Rory Storm | |
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Photo by Astrid Kirchherr
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Background information | |
Birth name | Alan Ernest Caldwell |
Also known as | Rory Storm |
Born |
Stoneycroft, Liverpool, England, UK |
7 January 1938
Died | 28 September 1972 Broadgreen, Liverpool, England, UK |
(aged 34)
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instruments | Vocalist |
Years active | 1958–72 |
Labels |
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Associated acts |
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Rory Storm (7 January 1938 – 28 September 1972) was an English musician and vocalist. Born Alan Ernest Caldwell in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contemporaries of the Beatles in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Ringo Starr was the drummer for the Hurricanes before joining the Beatles in August 1962, replacing original drummer Pete Best.
The Hurricanes were one of the most popular acts on the Liverpool and Hamburg club scenes during their existence, although their attempt at a recording career was not successful. They released only two singles (and one additional compilation track) during their early 1960s heyday, and none of their material made the charts. Their second and final single was a version of the West Side Story song "America", and was produced by the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein.
When Storm's father died, he returned from Amsterdam to Liverpool to be with his mother at Stormsville, at 54 Broad Green Road, Broadgreen, Liverpool. On 27 September 1972, Storm developed a chest infection and could not sleep properly, so he took sleeping pills. The next day Storm and his mother were both found dead. A post mortem determined that Storm had not taken enough pills to kill himself, but it was suspected that, after finding her son's body, his mother had died.
Rory Storm was the stage name of Alan Caldwell, born 7 January 1938, in Oakhill Park Estate, Stoneycroft, Liverpool to Violet (née Disley) and Ernest "Ernie" George W Caldwell. His father was a window cleaner by profession, and a part-time porter at the Broadgreen Hospital, often singing songs to patients. Storm had one sister, Iris Caldwell, who dated George Harrison when she was 12, and Paul McCartney, when she was 17. Iris later married Shane Fenton, later known as Alvin Stardust. Apart from music, Storm was interested in sports, particularly athletics; he ran for an amateur team in Liverpool called the Pembroke Harriers, and set the Pembroke Athletics and Cycle Club steeplechase record. Instead of being driven home after concerts in Liverpool, Storm preferred to run home.