The Tornados - WikiHQ

The Tornados are an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the 1962 song "Telstar", which became their first No. 1 hit on the UK Singles Chart and, in December 1962, the second ever No. 1 single by a British act on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

History

The Tornados were formed in 1961 as a session band for Joe Meek, although the name did not come until early 1962. In 1961 they provided the instrumentals for the film short The Johnny Leyton Touch, including a jazzed up version of "Taboo", originally by Margarita Lecuona. From January 1962 to August 1963, the Tornados were the backing band for Billy Fury (as well as recording and performing as an act in their own right); they toured and recorded with Fury as the Tornados. Their recordings with Fury were produced by Mike Smith and Ivor Raymonde.

The Tornados made a scopitone film (an early form of music video) for "Telstar" and another for their chart hit "Robot" featuring members of the group walking around a woodland dressed in appropriate headgear with their guitars, flirting with various young women and being finally arrested by policemen after lighting a campfire.

For a time the Tornados were considered serious rivals to the Shadows. Colin Farley of the Cutting Crew joined the band in the late 1990s after Harvey left. They were still touring as of 2002.

In 1996, Ray Randall wrote and recorded a three-track CD with Bryan Irwin and Stuart Taylor, using the band name Ray Randall's Tornados, as a tribute to the late Joe Meek, 30 years after Meek's death. Randall has since recorded a solo album entitled Polly Swallow (1997).

In 2002, The Tornados performed at the Pipeline Instrumental Rock Convention in London.

In 2005, Dave Watts (who was the Tornados keyboard player from 1965 to 1967) formed "Dave Watt's Tornados". They still tour as of 2025.

In 2007, Panda Bear sampled two Tornados songs on his album Person Pitch.

"Do You Come Here Often?"

The B-side of the final single that the group released, in 1966, "Do You Come Here Often?", is considered to be the first openly "gay" pop record release by a UK major label. It started off as a standard organ-inspired instrumental, but Joe Meek decided that the organ playing was a little too jazzy for the style of the group. To remedy this, around two-thirds in, a casual conversation between what appears to be two gay men (Dave Watts playing keyboards and Robb Huxley playing guitar) was overdubbed. The song was featured, along with other gay-flavoured releases, on a 2006 compilation CD, Queer Noises.

Away from It All (Decca, 1963)
We Want Billy! (Decca, 1963) (with Billy Fury, live album) – UK no. 14
The World of the Tornados (Decca Records, 1972)
Remembering... the Tornados (Decca Records, 1976)
Away From It All (Deram, 1994)
The EP Collection (See for Miles Records, 1996)
Tornados Now (Startel Records, 1997)
Telstar (Castle Pie Records, 1999)
Science Fiction (Secret Records, 2007)

EPs

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" |Year

! rowspan="2" |EP Title

! rowspan="2" |Details

!Peak chart positions

!UK

| rowspan="2" |1962

| align="left" |The Sounds of the Tornados

Released: October 1962
Label: Decca

| align="left" |Telstar

Released: November 1962
Label: Decca

| rowspan="7" |1963

| align="left" |Globetrotter

Released: February 1963
Label: Decca
France-only release

|—

| align="left" |More Sounds from the Tornados

Released: March 1963
Label: Decca

| align="left" |Billy Fury & the Tornados

Released: 29 March 1963
Label: Decca
With Billy Fury

| align="left" |Robot

Released: April 1963
Label: Decca
France-only release

|—

| align="left" |Tornado Rock

Released: July 1963
Label: Decca

| align="left" |Ready Teddy

Released: November 1963
Label: Decca
France-only release

|—

| align="left" |Chattanooga Choo Choo

Released: December 1963
Label: Decca
France-only release

|—

|1964

| align="left" |Hot Pot

Released: July 1964
Label: Decca
France-only release

|—

|1966

| align="left" |Granada

Released: 1966
Label: La Voz de Su Amo (His Master's Voice)
Spain-only release

|—

| colspan="4" style="font-size:8pt" |"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released

Singles

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" |Year

! rowspan="2" |Single

! colspan="10" |Peak chart positions

!AUS

!BE (FLA)

!GER

!IRE

!NL

!NOR

!NZ

!UK

!US

!US R&B

| rowspan="2" |1962

| align="left" |"Love and Fury"

b/w "Popeye Twist"

|—

| align="left" |"Telstar"

b/w "Jungle Fever"

| rowspan="5" |1963

| align="left" |"Globetrotter"

b/w "Locomotion with Me"

|15

|—

| align="left" |"Ridin' the Wind" (US and Canada-only release)

b/w "The Breeze and I"

|—

|63

|—

| align="left" |"Robot"

b/w "Life on Venus"

|44

|—

|17

|—

| align="left" |"The Ice Cream Man"

b/w "Theme from "Scales of Justice""

|—

|18

|—

| align="left" |"Dragonfly"

b/w "Hymn for Teenagers"

|96

|—

|41

|—

| rowspan="3" |1964

| align="left" |"Hot Pot"

b/w "Joystick"

|38

|—

| align="left" |"Monte Carlo"

b/w "Blue, Blue, Blue Beat"

|72

|—

| align="left" |"Exodus"

b/w "Blackpool Rock"

|56

|—

| rowspan="3" |1965

| align="left" |"Granada"

b/w "Ragunboneman"

|—

| align="left" |"Early Bird"

b/w "Stompin' Through the Rye"

|—

| align="left" |"Stingray"

b/w "Aqua Marina"

|—

| rowspan="2" |1966

| align="left" |"Pop-Art Goes Mozart"

b/w "Too Much in Love to Hear"

|—

| align="left" |"Is That a Ship I Hear"

b/w "Do You Come Here Often"

|—

|1975

| align="left" |"Telstar" (as 'Original Tornados')

b/w "Red Rocket"

|—

| colspan="12" style="font-size:8pt" |"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released

Notes

References

External links

Band biography on rockabilly.nl (via Wayback Machine)
Billy Fury's backing groups
The Peddlers: The Tornados