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The Undertakers were one of Liverpool's leading rock
and roll groups at the time the Merseyside led 'beat boom' started.
They grew from the 'Vegas Five', a combo led by drummer Bob Evans
who left shortly afterwards. The list above shows the members
of the band during the most important part of its life, but there
were several personnel changes- they normally operated as a six
piece. The Undertaker's best known member was guitarist/ vocalist
Jackie Lomax who later had a significant solo career but never
quite managed to break through into the big time. The group had
a bigger sound than most because of the excellent saxophone of
Brian 'Boots' Jones, and they played extensively throughout the
north west of England, as well as touring similar German venues
to those covered by their arch rivals 'The Beatles'. They were
renowned for their black humour, dressing in black and walking
on stage in as funerial manner as they were able. During their
early days they would begin their act with the Death March and
made their debut on British TV bearing a coffin. They even used
a hearse as a means of transport between gigs. Sadly, the choice
of material for their singles was probably unsuitable and their
chart success does not accurately indicate their popularity on
stage.
Following their modest success on record,
they were encouraged to drop the 'death' image and abbreviate
their name to the 'Takers. Alas, this did nothing to improve
their record sales and after a short spell trying to make it
in the USA, the band broke up. Most of the group's members seem
to have enjoyed some success as professional musicians since
then, and Geoff Nugent revived the group's spirit many years
later as 'Geoff Nugent's Undertakers'. |
