Johnny Kidd & the Pirates (known simply as The Pirates after their reunion) were an English rock band led by singer/songwriter Johnny Kidd. Their musical journey spanned from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s. Their stage act was theatrical, including wearing full pirate costumes. The original group was signed to HMV in 1959 under the auspices of producer Walter J. Ridley. Their first single was the raw “Please Don’t Touch”, penned by Kidd. This became a minor hit reaching number 25 in the UK in 1959. The song has been covered many times since, most successfully by the team of Motorhead and Girlschool.
Kidd and the Pirates’ most famous song was “Shakin’ All Over”, memorable for opening guitars and solo from Joe Moretti, it reached No. 1 in the UK singles charts in 1960. The song and the group’s proto-power trio line-up both made a strong impression on the Who, who would cover it in their 1970 album Live at Leeds, whose CD liner notes proclaim the original to be the UK’s best pre-Beatles rock single. Canada’s The Guess Who reached No. 1 in their home country and skirted the US Top 20 with a cover version in early 1965.
The swansong recording of this line-up in 1961, “Please Don’t Bring Me Down” failed to chart. However, it featured a B-side which turned out to be a minor UK rock ‘n’ roll classic. “So What” featured a piano solo from Morgan “Thunderclap” Jones. When the single failed to chart, the Pirates— Clem Cattini, Alan Caddy and Brian Gregg – decided to jump ship and joined Colin Hicks as his “Cabinboys”. After this liaison ended, Cattini and Caddy joined a Joe Meek backing band who evolved into the Tornados. Kidd meanwhile cut a “solo” single backed by a bigger band sound. “Hurry on Back to Love” was more bluesy than anything Kidd had previously attempted and indicated a possible new musical path.
A new Pirate trio was recruited. Johnny Spence (bass), Frank Farley (drums) and Johnny Patto (lead guitar). Patto soon left and was replaced by Mick Green (lead guitar), who had also backed Dudley. The new line-up’s first single with Kidd, “A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues” (coupled with “I Can Tell”) managed to break Kidd’s dry spell, entering the lower reaches of the chart toward the end of 1962. In retrospect this disc, which debuted Green’s unique playing style incorporating alternating lead and rhythm guitar figures, can be viewed as the sonic bridge marking the transition of British Rock and Roll into British Beat. The explosive rise of the ‘beat groups’ in 1963 outshone the slow-burning R&B scene; without a single release Kidd and his Pirates were losing valuable momentum on the chart front.
Kidd responded by recording “I’ll Never Get Over You”, originally a Buddy Holly styled B-side issued by Mills’ erstwhile group The Viscounts and reaching number 4 on the UK chart in the summer of 1963. The follow-up, “Hungry For Love”, was also written by Mills and broke into the top twenty during the autumn, fending off a competing EP version by The Searchers. The “Hungry For Love” recording session was very productive, also yielding a Pirates-only single. Both sides, “My Babe” and “Casting My Spell” featuring Spence on vocals were recorded in one take each, a sign of this Pirates line-up’s power, ability and confidence.
Eventually the group parted company with Kidd. Johnny Spence, Frank Farley and guitarist Jon Morshead (who replaced Weider) continued as The Pirates (keeping the name with Kidd’s blessing) and recorded one single, “Shades of Blue” for Polydor before a lack of success calling it a day in mid-1966. Kidd, meanwhile, kept recording and gigging with an anonymous group of backing musicians. His penultimate single “It’s Got To Be You”, showed that a mix of R&B and soul may have been where his future musical path lay. Sadly, on returning from a cancelled gig at the Imperial in Bolton, he was killed in a car accident near Bury, in October 1966, with companion bassist Nick Simper being injured.
