Lee Curtis & The Allstars
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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