Kingsize Taylor & The Dominoes...Who really started the MerseyBeat? A big question, but something turned American Rock “N” Roll into a vibe that was darker, louder and brand new. Arguments will continue to rage about when it started but I suspect we need look no further than a band called Kingsize Taylor and The Dominoes.
If I can take you back to the late fifties… rock n roll was already dead, extinguished by the establishment who feared the music would pollute the youth and by promoters who wanted to control the music the way they did before Elvis, Jerry and Little Richard exploded onto the scene. In its place was an insipid mix of pretty boys and girls who couldn’t sing and couldn’t play (Think X factor and you will get my drift). I think the end of the world came when Pat Boone recorded Tutti Frutti, possibly the biggest mismatch of a song and a singer in the history of music. So they thought they had put the fires out and now the youth could be guided back And who started the new wave? I think it could have been Kingsize and the Dominoes who had
already scoured the lists of Americans records of the fifties, upped the energy from the originals and
zap….MerseyBeat. I’ve got to know a fair bit about KS&D as “Ickle B” or Ken Shalliker (pictured right) as he really is, was one of the original players with band. Ted (Kingsize) Taylor was a huge presence on stage and the band rocked from front to back. Formed in North Liverpool They started playing venues like St. Luke’s Hall, Crosby (also known as the ’Jive Hive’) The band even had a girl singer. Well, it was Ted’s girlfriend at the time, a young lady called Priscilla White, but you would know her as Cilla Black. I understand that Cilla at one stage was going to become a permanent member of the band. They were one of, if not the first band to travel to Hamburg and play the Star Club. They were such a hit with the locals that they were offered a residency. Ringo and the DominoesDrummer Dave Lovelady had taken time off from his Architectural studies to appear for the short season but couldn’t remain for the residency. Ted offered Ringo Starr £20 a week to take over from Dave and Ringo agreed, a couple of day’s later Ringo wrote and said he had received an offer of £25 a week to join The Beatles and had accepted the offer, Brian Redman eventually replaced Dave. ‘Kingsize’ was one of the best vocalists to come out of the ‘Mersey Scene’, the group had a strong repertoire of obscure but brilliant American rock ‘n’ roll songs Ted had got hold of. The group had spent a lot of time in Germany; Hamburg, Kiel and Berlin, a decision they felt (some years later) caused them to miss out on the Mersey Beat Boom. When they did return to the UK for a Chuck Berry Tour in 1964, they made an appearance on the popular television show ‘Ready, Steady, Go!’ performing ‘Stupidity’ a single released by Decca (It’s that company again), which had made the No.1 spot in Germany. Shortly afterwards, The Dominoes split from ‘Kingsize’. Ted Taylor had a very distinctive voice; his group was among the best to emerge from Liverpool and were superior to many of the groups who had found recording success in the ‘sixties’. Kingsize Live in Berlin 2007Kingsize Talks About The Star Club with Horst Fascher in April 2009Detailed stories of the Domino years can be found here in an article written by the well known Liverpool Historian Spencer Leigh. Ted Unveils a Plaque at the Site of The Iron Door ClubThe Dominoes celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2008, returning to St Luke’s for a sell-out concert. Most of the original members played on the night including Kingsize. Sam Hardie, John Frankland and Ken Shalliker and "Mesh" Stephenson still jam in Liverpool from time to time , although I understand they have decided to call a day for any future public appearances. The Dominoes Live in Liverpool 2009With Original members Sam Hardie and Ken Shalliker. Geoff Nugent from the Undertakers plays guitar with George Eccles and Colin Woodruff on Drums.
Ted is now back in Hamburg and is performing with a new band The Brotherhood of Rock 'n' Soul. They recently launched a new CD and I understand he is still packing them in and captivating his German fans with the roots of MerseyBeat.
Kingsize & The Brotherhood of Rock 'n' Soul
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into their little boxes to become nice little clerks and shop assistants
for the next forty years until they could collect their pensions and fade away….but there was a problem, the
kids still remembered the vibe, rawness and most of all the excitement of Rock “N” Roll, and if the Americans
wouldn’t turn on… then as sure as hell, the Europeans would, and in particular the Germans and the Brits or
even more specifically the kids of Hamburg and Liverpool.
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