Joe Brown
 Joe
Brown started playing guitar in the skiffle
era, and got his break as resident accompanist to singers
auditioning on the TV show Boy Meets Girl.
His second record, Darktown Strutters Ball, was a
minor hit and Joe and his group, The Bruvvers, played on TV with
stars such as Eddie Cochran, Gene
Vincent, Johnny Cash and Cliff
Richard.
After switching from Decca to Pye, Joe topped the charts in
1962 with A Picture Of You which he followed with It
Only Took A Minute (Number 6 in 1962) and That's What
Love Will Do (Number 3 in 1963).
Such was the popularity of Joe Brown and The Bruvvers that at
one time they had headlined over The
Beatles at the New Brighton Tower.
During the two day build up
to the show Joe and his band had been mobbed signing autographs at
the NEMS record store and packed The
Cavern over two lunchtime sessions.
For their part, the less famous Beatles had plugged the Tower
show by incorporating a version of A Picture Of You into
their set for all their gigs for a week prior to the show.
 Joe and The Bruvvers included old numbers from musicals in
their live set, including songs from Bye Bye Birdie and Oklahoma,
as well as a riveting version of Hava Nagila (which
climaxed with Joe plucking his guitar behind his head).
And yet
despite all this kitsch he remained a well-respected musician in
the industry.
In 1982 Joe's guitar could be heard on George
Harrison's Gone Troppo album.
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