The Tornados were an English instrumental group of the 1960s which acted as in-house backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions. The Tornados enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and U.S. Number One "Telstar" (named after the satellite and composed by Meek). It was the first U.S. #1 by a British group. Since World War II only three British singles had topped the U.S. chart: "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" by Vera Lynn in 1952, before the Billboard 100 charts were produced, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" by Laurie London (which only topped the Billboard chart of 100 songs most played by disc jockeys) in 1958, and "Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk in 1962, the first to top the combined list now called the Hot 100, doing so four months before "Telstar". For a time the Tornados were considered serious rivals to The Shadows. The Tornados single "Globetrotter" made it to number 5 in the UK Singles Chart, but when bassist Heinz Burt left in 1963 for a solo career, the group began to fall apart. By 1965 none of the original lineup remained.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Tornados: Telstar (1962)
The Tornados were an English instrumental group of the 1960s which acted as in-house backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions. The Tornados enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and U.S. Number One "Telstar" (named after the satellite and composed by Meek). It was the first U.S. #1 by a British group. Since World War II only three British singles had topped the U.S. chart: "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" by Vera Lynn in 1952, before the Billboard 100 charts were produced, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" by Laurie London (which only topped the Billboard chart of 100 songs most played by disc jockeys) in 1958, and "Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk in 1962, the first to top the combined list now called the Hot 100, doing so four months before "Telstar". For a time the Tornados were considered serious rivals to The Shadows. The Tornados single "Globetrotter" made it to number 5 in the UK Singles Chart, but when bassist Heinz Burt left in 1963 for a solo career, the group began to fall apart. By 1965 none of the original lineup remained.
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