- Brian Locking
Infobox Musical artist
Name = Licorice Locking
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Brian Locking
Born = Birth date and age|1940|12|22
Died =
Origin =Bedworth ,Warwickshire ,England
Instrument =Bass guitar .clarinet ,harmonica
Genre =Rock & Roll ,rockabilly
Occupation =Musician
Years_active = 1956–present
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Associated_acts = Marty Wilde's Wildcats,The Shadows ,Cliff Richard
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Notable_instruments =Brian Locking (born
22 December 1940 , inBedworth ,Warwickshire ,England ) was thebass guitar ist withThe Shadows between 1962-1963.Career
He began playing
double bass in several bands, notably with theLincolnshire based rockerVince Eager (born Roy Taylor,4 June 1940 , in Lincoln). He switched to bass guitar, later joining The Wildcats, a backing group for therock and roll singer Marty Wilde . A fellow Wildcat was thedrummer and future Shadow,Brian Bennett .Locking also played several other instruments, including
clarinet (nicknamed the "liquorice stick"), which earned Locking the nickname "Liquorice". When Marty Wilde parted company from The Wildcats, they changed their name to theKrew Kats and recordedinstrumental s with modest success. Bennett then left to join the Shadows.By April 1962, Locking himself was invited to join the Shadows to replace the departing
Jet Harris . After being in the Shadows for only eighteen months, Locking left to pursue hisJehovah's Witnesses activities. He briefly played with the Shadows again, while his successorJohn Rostill was in hospital. In more recent times Locking has been a regular guest playing at Shadows fan clubs across the UK and abroad. He also does occasional public gigs with Shadows style bands.Stylistically, Locking had a solid "less is more" approach, which was the obverse of Harris's adventurous hard-driving style.Fact|date=February 2007 The Shadows' sound changed as a result. Locking played on some of The Shadows' best known tracks, including "Dance On", "Foot Tapper" and "Atlantis". He also played the
harmonica in live shows, and on his signaturealbum track, "Dakota". He also appeared in theCliff Richard film , "Summer Holiday".External links
* [http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/brian_locking.htm Locking biography at the Rockabilly Music Association website]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/content/articles/2006/01/05/pop_past_nineteen_brian_locking_feature.shtml Locking mini-bio at the BBC website]
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