Wednesday, January 22,(2014)
At: "Saint Mary's" Church,Blackhill Consett
County Durham (North-England)
at: 1.15 p.m.(13.15 hours )
English-Time (!)
Statement from Ian on Freddie's passing:
"I’m so sorry.
Fred, Miller Anderson,
Pete Phillips and I had some great times back in the day. Fred was a
character. He told me he started with Sutch on ten bob a week AND he had
to drive the van. We starved together in Germany – van broken down –
club owner not paying us – but we got to play for hours every night and
that was the buzz. Somehow disasters were averted and we’d make it back.
I always felt bad for Fred. He was – quite naturally – Jerry Lee
Lewis’s twin. Same range, same power on the keyboards, same arrogance
and he could be really funny – same love of American Country music – he
would often sail into a song the band had never heard of. Fred loved the
raw original beginnings of Rock ‘n’ Roll and remained staunchly loyal
to it during a long, successful career. He had a lot of fans in Europe
and never seemed to stop working – music was his life.
We all went off and did different things, but I’ll always be grateful
to Fred for giving me a little hope at a time when I thought the
factory was my only future.
I’ll always remember him saying to me “You’re a good songwriter – but don’t ever try to sing.” He was probably right!!!
Rest In Peace, Freddie.
Condolences to all.
Ian Hunter
January 13, 2014
Connecticut, USA"
In March 1964, Ian chanced upon Freddie 'Fingers' Lee in a pub. Ian knew of Freddie, having seen him play with Screaming Lord Sutch's backing band, the Savages. Ian asked Freddie to join The Shriekers as pianist and front man, and Ian switched over to bass. The reconstituted Shriekers - Lee, Hunter, Marriott, and Coulter - played the Midlands circuit in 1964 and 1965, and also traveled regularly to Germany to play in Hamburg, Keil, and Duisburg. At some point in 1965, The Shriekers travelled to Regent Sound in London to record The Friendly Undertaker, which was credited to Freddie 'Fingers' Lee as a solo artist.
1964, Freddie Fingers Lee and the Shriekers