[bomp] R.I.P. Chris Curtis

[NankerPhlg@xxxxxxx]

Farewell to Black Jake. Some very sad news I only just found out about a  few 
minutes ago. This is from CNN.
 
==================
The Searchers drummer Curtis dies
Tuesday, March 1, 2005 Posted: 1901  GMT (0301 HKT) 
 

LONDON, England (AP) -- Chris Curtis, drummer with 1960s "Merseybeat"  combo 
The Searchers at the height of its fame, has died, colleagues said  Tuesday. 
He was 63.
 
Band members said Curtis, whose real name was Christopher Crummey, was  found 
dead at his home in Liverpool on Monday after a long illness. The exact  
cause of death was not disclosed.
 
Formed in the same rough-and-ready Liverpool club scene as The Beatles and  
named after a John Ford Western, The Searchers briefly rivaled the Fab Four for 
 popularity. After The Beatles' success made Liverpool acts a hot property, 
The  Searchers were signed by Pye Records.
 
The band scored international hits with "Needles and Pins," "Sugar and  
Spice" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away." Curtis played drums and contributed to  
the band's distinctive vocal harmonies.
 
Original Searchers bassist Tony West said Curtis "was the epitome of the  
group itself."
 
"He contributed an awful lot to the vocals and the harmonies -- his was the  
distinctive high voice. He was also a very good drummer.
 
"I will remember him as full of life and enthusiasm. Although he left the  
band, he never fully left the musical scene."
 
Curtis left The Searchers in 1966, but the band carried on, with several  
lineup changes. In recent years members had engaged in acrimonious legal battles  
over the right to the group's name.
 
Curtis scored a British hit in 1967 with The Flowerpot Men with "Let's Go  To 
San Francisco." He later joined Roundabout, which evolved, after his  
departure, into hard rock behemoths Deep Purple.
 
Curtis eventually worked as a civil servant until he was forced to retire  by 
poor health.
 
There was no immediate word on survivors or funeral details.

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