Brian Casser
| Brian Casser | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Brian Casser |
| Also known as | Cass Casey Jones Casey Valence |
| Born |
21 March 1936 Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England |
| Genres | Beat music, rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1959–1970s Intermittently later |
| Associated acts | Cass & the Cassanovas Casey Jones & the Engineers Casey Jones & the Governors The Big Three |
Brian Casser (born 21 March 1936, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England) is a British singer and guitarist. He led the first notable beat group in Liverpool, Cass & the Cassanovas, who were early rivals of The Beatles in the city. He later led another group, Casey Jones & the Engineers, which was one of Eric Clapton's first bands, and then, as leader of Casey Jones & the Governors, became successful in Germany in the mid-1960s.
Casser lived in Liverpool in the late 1950s, having previously worked in the Merchant Navy. As singer and rhythm guitarist, he formed a trio, Cass & the Cassanovas, in May 1959, with singer and guitarist Adrian Barber (born 13 November 1938, Ilkley, Yorkshire), and drummer and singer Brian J. Hudson (born Brian James Hudson, 21 April 1938, Cleveland, Yorkshire). After a few months, Hudson left and was replaced by Johnny Hutchinson (born 18 July 1940, Malta), known as Johnny Hutch. In need of a bass guitarist, Hutchinson then brought in Johnny Gustafson (born 8 August 1942, Liverpool) in December 1959. At that time Gustafson did not have a proper bass guitar so Barber converted an acoustic for him. The group became popular playing a wide range of music, from Latin American music to rock and roll, in dance halls in the Liverpool area. Casser also started his own music club in Liverpool, the Casanova Club, whose guest groups included one known at the time as the "Silver Beetles"; according to some reports, Casser had suggested that they change their name from the earlier spelling of "Beatals" which Casser found "ridiculous". In May 1960 Cass & the Cassanovas took part in auditions in front of leading manager Larry Parnes who was looking for backing bands for his stable of pop singers. The group secured a place as backing group for singer Duffy Power and toured with him. By this time, Casser had begun using the stage names of "Casey Jones" and "Casey Valence".
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