The Undertakers
| The Undertakers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Liverpool, England |
| Genres | Beat, pop |
| Years active | 1961–2017 |
| Labels | Pye Records |
| Associated acts | Jackie Lomax |
| Past members |
Jackie Lomax Chris Huston Geoff Nugent Brian Jones Bugs Pemberton |
The Undertakers are a British beat group, contemporaries of The Beatles and a leading group in the Merseybeat music scene of the early 1960s and are still performing as of 2017.
Their best known line-up was:
The Undertakers were originally called Bob Evans and the Five Shillings, with Nugent; lead guitarist Ike X (replaced by Pete Cook (ex The Topspots); drummer Bob Evans (died March 2009) (ex The Renegades); bassist Billy Evans; tenor saxophone player Les Maguire (born Leslie Charles Maguire, 27 December 1941, in Wallasey, Cheshire) and rhythm guitarist, vocalist Mike Millward (born Michael Millward, 9 May 1942, Bromborough, Cheshire - died 7 March 1966, at Bromborough Hospital, Bromborough), who was later in The Fourmost.
Then they became The Vegas Five formed in 1959, a group led by drummer Bob Evans with Geoff Nugent, died 12 October 2014; Chris Huston (ex The Casuals); lead vocalist Jimmy McManus (ex The Topspots); bassist Mushy Cooper (born David Cooper died in 1998) (ex The Topspots) and Les Maguire, who was later in Gerry & The Pacemakers, replaced by alto / tenor sax player, vocalist Brian (Sax) Jones (ex The Rebels) (born 27 November 1940 in Wallasey, Cheshire). This was one of the first rock and roll groups in the Liverpool area.
When the Vegas Five were booked to play a dance, they discovered that the local newspaper had inadvertently transposed their name with the word "Undertakers" from the adjacent column. The promoter persuaded them to develop this as a gimmick, by playing the "Death March" to start their show, and to change their name. In February 1961, Evans' group merged with another group, Dee and the Dynamites, based in Wallasey, and Evans left to be replaced by Pemberton (ex Dee and the Dynamites) in September 1961.
The Undertakers developed a major local following for their live performances. This was due to the quality of Lomax's singing, the customisation of the band’s instruments and amplification by Huston, and the fact that, unlike most Merseybeat groups, they were boosted by a saxophone, which enabled them to play a wider range of R&B songs including more obscure material. There is a photograph of fans queueing at The Cavern for what was thought to be The Beatles, when they were in fact queueing for The Undertakers.
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