Chris Curtis

Chris Curtis (born Christopher Crummey; 26 August 1941 – 28 February 2005) was an English musician. He was best known for being a member the 1960s beat band The Searchers. He originated the concept behind Deep Purple and formed the band in its original incarnation of 'Roundabout'.

Curtis was born in Oldham, Lancashire, on 26 August 1942. He came to Liverpool when he was four, and went to primary school where he met Mike Prendergast. He taught himself how to play the piano on the family instrument at 30 Florida Street in Bootle. He passed the 11-plus and went to St Mary's College, Crosby, where he was taught violin although he preferred the double bass.

His father bought him a drum set during his late teens when he left school. He learned to play in his spare time, when he was not selling prams at Swift's Furniture store at Stanley Road, Liverpool. He developed a fascination for American music and particularly liked Fats Domino. He also grew the unusually long hair that would be his trademark in the early years.

In 1960 he met Mike Prendergast soon after Norman McGarry, the Searchers' second drummer, had left the band. He accepted an invitation to join the band for a gig at Wilson Hall, Garston, and became the seventh member of The Searchers, replacing McGarry to join John McNally, Prendergast and Tony Jackson. He adopted the name Chris Curtis after Jackson described him thus in a press interview, choosing the name from a Lee Curtis poster to avoid saying 'crummey'.

For the next six years Curtis was an essential part of the Searchers' sound and contributed to the band's characteristic vocal harmonies with his distinctive voice, blending particularly well with the high-pitched voice of early band-mate Tony Jackson. Perhaps the finest example of this can be found in their rendition of "Ain't That Just Like Me", where Curtis sings the lead vocal, and Jackson chimes in with the chorus.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.