Biography
Born on 12 July 1937 in Liverpool, England, Howard William Casey joined the army specifically to perform on baritone saxophone within a military band. Following his discharge in 1958, he acquired a tenor saxophone and appeared with the early Liverpool beat outfits the Rhythm Rockers and the High Tones. By November 1959 he had assembled the Seniors, whose original roster included vocalists Derry Wilkie and Billy Hughes, lead guitarist Brian Griffiths, bassist Paul Whitehead, pianist Stan Foster and drummer Jeff Wallington. Subsequent personnel shifts brought Frank Wibberley, formerly of the Rhythm Rockers, in place of Wallington. Their set drew heavily on material associated with Ray Charles, Little Richard and Fats Domino, and the band adopted the name Derry And The Seniors in deliberate reference to Danny And The Juniors. Promoter Allan Williams secured them engagements at Hamburg’s Kaiser Keller, making them the first Liverpool act to reach Germany in 1960. Back in Liverpool, local actor and singer Freddie Howell—later known as Freddie Starr—recruited the group to support his audition for a Fontana Records contract. Commissioned to compose numbers tied to the emerging Twist fad, they recorded the entire Twist At The Top album in a single afternoon, thereby becoming the first Liverpool band to enter a studio. Casey concedes, “It’s not much of a twist album, we used to play everything at a hundred miles an hour.” The opening single bore the title “Double Twist.” They maintained a residency at Ilford’s Twist At The Top club while fulfilling engagements across the UK. After marrying, Casey elected to withdraw from touring and dissolved the group, declining even an offer of management from Brian Epstein. With the arrival of the Mersey boom he resumed performing, returning to Germany alongside Kingsize Taylor And The Dominoes. He subsequently established himself as a sought-after session player, contributing to Wings’ Band On The Run, recordings by Elkie Brooks, Cliff Richard and T. Rex, and the soundtracks for Tommy and Quadrophenia. Today he collaborates with veteran British rock ’n’ roll figure Roy Young, provides backing for Elvis Presley impersonator Liberty Mountain and leads the oldies ensemble Loose Covers.