Biography
Emerging in the aftermath of the Beatles' breakthrough, Earl Preston's Realms counted among Liverpool's next wave of bands that briefly stepped out from regional visibility. Fronting the lineup on vocals and guitar was Earl Preston, born George Spurce, with Tony Priestley handling lead guitar, Brian Norris covering bass duties, Tommy Husky on saxophone, and Tom Kelly at the drums; Dave Tyon eventually added organ. Preston had already been active in the Liverpool circuit since the start of the 1960s. His earliest group, Earl Preston and the Tempest Tornadoes—later shortened to the T.T.'s—shared bills with the Beatles during those initial years. Formed in 1963, the Realms performed at the Cavern Club and mixed Preston's own compositions with renditions of contemporary successes such as Marvin Gaye's "I'll Be Doggone" and the Fats Domino–Dave Bartholomew standard "Blue Monday." Their most prominent exposure arrived when Ember Records placed three live tracks from the band on the compilation Liverpool Today-Where It All Began, issued in the United States by Capitol in association with the Richmond Group and the Michael Allen Group. Despite never advancing beyond the lower tier of Liverpool recording acts, the Realms delivered only a single release yet earned recognition as a dynamic live ensemble on the strength of existing recordings. That lone Fontana single, "Raindrops" backed with "That's For Sure," appeared in 1964. After parting ways with Preston, the remaining musicians, now operating as The Realm, issued "Hard Time Loving You" coupled with "Certain Kind Of Girl" on British CBS in 1966.