Lee Curtis
& The All Stars
 Peter Flannery became Lee Curtis by reversing the name of the
American singer Curtis Lee. He was managed by his brother
Joe, and there was a clever but cruel Liverpool saying
"Flannery will get you nowhere", because his acts were
not as successful as Brian
Epstein's.
Lee Curtis & The All Stars were best known for Let's
Stomp which featured Pete Best on drums. Much better was
their full-blooded version of Skinny Minnie, recorded
live at The Cavern.
It knocked spots off Bill Haley's
original, but the band continued to have problems seeing
eye-to-eye with Decca.
The band wanted to record Twist And Shout but Decca
said no. A few weeks later it was a Decca hit for Brian
Poole and The Tremeloes.
The All Stars then asked to record Money. The label
again said no and it was a Decca hit shortly thereafter for Bern
Elliott and The Fenmen.
The band asked if they could record Shout. Decca
refused once more and it was a hit (for Decca) for Lulu
and The Luvvers. The cycle repeated itself when the band asked
to record It's Only Make Believe, were turned down, and
witnessed Billy Fury have a hit with
the song (again for Decca).
It seems nothing went right in Lee's career. The All Stars had
a nomadic line-up and Curtis was in essence a solo singer who was
out of time in the early 60s - too late for Elvis
and too early for Tom Jones.
In 1969 Lee had a car accident that left him with facial scars.
He became reluctant to perform, although he did continue to do
occasional club work on Merseyside and in Skelmersdale. But
commercial success and financial reward eluded him for the
duration.
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