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The Triumphs performed at the Joe Meek - The Farewell Concert at the Amersham Rock and Roll Club on Saturday 10 April 2010. The band played Little Sister (Danny Rivers); Bless You (Peter London); and Telstar (The Tornados) and then became the backing band for Bobby Rio, aka Bobby Cristo - who recorded a number of great tracks for Joe, including Value for Love; The Other Side of the Track; and Boy Meets Girl. Bobby sang The Wanderer (Dion), My Prayer (The Platters) and Have I the Right (The Honeycombs). Ex Joe Meek artiste Rob Shenton was the compere. The Triumphs were the support act for the Saints, who included Joe Meek artiste Rick Winter and two of Joe's star acts, John Leyton and Mike Berry who were backed by The Flames. American rock and roll star Charlie Gracie was also on the bill and he too was backed by the Flames. It was a truly atmospheric night of great performances and great music and more than equalled the excitement that prevailed at the Joe Meek Fest on 3 February 2007 at the Wyllyotts Theatre, Potters Bar.
The Twangs For The Melody album featuring The Triumphs is now available on download on I-Tunes, Amazon and other download sites.
Press Release October 2009 - Joe Meek Tribute Band make major CD debut.
Lone Rider Records latest CD release ‘Twangs For The Melody’ available from Monday 12th October includes 2 newly recorded tracks by top Joe Meek Tribute Band ‘The Triumphs’.
The 33 track CD compilation pays Tribute to Instrumental Greats Of The 60’s with The Triumphs paying tribute to ‘The Saints’ and ‘The Outlaws’ with their own unique versions of ‘Wipe Out’ and ‘Husky Team’. Other tribute tracks to the music of Joe Meek include ‘Telstar’ by guitarist Peter Williams, ‘Ridin’ The Wind’ by The Tornados ‘Jaywalker’ by John Leyton’s regular backing group, ‘The Flames.
The CD also contains a 16 page booklet with copious liner notes by Rob Bradford of The Joe Meek Society.
Listen to a 50 sec clip of their track Husky Team
The Triumphs are a UK based Joe Meek Tribute band and were formed especially for a performance at the inaugural Joe Meek Festival in 2007. Three members of the band are members of the Joe Meek Society and the other two are fans of and are closely associated with the music of Joe Meek. The band’s ethos is to play Joe Meek’s music live to keep it alive and also to inform audiences about Joe and his music. The band’s Joe Meek repertoire covers the whole of Joe’s recording career, starting from when Joe first became a recording engineer at EMI, Pye and Philips records; his time at Arundel Gardens in London; the period in 1960 when he founded his own record label, Triumph Records, after which the band is named; and his recorded legacy from his occupancy at 304 Holloway Road where he lived and recorded until his death on 3 February 1967. When playing its Joe Meek set, the band also includes a number of excellent tracks that have never been released and have remained unheard by the general public for more than 40 years.
The band also performs a Buddy Holly
Tribute. This is in recognition of Joe’s connection with Buddy. Joe
was a great Buddy fan and Geoff Goddard’s great song, Tribute to Buddy
Holly, recorded at 304, is evidence of the high regard which both Joe
and Geoff held for Buddy and his music. The Triumphs feel this aspect
of Joe’s and Geoff’s appreciation of Buddy should also be
reflected in the music that they play. When playing its Buddy Holly
set, the band usually includes rarities and rarely performed B sides
and LP tracks.
The line-up of the band
is as follows:
Ray Liffen,
vocals, lead and
rhythm guitar, who is a member of the Joe Meek Society
Trev Faull,
keys. Trev is
a fan of Joe’s music and also a sixties instro music guru
Jules Dawton,
bass, who
has played with Screaming Lord Sutch’s Savages
Rob Bradford,
vocals. Rob is the
Joe Meek Society’s Archivist
Ken Ledran,
drums, who is the
Chairman of the Joe Meek Society
On 6 February 2010, following the Joe Meek Society's AGM, the band performed at London's iconic Ace Cafe. The Triumphs performed two sets that night. In addition, among those artistes who came up on stage and were backed by the Triumphs, were Bobby Rio (aka Bobby Cristo) and Danny Rivers. The band will be backing Bobby and also performing a set in its own right at Amersham Rock and Roll Club on 10 April 2010.
The
Triumphs were the support band for
the Tornados at the 2007 Joe Meek Festival held in Newent and have also
played at
the last three Joe Meek Society AGMs. These were held at the Square
Pigg in Holborn, Central London in 2008, The George Hotel, Newent in
2009 and the Ace Café, North Circular Road, London in 2010. The band
also played at the prestigious Phibbers Bar
in the Holloway Road on 4 February 2009 to commemorate the fiftieth
anniversary of Buddy Holly’s death in February 1959 and Joe’s
death on the same day in 1967.
The new 8-track CD by the Triumphs is
now available. This is a private pressing available only to Joe Meek
Society members.
The tracks are as follows:
-
Joe Meek Medley – Telstar/Johnny Remember Me/Have I The Right/Just Like Eddie.
-
My Suzanne
-
Night of the Vampire
-
The Coalman’s Lament
-
Walk With Me My Angel
-
Please Stay
-
Jack The Ripper
-
Telstar (full-length version as featured on Radio Caroline on Dell Richardson’s show on 16 June 2009 – and a different recording to that in the Medley on track 1 )
Price £5.50 UK p/p available
from Ray
Liffen – email enquiries to: rayliffen@compuserve.com
Regarding the Triumphs’ CD, Joe Meek
Society member and ex Joe Meek recording artiste, Ray Dexter, says:
“I can highly recommend the
Triumphs
new CD. Every Joe Meek fan should get their hands on a copy. I think
it’s a real triumph!”
Joe Meek
Society members may know that
Ray recorded a Decca single with Joe in the sixties called “The
Coalman’s Lament/Lonely Weekends” and also made a number of other
recordings with Joe, such as “Atlantic Twist” and “Just Like
You”. These and other recordings were finally released in February
2007 on RPM’s CD compilation “Diamond Joe”.
Here is
another letter of recommendation from eminent Meekologist Mark
Newson who edits The Joe Meek Society's Thunderbolt magazine:
The band is
available for gigs. All
enquiries please email pjklf@btopenworld.com
Or telephone the band on 01234772229 or 07969318415
For more information about Joe Meek visit the Joe Meek Society Website www.joemeeksociety.co.uk