as a van boy, that Carlo decided to buy some drums, simply consisting of a snare and high hat. At this time he was listening to Frankie Laine and Ted Heath. Another of his favourites, Chris Barber's Jazz Band, were playing at Wembley Town Hall when he was 16, and Carlo just had to go along to see the man who's records he owned and loved.



During the interval the band swapped instruments and the banjo player, Lonnie Donegan, took up the guitar, and proceeded to play a new sound Carlo had never heard before: skiffle - wow! He couldn't wait to return home and try out the new beat on his newly acquired drums. Surely the strongest musical sound that had developed in England up to this point, the skiffle boom was of vital importance in the development of the British music scene, for the reason that it was easily imitated by budding musicians. For the first time, Britain's pop music was out of the hands of showbiz professionals - anyone could have a go. Donegan had encouraged literally thousands of young men to take up an instrument and form their own groups.



Which is exactly what Derek Addison's Rhythm Katz did. Carlo's first inclusion in his friend's band gave him the drive to practise hard at home, along with an opportunity to be part of some gigs at a couple of church hall and wedding events. It was during this time that a new sound from America was beginning to emerge. Rock and Roll had arrived and Carlo wanted more than a part of it: "It was a sound I'd never heard before; exciting rhythm and beat, snare drum right up there. That was it - I was hooked!". The excitement was fuelled when Carlo and his friends went to see the film Blackboard Jungle. The originality of Rock Around The Clock, the song by Bill Haley that opened the film, caused pandemonium amongst those who went to see it to. It was like a breath of fresh air compared to the current stars of the British pop chart, who were crooners such as Rosemary Clooney and Frankie Laine. All of a sudden music sounded fun. It expressed the way the youngsters felt, and imitated the sexual energy that had they had been forced to repress by their parents.



The need for teenagers, like Carlo, to identify with the new emerging culture that accompanied rock and roll was immediate. While continuing with the skiffle for the months that followed, the group also tried experimenting with the new rock and roll sound. They bettered themselves by playing along to the furious beats of Chuck Berry and Little Richard, until Carlo had to leave his home town and be obliged to serve in the army in 1958, thanks to the UK National Service Act. He was gutted, to say the least. Everything was much too exciting to leave behind.



Carlo enrolled in the Royal Fusiliers, City of London regiment, Corps of Drums as snare drummer/bugler, very quickly becoming 'leading tipper' (head drummer). Throughout his time with them the battalion visited Kenya, Bahrain, Aden and Malta, performing at various ceremonies. Between duties he found time to continue to play Rock and Roll with a few friends for his own pleasure, imitating Elvis, Chuck, and The Everley Brothers. Carlo was such a forceful drummer even at this time: "On parades, 'Drill With The Drum' was required. The RSM in command of the battalion (1000 men) would shout the order, for instance, "stand at ease." He would shout the first word "stand at" and on the "ease" I would hit the snare drum and the 1000 men would all move their feet together - BANG! What a feeling of power!"



Carlo was demobbed February 6th, 1960.



6th February, 1960. Fresh out of the army and eager to catch up with old friends, new sounds and happenings Carlo, now aged 21, returned to his old haunt, The Cannibal Pot coffee bar in Sudbury's Harrow Road. All of his old pals had now moved on so he was all alone that evening. Finding he was the only person to select Rock & Roll on the jukebox, a young girl named Gill asked, "are you Carlo?" Surprised, because he didn't know this person, he replied, "yeah. How do you know that?" "Because of the records you are playing", she replied. She must have known him from his reputation. Gill proceeded to tell him that she was waiting for her boyfriend, who also played the same records, and said they might get on well together because of this.



Soon after, the coffee bar door opened and in walked this guy with a long camelhair coat, 18 inch long hair, and a pair of goggles - minus the glass! "I said to Gill, 'Hey, look at him', and she said, 'Oh that's my boyfriend David (aka Screaming Lord) Sutch.' He was a strange looking guy and really stood out." They were introduced and found they had much in common. Their strongest bond was the joint opinion of a dislike of the current British pop scene, which by this time was littered with tame pop stars such as Cliff Richard, Adam Faith and Pat Boone. Rock & Roll and Rhythm & Blues, it seemed, was on rationing. There was only one thing for them to do. They decided to meet up again, with the intention that Carlo would try to get a Rock & Roll group together, with David tagging along, maybe with a role as manager.



A few weeks later Carlo, back at his old job, had purchased his first full drum kit. After checking Macarie's Music Shop in Wembley, the local music enthusiasts' hang out, Carlo and David were given a few local names to approach, eventually ending up with 16 year old classically trained guitarist Bernie Watson. Bernie suggested 15 year old guitar/bassist Rick Brown (aka Fenson), who suggested 16 year old pianist, another who was classically trained, Nicky Hopkins. The first collective meeting was arranged for the rear hall of the pub next door to the Cannibal Pot, the Sudbury Swan. "During a 12 bar rock and roll jam Bernie screamed his guitar loudly. Excited by his playing Sutch went crazy with his head, his hair fell down, the full 18 inches, and screamed his head off, 'Yeah, man!' It was such as funny sight that none of us could play any longer for laughing." Carlo then suggested that he try singing, but he said, "I'm not sure how." Carlo then said, "Well, I could teach you," and from then on he became the band's singer.



At this point in time Carlo was being influenced by drummers such as Sandy Nelson, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich and Ronnie Verrell, and sounds like Honky Tonk by Bill Doggett, and Bo Diddley, and King Curtis. And he had been practising so hard and got that much better, that in his parent's house the walls had cracked and chunks of plaster fell down!



Three months later the new group had perfected enough songs for an act. The early covers included Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Elvis. They managed to get one or two gigs a month, as the now famous Screaming Lord Sutch and The Savages, during that same year at local halls and built up a small following. Soon after, Carlo was asked to join Dougie Dee And The Strangers, semi-professional, which he did from June 1960 to April 1961. In the same time space Sutch had auditioned at the famous 2i's Coffee Bar, and become such as hit that the 2i's manager Tom Littlewood put him on the road, backed by the Vince Taylor and the Playboys. After a while Sutch realised he had to have his own group again, and in April 1961 he asked Carlo if he would reform The Savages.



A new line-up was needed. Ken Payne, the bassist from the Strangers, was brought in by Carlo. Andy Wren (piano) had been auditioned; another one in. The audition for a guitarist proved more of an ordeal. Carlo: "Ritchie Blackmore, who could have only been 15 at the time, came along with his girlfriend and his dad. We heard about 7 or 8 blokes, but it was a toss up between Ritchie and Roger Mingay. Roger just had the edge, because he was older and more experienced." The new Savages then became full-time professional, playing all over Britain's dance halls until September 1961, when the original members re-joined. This line-up also cut the Joe meek-produced first single Till The Following Night.



There was much of this twoing-and-froing amongst the musicians, but it was the original line-up that is best remembered.



Being a Savage involved a lot of one-night stands, a lot of cheap bed and breakfasts, a lot of travelling back from the middle and north of England overnight in run-down old vans never designed for such wear and tear, but it sure beat working in an office, and the rewards were, emotionally at least, if not financially, tangible. "There were a handful of other acts on the road too, maybe half a dozen," says Little. "None of us had big hit records, but you knew that if you came to see us you'd be entertained. It would be a good night out. There was nobody to follow or copy. You had all your records that you got your act from - Little Richard, Elvis, Chuck Berry - and you worked your act round that." But none of the other acts could hold a candle to the voluminous show that was Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages, one of the biggest live draws in the country during the early 60s. The band were arguably ahead of their time due to the heavy, amplified sound that they were creating at a time when the electric guitar had barely become established as a group instrument.



But much of the Savages' excitement emanated from the back of the stage where, as if by divine intervention, there sat a British drummer who understood what it took to play rock'n'roll. Over the years the line-up of the Savages would include some of the key musicians of the Sixties and Seventies, and their galvanising effect on others can only truly be garnered by talking to those who saw them. "They were the equivalent of a hard rock band today," says the Escorts' bass player Colin Haines. "They would grab you by the scruff of the neck and thrash it out. They were very dynamic and loud." Rob Lemon had no doubt where that on-stage energy was derived from. "Carlo Little played drums in the UK like no one else. He was original like you can't believe. And it was all to do with the bass drum." "He was a fantastic heavyweight rock'n'roll drummer," says Gerry Evans, "and we were in awe of him. He used to hit the bass drum like you'd never seen. It was like a cannon, like a bomb going off when he hit it."



Carlo himself would hardly be the one to disagree. "When I hit something I didn't just tap it. I walloped it. 'Take that!' It hit you. It was impressive. Especially in those days, because I took it hard as it could go. We were the loudest band ever." Quite apart from their energy, disregarding their exhibitionism, ignoring for a moment their choice of material and even discounting the drummer who hit his kit with such a violent passion, these fellow musicians also on the scene had added reason to be inspired by - and jealous of - the Savages.



Carlo: "We were such an excitingly loud, hard-hitting rock and roll band that wherever we played the audiences couldn't believe what they were hearing, and every town we played in we were getting the local young groups coming and asking our advice." At one such gig on June 25, 1962, Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages headlined at Wembley Town Hall. Keith Moon was among several hundred who attended the show. In fact, it was so crowded that many of the girls stood on the bench seats around the hall perimeters to see the band properly and promptly punctured the leather with their stiletto heels, causing a mile furore that made the local papers. Everyone applauded the opening act, Paul Dean (who later became actor Paul Nicholas) and the Dreamers, another bunch of local boys. And they went ape at the Savages.



Back in 1957, out of all the first wave of rock'n'roll, it was Little Richard's records that had featured the drums most prominently. If you turned them up loud enough - which meant risking your parents' wrath for daring to play the devil's music in the first place - you could actually hear the kick drum thudding away, and of all those singles, none has so prominent a bass drum as 'Lucille'. So of course the Savages, rock'n'roll historians despite their youth, opened their set with 'Lucille'. And the audience just stood there with their mouths agape. It wasn't the ludicrously loud orange shirts and the white boots that set the Savages apart so much as the sheer noise, particularly that made by Carlo Little on the drums - every component of which was noticeably bigger than those on the average kit - flailing away like he was trying to beat them up.



It was also the visual impact of the singer. Sutch was the consummate performer. No matter what the song, he had a corny prop to go with it. So for Bobby Darin's 'Bull Moose', he put on a helmet with two foot long horns; for 'Blue Suede Shoes', he pranced around in boots several sizes too big painted lurid blue; during the group's self-penned single 'Till The Following Night', he found his way into a coffin; and on 'Great Balls Of Fire'...well, you had to laugh really: he jumped round the stage holding a biscuit tin alight. He generally terrified the audience alike with his reckless stunts, such as chasing people with knifes and axes.



October 1962. The Original Savages were split into two - but not for much longer. Following a spell in Hamburg Bernie Watson and Nicky Hopkins had been sacked by Cliff Bennett. Carlo Little and Rick Brown had also broken away from Screaming Lord Sutch. Knowing the fact that the great Savages were now all free, the R&B club scene legend Cyril Davies approached them all about starting a new band. This became Cyril Davies & The R&B All Stars; "the best British blues band of the early '60s" - Bruce Eder. From November 1962 they gigged in and around London, which was now evolving into an exciting, revolutionary music scene, packing out it's music clubs and dance halls.



This line-up was producing a raw mixture of Chicago R&B and Rock 'n' Roll, even bettering what they had produced as The Savages, with Cyril's amazing harmonica playing and Carlo's drumming whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Covers included Got My Mojo Working. The other musicians on the scene, including Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Ian Stewart, Ray Davies and Ritchie Blackmore were in awe.



It was around this time that all of the major record companies were after the new R&B sound. They could see the crowds loved it; the Marquee was only supposed to hold 500 but was opening up to an incredible 1000 people. Three months after the All Star band was formed they were approached by Decca and Pye. Cyril decided to go with Pye, as they were bringing out a new label called Pye R&B Series. A session was arranged for the 27th February, 1963, at Pye's Marble Arch Studio, with Peter Knight Jr. as producer. The highlight of the live gigs had been Cyril's own 'Country Line Special', so that was the obvious choice as their first single. "It took until the thirteen take to capture the excitement that was felt in the live performances. I felt that the stuffiness of the studio situation was holding us back, so by the last take, after the guitar solo, I did a big roll round the kit and pushed the whole thing forward right to breaking point!" This was the sound they had been trying to capture, and at last they'd done it.



The single was released to rave reviews a couple of months later. People in the business were overwhelmed by the record, but for the public, who were buying 'Summer Holiday' by Cliff and other bland pop songs, it did nothing. However, pirate Radio Caroline DJ Jerry Leighton used the track for his theme tune for a while.



While this was going on the Rolling Stones had managed to get themselves an audition on 'Jazz Club', the BBC's only R&B radio show, after Brian Jones had written a persistent letter (see it here). But the day of the audition, 23 April 1963, fell on a week day and the now-permanent members, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman, could not get the time off their jobs to attend. Brian Jones looked again to Carlo and Rick, who would always happily oblige as long as there was a fee at the end of it! Songs including 'I'm A Hog For You Baby' (a Savages favourite) and 'I'm Moving On' were taped and later played to BBC Radio's light entertainment booking manager David Dore, who rejected the band on account that "the singer sounds too black"!



Closer to home, the All Stars were shortly never to be the same again. Nicky Hopkins became very ill in the May and was not to work again until 18 months later. (When he returned to the music scene in 1965 he became the best-known session piano player in the business, playing with everyone from the Stones, Beatles (he played on 'Revolution'), The Who, and many others, up until his death in 1994). Shortly after in June, fed up with Cyril's famous temper and stubbornness, Rick returned to Sutch and Bernie teamed up with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.



This left Carlo and Cyril to continue promoting 'Country Line Special' with a new line-up that consisted of Geoff Bradford (guitar), Keith Scott (piano) and Cliff Barton (bass). The All Stars #2 got to perform the song in June on 'Thank Your Lucky Stars', the main pop show in the UK, and the BBC radio show 'Saturday Club', along with a residency on TV show 'Hullabaloo' (see left). However, Carlo was not entirely happy with Cyril's insistence to play purist Blues all the time and suggested some changes to make the sound slightly more up-beat. After a row with Cyril about this he was sacked, and returned to The Savages.



Carlo was replaced by Mickey Waller, and the All-Stars #3 (see right) continued until Cyril's death from pleurisy on January 7th, 1964 (it was not leukemia like many have said). None of the All Stars had even known he was ill, although Nicky Hopkins had once heard a crash from Cyril's dressing room at the Marquee, and on going to investigate he found Cyril standing there with his fist smashed through a mirror and this look... "His eyes were really tight-shut, everything, tense in his face. You couldn't have moved him. He looked like a statue. You could see the pain in his face - not physical, but mental pain...he was built like a tank which was why I could never believe...he'd be the last person on earth you'd think would die." - From an interview with 'NME', 1974



Cyril Davies and The All Stars are now gone - but not forgotten. They were the pioneers of British pop. So why did they never make the big time? Carlo offers some light: "Cyril was a real blues enthusiast. Whenever we used to suggest playing something more upbeat, like in the style of Chuck Berry or Bo Diddley, the kind that really got the crowd going, he would say no. It took me weeks to convince him to let us do What I'd Say by Ray Charles, but when we did it the crowd went wild. John Baldry sung that one great with the Velvettes, but Cyril didn't really go for the commercial sound. Instead, the Stones filled the commercial R&B gap, and look where they are today..."



Rick Brown stayed with Screaming Lord Sutch for 6 more months, until January 1964, and went on to play with Brian Auger, Steampacket, and Georgie Fame until leaving the music business. Carlo continued to stay a bit longer with The Savages until May 1964. It was during this period that the Rolling Stones were really starting to make it in the charts, although they were still working hard, promoting themselves up and down the country, constantly performing the gig circuit. On 15 March, after a short holiday, the Stones' discovered that Charlie Watts had not yet returned as planned. With a gig to do in Kent, a last-minute search took place to find a competent stand-in.



Long John Baldry continued with the All Stars band after Cyril's death, and re-named them The Hoochie Coochie Men. Six months after, in June 1964, Baldry asked Carlo to join. It was here he backed their second-singer Rod Stewart, and made an appearance on Granada TV show 'Scene At 6:30'. After a difference in musical opinion (Baldry was another Blues purist), Carlo left and headed into the next stage of his life as the elusive Session Man...



After his spell on the R&B club scene Carlo then drummed with various bands that were made up of musicians who were joined together from various roots of the, now rapidly expanding, British rock family tree. On the road often involved sacrificing the luxuries of home, but it sure was worth it in terms of fun:



Buddy Britten & The Regents: Aug 1964

Buddy Britten & The Regents were a Merseybeat group. Carlo was with them for three months, with bass player John Lawson from one of the later line-ups of The Savages. Didn't do that many gigs, they were mostly in and around London. One of the funnier times Carlo remembers with this band was during a gig at The Rink Ballroom, Swaddlingcoat. "After the gig, we didn't have anywhere to stay so the promoter said we could sleep in the ballroom for the night. He locked us in and we tried to get comfy on the floor. It was so uncomfortable that someone got up, found a bingo machine and we had a great laugh playing bingo at three in the morning!"



The Echoes: Oct 1964 - May 1965

This band had just come back from S. Africa backing Dusty Springfield. Carlo: "All I can remember from this period is that the van was breaking down all the time, so there wasn't much fun to be had here."



Neil Christian & Crusaders: Jun-Oct 1965

Neil Christian & The Crusaders had been a big club draw since 1960 (one of the earliest members was Jimmy Page). Similar in nature to that of The Savages, they played and packed-out dance halls up and down the country. Carlo: "By the time I joined them they were mainly doing weekend gigs, as work had temporarily dwindled for The Crusaders at this point". But Neil Christian's hit single 'That's Nice' was just around the corner.

It was during this time that Carlo performed some sessions for Jimmy Page, who was now producing for other artists. The tracks also featured Jeff Beck and Nicky Hopkins, who had just been given the all clear after his hospitalisation which had forced him to quit Cyril Davies' All Stars.



Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages: Jul 1966.



The Circles: Aug-Nov 1966

This line-up spent half their time backing Sutch, but also worked as The Circles.



Lord Sutch & The Roman Empire: Dec 1966-April 1967



A temporary aberration had Sutch calling himself 'Lord Caesar Sutch' and, for publicity, the band were required to dress as Roman Gladiators! The first gig they did was a benefit for the wife of the late Johnny 'Shakin All Over' Kidd, who had died in October 1966. The line-up included Richie Blackmore, and Matthew Fisher on keyboards who had recorded 'Whiter Shade Of Pale' with Procol Harum during his spell here. He stayed with the Empire for financial security until the record took off



The band also toured Sweden during this time. Carlo: "It was thick snow when I went there with the Roman Empire. We were driven around in a big American 4-wheel drive with a little trailer for the equipment to go in towed behind. The promoter had sent a roadie to drive it. It had snow chains on the wheels, that's how deep the snow was. We did abut 10 days of gigs, and always went down well with the crowds, who were really excited. We met and talked to the 'Hep Stars' in one of the dressing rooms, who later turned out to be members of Abba."



Neil Christian & The Crusaders: April-May 1967

Carlo went back to this group again just for a short tour of Germany, where Christian had scored a big hit with 'That's Nice'. During this period the band also included guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, bassist Tony Dangerfield and pianist Matt Smith. Before they set off for the continent in Carlo's un-trusty old Bedford van, Christian said, "here's ten quid - I'll see you in Berlin...and that was to cover everything for the band to get from Wembley to Germany! He went off in his new Mustang, of course!" So off they went on £10 expenses. On the way Carlo had a fist fight with Tony while driving at 70 MPH, and by the time they got there they were so exhausted they fell asleep on a petrol station forecourt. After the tour they finished in Hamburg and went to the Star Club and Top Ten. The rest of the band decided to stay for a few days (they had busty women to keep them occupied!) and Carlo went home, complete with their instruments in the back of the van. He didn't see them for years after, and had sold their instruments! It was while in Hamburg, not long after these events, that Ritchie formed Deep Purple.



The Flowerpot Men: Oct 1967-Sept 1969

It was while with this band that Carlo met the legend Jimi Hendrix - in cafe The Blue Boar on the M1! "All the bands would congregate there on their way back and forwards from gigs," recalls Carlo. "It was just before The Experience hit the big time and they must have been touring to get themselves known. Well, Mitch Mitchell the drummer, who used to come and watch me in the early days, recognised me. He came over with Jimi and introduced me as 'the guy who started it all off for me'.



The Flowerpot Men had just had a huge hit in the British charts with 'Let's Go To San Francsico' when Carlo joined them. Doing the usual rounds of gigs up and down the country, the touring took them to the Latino Nightclub in South Shields, a small town just outside Newcastle in the north-east of England. It was here that 19 year-old Iris King worked as a croupier. Struck by her beauty, Carlo asked her out, and they were married within 6 months! The wedding, on 20 July 1968, made the national papers, due to the number of stars that turned up. Noel Redding from the Hendrix Experience was there. Jon Lord played the organ for them (the church organ had broken down, so he plugged in his!), and Flowerpot singer Tony Burrows (who later had hits with song Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes and the group Brotherhood Of Man) gave the bride away...



After his spell with The Flowerpot Men Carlo realised it was time to support his family by getting a 'proper job'. One such venture into the real world involved Nick Simper (Deep Purple and Johnny Kidd & The Pirates ex-bassist, whom he had met while on the road with The Flowerpot Men), and together they opened up a greengrocers shop back in Carlo's native Wembley. This venture lasted but a year, during which time Iris gave birth to his first daughter Giselle in 1972.



Carlo also attended the famous Rock and Roll show at Wembley in 1972. He saw Mick Jagger backstage but, after all these years, was too embarrassed to say hello! Also there was Keith Moon. He bought Carlo a drink at the bar and they chatted about the Heavy Friends album on which they had performed together, and Keith was embarrassed to see that his name was bigger than Carlo's on the sleeve, even though he had only played a couple of numbers on it. Carlo also got to speak to his hero Chuck Berry backstage, and they talked about the piano player Johnnie Johnson.



The greengrocers venture did not herald the end of Carlo's musical career. He joined yet another band at this time: Hurricane, which was put together by producer Mal Gray, and included pianist Freddie 'Fingers' Lee, guitarist Dave Wendels, and bassist Stuart Colman (see left). Other musicians involved with the band included Dick Middleton and Matthew Fisher. Their single 'Mama Was A Honky Tonk Woman' had good reviews and they got signed to Decca, but did not manage to achieve further success than that.

Carlo then got a full-time job delivering bread for Mothers Pride. This entailed rising at 3am, which had to be done at this stage because another daughter Emma was born in 1976. (He eventually stayed there for 12 years, until he was made redundant in 1986.)





So by 1977, Carlo wasn't drumming at all. However, the pub at the end of his street had advertised a gig that included singer Frankie Reid and Mitch Mitchell on drums, so Carlo went along to check them out. Frankie asked Carlo if he would do some gigs with him, but Carlo was without a drum-kit at this point, so Mitch offered to lend his. It was during this time that Carlo got asked to play with yet another legend. "I received a phone call from the bass player and broadcaster Stuart Colman, who I had worked with in Hurricane, who said, "get your gear ready - we're backing Carl Perkins at the Nashville Rooms in London in a couple of hours". After arriving at the gig with Mitch's drums and meeting Carl Perkins, we rehearsed a couple of numbers, joined by Dave Edmonds on guitar and Geraint Watkins on piano. Later we did the show, including Edmonds' number one hit 'I Hear You Knocking'. This Carl Perkins gig was also recorded without prior knowledge". It was released as 'Jet Propelled: The 1978 Comeback'.



Carlo then began gigging again on a regular basis with his new friend Frankie Reid on vocals, Nick Simper (see right), and guitarist Pete Parks (ex-Warhorse). From 1977 Flying Fox, as they were collectively known, performed rock and roll covers in the working men's clubs and pubs of West London, employing various singers after Reid's emigration to Australia. Their set went down a storm wherever they played, as Carlo's driving beat had not been lost throughout the years. But the venture came to an end in 1984 after internal differences.



It was while he was with Flying Fox, in 1978, that Carlo was asked by the owner of the 100 Club in London to perform a special gig. "One day I got a phone call from the 100 Club in London asking me if I would get a band together to back Roscoe Gordon. I asked Pete Parks on guitar, Nick Simper on bass, and Sid Philips on sax. We rehearsed with Roscoe the afternoon of the gig. At around 11pm, while we were on-stage, there was suddenly a buzz in the club. In had walked a big guy who knew Roscoe from way back, they were great buddies. He walked on to the stage asking Pete if he could use his guitar, then he the proceeded to go into a blues song. It was the great B.B. King! He had been in town and had just finished a gig at the Hammersmith Odeon. We performed about four numbers with him, slow blues numbers, and I briefly told him how good it had been before he left as quickly as he had arrived. The show was recorded and released on album without our knowledge. There is a photo on the wall of the 100 Club still today of B.B. King when he performed there and you can see me drumming in the background!" B.B. King's support, the Bobby Bland band, were also there, and Wayne Bennett their guitarist also played that night.







During the 1980s, Carlo had stayed friends with Ronnie Harwood (see right), whom he had met in one of the line-ups of The Savages and who had guested with Flying Fox. In 1982 Ron, who had a talent for writing catchy ballads, had managed to convince Carlo's old pal Stuart Colman from the Hurricane days (now a rock 'n' roll DJ and record producer) that his new tune You Drive Me Crazy would be a sure-fire hit for Shakin' Stevens. It was a million selling single and won him an Ivor Novello award in 1981. By 1985 Ron was desperate for another hit - and Carlo to work in music again after the Flying Fox split. So they formed the band Florida Sun, a record company called Sparkle, and recorded an album of Ron's songs. Although they managed to receive quite a lot of airplay on Radio 2 with their first single, the music was not very commercial and did not sell too well. After another failed venture of trying their hands at Europop, under the name of Bandana, the pair gave up - and Carlo stopped drumming after 30 years.



After being made redundant from Mothers Pride, Carlo started his own business doing much the same thing, delivering wholesale bread to caterers. This was quite successful, and he began to realise that there was probably never going to be a financial future for him in music.



In 1991 Carlo continued the theme of catering and bought 2 hot dog/burger trailers, which he operated until 2001 with his wife Iris, at Wembley Stadium market. These businesses bought him more financial rewards than the music business ever did.



Carlo Little sadly passed away on Saturday, August 6 after a bravely fought battle with lung cancer.



(Main source: www.carlolittle.com; © Giselle Rawlins/Carlo Little)