Kingsize Taylor
| Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Liverpool, England |
| Genres | Rock and roll |
| Years active | 1958–1964 |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | Cilla Black |
| Website | www |
| Past members |
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Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes were a British rock and roll band, formed in Liverpool in the late 1950s. One of the first beat groups in the Merseyside area, they were a locally popular and influential group who were contemporaries and rivals of The Beatles, and featured Cilla Black as a guest singer before her solo career, but had little commercial success except in Germany.
The Dominoes were originally formed in north Liverpool, in 1957, from a school skiffle group called the Sinners. The original members were Arthur Baker (vocals), George Watson (guitar), Charlie Flynn (guitar), Sam Hardie (piano) and Cliff Roberts (drums). The following year, Ted "Kingsize" Taylor (b. Edward W. Taylor, 12 November 1939, in Crosby, Liverpool, Lancashire) – so called for his 6' 5" height – joined as lead vocalist and guitarist. Over the next two years, Baker, Watson and Flynn all left, and the group was completed by Bobby Thompson (bass and vocals) – with whom Taylor had played in another skiffle group, the James Boys – and John Kennedy (rhythm guitar), with Geoff Bethell often standing in for Hardie on piano. The band played local clubs, and Taylor developed a reputation as one of the best rock and roll singers in the Liverpool area as well as being noted for his vivid chequered jackets.
By summer 1960, the group were being billed as Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes. They first performed at the Cavern Club in January 1961, when they featured 17-year-old singer Cilla White, who was mistakenly renamed Cilla Black later that year by Bill Harry in an article in his magazine Mersey Beat. Soon after that appearance, Kennedy and Roberts left the band to join another group, Ian and the Zodiacs, and were replaced by John Frankland (rhythm guitar) and Dave Lovelady (drums). At the beginning of 1962, the band were placed sixth in a Mersey Beat readers' poll, topped by the Beatles. Cilla Black sang regularly with the group until 1962.
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