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Brian Locking

 

 
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Brian Locking (born 22 December 1940, in Bedworth
Bedworth

Bedworth is a market town in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, England. It lies northwest of London, east of Birmingham, and north northeast of the county town of Warwick....
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton in the far north of the county....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
) was the bass guitar
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
ist with The Shadows
The Shadows

Nick-named: the Shads, The Shadows are the most successful United Kingdom instrumental and vocal group from the 1950s to the 2000s with an aggregate total of at least 64 UK hit singles....
 between 1962-1963.

egan playing double bass
Double bass

The double bass or contrabass is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow string instrument used in the modern orchestra. It is a standard member of the string section of the orchestra and smaller string musical ensembles in European classical music....
 in several bands
Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:...
, notably with the Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a Counties of England in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire....
 based rocker Vince Eager
Vince Eager

Vince Eager is a United Kingdom pop music singer. The impresario, Larry Parnes, took him into his stable of performers, giving him one of Parnes' characteristic stage names....
 (born Roy Taylor, 4 June 1940, in Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of around 101,000 - the 2001 census gave the entire urban area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
). He switched to bass guitar, later joining The Wildcats, a backing group for the rock and roll
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 singer Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde

Marty Wilde is an English people singing and songwriter. He was among the first generation of United Kingdom popular music celebrity to emulate United States Rock and roll and is the father of pop singer Kim Wilde....
. A fellow Wildcat was the drummer
Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
 and future Shadow
The Shadows

Nick-named: the Shads, The Shadows are the most successful United Kingdom instrumental and vocal group from the 1950s to the 2000s with an aggregate total of at least 64 UK hit singles....
, Brian Bennett.

Locking also played several other instruments
Musical instrument

A musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument....
, including clarinet
Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet....
 (nicknamed the "licorice stick"), which earned Locking the nickname "Licorice".






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Brian Locking (born 22 December 1940, in Bedworth
Bedworth

Bedworth is a market town in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, England. It lies northwest of London, east of Birmingham, and north northeast of the county town of Warwick....
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton in the far north of the county....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
) was the bass guitar
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
ist with The Shadows
The Shadows

Nick-named: the Shads, The Shadows are the most successful United Kingdom instrumental and vocal group from the 1950s to the 2000s with an aggregate total of at least 64 UK hit singles....
 between 1962-1963.

Career

He began playing double bass
Double bass

The double bass or contrabass is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow string instrument used in the modern orchestra. It is a standard member of the string section of the orchestra and smaller string musical ensembles in European classical music....
 in several bands
Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:...
, notably with the Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a Counties of England in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire....
 based rocker Vince Eager
Vince Eager

Vince Eager is a United Kingdom pop music singer. The impresario, Larry Parnes, took him into his stable of performers, giving him one of Parnes' characteristic stage names....
 (born Roy Taylor, 4 June 1940, in Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of around 101,000 - the 2001 census gave the entire urban area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
). He switched to bass guitar, later joining The Wildcats, a backing group for the rock and roll
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 singer Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde

Marty Wilde is an English people singing and songwriter. He was among the first generation of United Kingdom popular music celebrity to emulate United States Rock and roll and is the father of pop singer Kim Wilde....
. A fellow Wildcat was the drummer
Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
 and future Shadow
The Shadows

Nick-named: the Shads, The Shadows are the most successful United Kingdom instrumental and vocal group from the 1950s to the 2000s with an aggregate total of at least 64 UK hit singles....
, Brian Bennett.

Locking also played several other instruments
Musical instrument

A musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument....
, including clarinet
Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet....
 (nicknamed the "licorice stick"), which earned Locking the nickname "Licorice". When Marty Wilde parted company from The Wildcats, they changed their name to the Krew Kats and recorded
Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanics inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects....
 instrumental
Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments....
s with modest success. Bennett then left to join the Shadows.

In April 1962, at Bennett's suggestion, Licorice Locking was himself invited to join the Shadows to replace the departing Jet Harris
Jet Harris

Jet Harris was the bassist of The Shadows until April 1962 and had subsequent success as a soloist and as a duo with drummer Tony Meehan ....
. Stylistically, Locking had a solid "less is more" approach, which was the obverse of Harris's adventurous hard-driving style. The Shadows' sound changed as a result. Locking played on some of their best known tracks, including "Dance On", "Foot Tapper" and "Atlantis". He also played the harmonica
Harmonica

The harmonica is a free reed aerophone wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes....
 in live shows and on his signature album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
 track, "Dakota". He appeared in the Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard

Sir Cliff Richard Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter, actor and entrepreneur.With his backing group The Shadows, Richard dominated the British popular music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, before and during The Beatles' first year in the charts....
 film
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
, Summer Holiday.

After being in the Shadows for only eighteen months, Locking left to pursue his Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses is a restorationism, Millenarianism Christianity religious movement. Sociology of religion have classified the group as an Adventism sect....
 activities. He briefly played with the Shadows again five years later while his successor John Rostill
John Rostill

John Rostill was a bass guitarist and composer, recruited by The Shadows to replace Brian Locking.He worked with several musician before joining The Shadows, including The Interns, The Flintstones and a stint and as part of British soul music legend Zoot Money's early backing band....
 was in hospital. In more recent times Locking has been a regular guest playing at Shadows fan clubs across the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and abroad. He also does occasional public gigs
Concert

A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band....
 with Shadows style bands.

Some biographers credit Locking with having introduced Cliff Richard to Christianity by warning him of the dangers of spiritualism (Richard had reportedly expressed an interest in trying to contact his recently deceased father).

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