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, 2006.)"

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.

After having a massive hit in the US and a sizeable hit in the UK with Be Bop A Lula (which strangely was originally a B-side to Woman Love, a suggestive song banned by the BBC), Vincent and his band The Blue Caps had difficulty following it up with chart success of similar magnitude, and Vincent left America in 1959 after a dispute with the tax authorities there. Jack Good put him on his TV show Boy Meets Girl and transformed his image, dressing him in black leather, gloves and a medallion and making him hunch the microphone. This is how Peel would have seen him on April 12, 1960 when he appeared at the Liverpool Empire on the same bill as Eddie Cochran, and although John was obviously familiar with his work, this appearance inspired him with a lifelong devotion to the man and his music.

Four days later, Vincent was involved in another road accident, this time in a private taxi. Cochran died and Vincent was left with broken bones and further damage to his leg. He returned to the States to recuperate, but was back oon tour in the UK in 1961, and moved there permanently in 1963. His backing band at the time were called the Outlaws and featured a young Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow). Problems with alcohol marred both the tour and any further attempts to regain his earlier musical stature throughout the 60s.

He recorded an LP, I'm Back And I'm Proud, for Peel's Dandelion label in 1969. Containing a superior backing band that included Jim Gordon on drums and Linda Ronstadt on backing vocals, this featured a mixture of original compositions and rock'n'roll standards (and yet another version of Be Bop A Lula). As JP put it, "although it wasn't a great record, it was still a Gene Vincent record."

The final two years of Vincent's life included a return to the US, two further albums with the Kama Sutra label, and two sessions at the BBC for Top Gear and Johnnie Walker's show, during a 1971 UK tour. Vincent returned to the US to visit his father in California and died there from a ruptured stomach ulcer.

Festive Fifty Entries

 * None

Peelenium

 * 'Race With The Devil' (Peelenium 1956)

Sessions

 * One and only session.

1. Recorded: 1971-01-25. First broadcast: 06 February 1971. Repeated: none. 'Whole Lotta Shakin' available on Rebel Heart Vol. 6 (TKO Magnum Music).
 * Whole Lotta Shakin' / The Day The World Turned Blue / Rocky Road Blues / Say Mama

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)