Gene Vincent

"'Gene looked, as I dreamed of looking, completely out of control. He almost completely ignored the audience, staring wild-eyed into the wings as though demons lurked behind the Empire's plush curtains. From time to time, he would fling his damaged leg - held together. we were told, in defiance of medical reason, with pins - over the microphone, and that unearthly high, almost feminine voice that I sang along with in my bedroom echoed like something abandoned and fearful, in the Liverpool night. Gene was perfect, exactly as I had hoped he would be, and all I have to do to recapture that night is listen to 'Race With The Devil' or 'Who Slapped John' or any other of dozens of classic tracks. Perhaps the fact that Gene never really made it commercially in the way that he surely should, helped to endear him to me.' (JP's remembrance of seeing Vincent and Eddie Cochran at the Liverpool Empire on 12 April 1960, as recounted in Margrave Of The Marshes, pp. 169-70, Corgi edition.)" Gene Vincent (1935-1971) was born Vincent Eugene Craddock and, aside from being an early rock'n'roll star, pioneered rockabilly with the song Be Bop A Lula. Although he never had a top 10 hit in the UK, he toured successfully there and achieved greater and more long-running chart success than in his native country. A motorcycle accident in 1955 left him with a shattered leg that he refused to have amputated. It was saved, but he was left with a metal sheath round his leg, a limp and pain for the rest of his life. >IN PROGRESS

Festive Fifty Entries

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Sessions

 * Number of sessions? Any commercial release of sessions?

1. Recorded: YYYY-MM-DD. First broadcast: DD Month YYYY. Repeated: DD Month YYY 2. Recorded: YYYY-MM-DD. First broadcast: DD Month YYYY. Repeated: DD Month YYY etc
 * Song title / Song Title / Song Title / Song Title
 * Song title / Song Title / Song Title / Song Title

(Please correct mistakes and add any missing info)

Other Shows Played

 * 04 June 1979: 'Jumps Giggles & Shouts (LP-Greatest Vol. 2)' (Capitol)
 * 04 June 1979: 'Baby Blue' (LP-Greatest Vol. 2)' (Capitol)
 * February 1994 (1) (BBC World Service): 'Hold Me Hug Rock Me'
 * 19 February 1994 (BFBS): 'Race With The Devil'
 * 15 October 1994 (BBC World Service): 'Bi Bickey Bi, Bo Bo Go (LP-The Best Of Gene Vincent)' (Capitol)