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Daniel Joseph Anthony 'Tony' Meehan (2 March 1943 – 28 November 2005) was a founder member of the British
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....
 group 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....
 with 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 ....
, Hank Marvin
Hank Marvin

Hank Brian Marvin is an England guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows. The group, which primarily performed instrumentals, was formed as a backing band for singer Cliff Richard....
 and Bruce Welch
Bruce Welch

Bruce Welch Order of the British Empire, is an England guitarist, songwriter, record producer and singer, best known as a member of The Shadows....
. He played drum
Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion instrument group, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of implement such as a drumstick, to produce sound....
s on early 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....
 and The Shadows hits
Hit record

A Hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a Single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay , Nightclub, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings....
 and on early Shadows 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 .

Tony Meehan was born at New End Hospital, New End, Hampstead
Hampstead

Hampstead is an area of London, England, located north-west of Charing Cross. It is part of the London Borough of Camden. It is situated within Inner London....
, North London
North London

North London is the northern part of London, England. The area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes....
, 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...
. He was 10 when he became interested in playing drums. By 13, he had his first job with a band
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:...
 playing in a dance hall at Willesden
Willesden

Willesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross. The suburb has strong links to Ireland and has a sizable Irish population....
, London.






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Daniel Joseph Anthony 'Tony' Meehan (2 March 1943 – 28 November 2005) was a founder member of the British
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....
 group 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....
 with 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 ....
, Hank Marvin
Hank Marvin

Hank Brian Marvin is an England guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows. The group, which primarily performed instrumentals, was formed as a backing band for singer Cliff Richard....
 and Bruce Welch
Bruce Welch

Bruce Welch Order of the British Empire, is an England guitarist, songwriter, record producer and singer, best known as a member of The Shadows....
. He played drum
Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion instrument group, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of implement such as a drumstick, to produce sound....
s on early 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....
 and The Shadows hits
Hit record

A Hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a Single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay , Nightclub, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings....
 and on early Shadows 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 .

Tony Meehan was born at New End Hospital, New End, Hampstead
Hampstead

Hampstead is an area of London, England, located north-west of Charing Cross. It is part of the London Borough of Camden. It is situated within Inner London....
, North London
North London

North London is the northern part of London, England. The area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes....
, 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...
. He was 10 when he became interested in playing drums. By 13, he had his first job with a band
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:...
 playing in a dance hall at Willesden
Willesden

Willesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross. The suburb has strong links to Ireland and has a sizable Irish population....
, London. He also played timpani
Timpani

Timpani are musical instruments in the percussion instrument family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a drumhead stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper, and more recently, constructed of more lightweight fiberglass....
 with the London Youth Orchestra. When he was 15, Meehan was set on becoming a lawyer
Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an Attorney at law, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice fraud." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver justice....
 but he was offered a job at £25 per week in a touring show. He was given six months' holiday. The tour never materialised but he did not go back to school. Unlike other members of the Shadows he was never short of work, playing cabaret
Cabaret

Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance being introduced by a master of ceremonies, or MC....
 at Churchill's and the Stork Club. He also played with Jet Harris in The Vipers.

Meehan left the Shadows in October 1961 to work as an arranger
Arrangement

In music, an arrangement is either a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet....
/producer
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
 and session
Session musician

Session musicians are instrumental performers or vocalists who are available for hire for live performances or recording sessions, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical ensemble or who have acquired fame in their own right as bandleaders....
 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....
 for Joe Meek
Joe Meek

Joe Meek was a pioneering England record producer and songwriter acknowledged as one of the world's first and most imaginative independent producers....
 (John Leyton
John Leyton

John Leyton is a English people actor and singing. As a singer he is best known for his hit record song, "Johnny Remember Me" , which reached chart-topper in the UK Singles Chart in August 1961....
, Michael Cox: "Young Only Once", Andy Cavell) and from early 1962 at Decca Records
Decca Records

Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. He teamed again with Harris (who had also left the Shadows and moved to Decca) and as a duo
Duet (music)

A duet is a musical composition or musical piece for two performers. In classical music the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word Wiktionary:duo is also often used....
 had success with "Diamonds
Diamonds (Jerry Lordan song)

Diamonds is an instrumental written by Jerry Lordan. It was a #1 hit in the UK for Jet Harris and Tony Meehan.The guitar Jet Harris used on the record was a Fender six string bass....
" which also included Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page

James Patrick Page Order of the British Empire is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he co-founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin....
 on acoustic
Acoustic guitar

An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only acoustic methods to project the sound produced by its strings. The term is a retronym, coined after the advent of electric guitars, which depend on electronic amplification to make their sound audible....
 rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar

Rhythm guitar is the use of a guitar to provide rhythmic chord al accompaniment for a singer or other instruments in a musical ensemble. In ensembles or "bands" playing within the country music, blues music, rock music or Heavy metal music genres , a guitarist playing the rhythm part of a composition supports the melodic lines and solos play...
. "Diamonds" was a number one hit
Hit record

A Hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a Single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay , Nightclub, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings....
 in the UK. Harris and Meehan had two further hit singles together - "Scarlett O'Hara" and "Applejack".

Meehan briefly played with The Shadows some years later when Brian Bennett was hospitalised. At one point, 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 at the same time, and The Shadows were playing live with Brian Locking
Brian Locking

Brian Locking was the bass guitarist with The Shadows between 1962-1963....
 on bass
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...
 and Meehan on drums.

On 29 November 2005, BBC News
BBC News

BBC News, formerly BBC News and Current Affairs, is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporation's news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online....
 quoted Bruce Welch as saying that Meehan had died the previous day as a result of head injuries following a fall down the main staircase at his London flat in Maida Vale.

Meehan died at St Mary's Hospital South Wharf Road, Paddington
Paddington

Paddington is an area of the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. It was formerly a London_borough#Inner_London_boroughs of itself, but was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965....
, West London
West London

West London is the area of Greater London to the west of Central London. Although it is only ambiguously defined, it is one of the most economically active areas of London outside of the centre, containing significant amounts of office space along with London Heathrow Airport and many of its associated businesses....
.

Groupography

The Vipers.

The Drifters/Cliff Richard and the Drifters.

The Shadows/Cliff Richard and the Shadows.

Jet Harris and Tony Meehan.

Jet Harris and Tony Meehan

Diamonds/Footstomp - 7" - Decca.

Scarlet O'Hara/Hully gully - 7" - Decca.

Applejack/Tall texan - 7" - decca.

Jet and Tony - EP - Decca.

Remembering - LP - Decca.

Best of - CD - .

Diamonds and Gemms - CD - .

Tony Meehan solo

KIngs go fifth/song of mexico - 7" - Decca - 1964.

Production Credits

Kevin Westlake - Stars fade (in hotel rooms) - .

John Howard - Kid in a big world - .

White Trash - Road to nowhere/illusions - 1969 - Apple.

Jet Harris - My lady/you don't live twice - 1964 - Decca.

Tim Hardin - Painted Head - CBS - LP - 1973.

Louise Cordett - In a matter of moments/I'm just.... - Decca.

Jay and Tommy Scott - Angela/Did you - 7" - 1962 - Decca.

External links