Biography
The passing of Chris Curtis on February 28, 2005, removed the founding member of the Searchers from a world still captivated by that scintillating British Invasion and Merseybeat outfit. Beyond the grief felt by the band's admirers, his death also carved out an absence among rock's most distinctive oddballs, a drummer, singer, and magnetic frontman who once summed up his own reputation by remarking, "People who don't know me well may think I'm off my cake."
That assessment found echoes both during his lifetime and afterward. Yet former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham supplied the most poignant tribute when news of Curtis' death broke, calling him "a sweetheart under all the madness."
Known for a volatile nature and sudden, painful explosions of anger, Curtis ruled the Searchers through his playing, his songwriting, and his commanding presence. Once he stepped away, the group's string of successes concluded after 14 U.K. chart singles that sustained their visibility well past the close of the Beat Boom era. Three of their opening four releases reached number one, and their strongest recordings continue to anchor countless era-spanning playlists and retrospective collections.
His initial step after departing the Searchers was the solo release "Aggravation." He later spent two decades employed at the Inland Revenue. Between those chapters, however, he engineered the venture most often recalled after his Searchers tenure by assembling Ritchie Blackmore, Nick Simper, and Jon Lord into the Roundabout, envisioned as a rock & roll carousel complete with sculpted horses and vivid banners, fronting an assortment of individual vocal performers.
The Herefordshire group Shakedown Sound, soon to evolve into Mott the Hoople, became the first act he invited to participate, but they declined. Lord and his colleagues proved more receptive; initial rehearsals incorporated Blackmore and Lord's "And the Address," "Mandrake Root," and Curtis' unconventional take on the Beatles' "Help."
The effort advanced no further. Curtis' concepts for the project stayed in constant disarray, and the musicians grew weary of chasing his shifting notions. When his enthusiasm visibly waned, no one pressed him to return. The remaining players instead continued recruiting and, after an opening tour of Denmark and Sweden still presented under the Roundabout name, adopted the title Deep Purple by the tour's conclusion.
Curtis himself receded from view. Although the Searchers persisted and even experienced a modest revival in the late '70s, he stayed out of sight. He apparently assembled a brief-lived group alongside a colleague from the Inland Revenue, yet his final public appearances occurred during karaoke nights at a Liverpool pub, where he performed Bill Withers' "Lean on Me."
That assessment found echoes both during his lifetime and afterward. Yet former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham supplied the most poignant tribute when news of Curtis' death broke, calling him "a sweetheart under all the madness."
Known for a volatile nature and sudden, painful explosions of anger, Curtis ruled the Searchers through his playing, his songwriting, and his commanding presence. Once he stepped away, the group's string of successes concluded after 14 U.K. chart singles that sustained their visibility well past the close of the Beat Boom era. Three of their opening four releases reached number one, and their strongest recordings continue to anchor countless era-spanning playlists and retrospective collections.
His initial step after departing the Searchers was the solo release "Aggravation." He later spent two decades employed at the Inland Revenue. Between those chapters, however, he engineered the venture most often recalled after his Searchers tenure by assembling Ritchie Blackmore, Nick Simper, and Jon Lord into the Roundabout, envisioned as a rock & roll carousel complete with sculpted horses and vivid banners, fronting an assortment of individual vocal performers.
The Herefordshire group Shakedown Sound, soon to evolve into Mott the Hoople, became the first act he invited to participate, but they declined. Lord and his colleagues proved more receptive; initial rehearsals incorporated Blackmore and Lord's "And the Address," "Mandrake Root," and Curtis' unconventional take on the Beatles' "Help."
The effort advanced no further. Curtis' concepts for the project stayed in constant disarray, and the musicians grew weary of chasing his shifting notions. When his enthusiasm visibly waned, no one pressed him to return. The remaining players instead continued recruiting and, after an opening tour of Denmark and Sweden still presented under the Roundabout name, adopted the title Deep Purple by the tour's conclusion.
Curtis himself receded from view. Although the Searchers persisted and even experienced a modest revival in the late '70s, he stayed out of sight. He apparently assembled a brief-lived group alongside a colleague from the Inland Revenue, yet his final public appearances occurred during karaoke nights at a Liverpool pub, where he performed Bill Withers' "Lean on Me."
Albums
El Güero (feat. Dave Prouty, Sergio Aguilar, Rodrigo Uribe & Michael Sellers)
2024
Sunset Sky
2023
Inshallah (feat. Michael Sellers)
2022
Songs from the Edge of the Bed
2016
The Album
2011
the best of our lives
2003
Singles
