| |
| 1957 [FG aged 20-21] |
| As the skiffle boom spread
to Manchester, Garrity worked by day as a milkman and at nights, sang
standards such as "Rock Island Line." |
| |
| 1958 [FG aged 21-22] |
| As rock and roll gained in
popularity, Garrity noted that he shared visual characteristics with a
similarly bespeckled Buddy Holly. If Holly could be a rock star, maybe
Garrity could too. |
| |
| 1959 [FG aged 22-23] |
| Drawing on members of various
Manchester groups, Garrity formed Freddie and the Dreamers to work the
city's venues and to tour northern England. Manchester impressario, Danny
Batesh becomes their agent and books them for performances as far south
as Kent and Margate. The band also performed at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg
along with other northern beat groups. |
| |
| 1961 [FG aged 25-26] |
| October. Appear on
the BBC's "Let's Go" and "Beat Show." |
| |
| 1962 [FG aged 26-27] |
| Work in Hamburg at the Top
Ten Club (Joynson 1995:198) and
share the bill at Liverpool's Cavern Club with the Beatles. |
| |
| 1963 [FG aged 26-27] |
| With the beat boom and the
sudden popularity of northern groups, EMI's Columbia label quickly signed
Garrity and the band for a recording contract with John Birch as their
producer. Neither Garrity nor anyone else in the band wrote songs, and
so Columbia's A & R personnel sought out music for them to record.
Garrity, by this time, had established a special niche in the beat boom
by goofing around on stage with the band acting as his collective straight
men. Their earliest recordings, like many beat groups, were covers of
American rhythm and blues tunes. (E.g., James Ray's "If You Gotta Make
a Fool of Somebody"). However, in Mitch Murray he found an Englishman
who wrote songs that could match his stage ebullience with giddy pop. |
| 9 May."If You Gotta
Make a Fool of Somebody" [Columbia DB 7032; charts, UK#3] |
| 8 August. "I'm
Telling You Now" (Mitch Murray) [Columbia DB 7086; charts, UK#2] |
| 7 November. "You Were Made for Me" (Mitch Murray) [Columbia DB 7147; charts, UK#3] |
| |
| 1964 [FG age 27-28] |
| 20 February. "Over
You" [Columbia DB 7214; charts, UK#13] |
| 16 May. "I Love You
Baby" [Columbia DB 7286; charts, UK#16] |
| 16 July. "Just for
You" [Columbia DB 7322; charts, UK#41] |
| 5 November. "I Understand"
[Columbia DB 7381; charts, UK#5] |
| |
| 1965 [FG aged 28-29] |
