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Heinz Burt |
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Heinz playing the crowds at a Joe Meek Appreciation Society gig on February 3rd 1992 |
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From session bassist with The Tornados of "Telstar" fame through "Dreams Do Come True", his first solo 45 in 1963, to "Movin' In", his last RGM side in 1966, Heinz was one of legendary Brit producer Joe Meek's most popular solo artists. In his early career, he was accused of being short on talent but Heinz learned his craft fast and well. Many people who saw him in the mid- 60's say his stage act blew everyone else away. His first - and biggest - hit was the Decca- released "Tribute To Eddie", a homage to recently-deceased rocker - and one of Heinz' heroes - Eddie Cochran. |
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Heinz at home in 1996 with former Wildboys pal and bassist Brian Woods |
By 1964, his band's line-up included Ritchie Blackmore, and live recordings from that date prove that Heinz & The Wildboys were one of the most innovative and aggressive acts on the scene. |
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His later recordings for Joe Meek were among the finest that Meek ever produced. |
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Heinz on "Ready Steady Go" with Wildboys Dave Adams and Brian Woods and presenter Cathie McGowan in 1964 (oh and Tom Jones as well, by the way...) |
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Heinz continued to perform long after Meek's untimely death in 1967, including an appearance at the 1972 Wembley Rock & Roll extravaganza (along with Little Richard, Bill Haley, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis). He also continued his occasional acting career, including plays for the BBC. |
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In recent years, Heinz continued his live appearances but ill-health due to muscular dystrophy increasingly slowed him down. One of his last appearances as performer was in February 1999 at a Joe Meek Appreciation Society gig, ironically also one of the last public appearances of fellow former RGM artist Screaming Lord Sutch, who died in June 1999. Although he had been very ill since around 1990, Heinz had a way of bouncing back when everybody least expected it, and only recently had got himself into a little trouble with his local township for playing his music CD's too loud! |
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Heinz also appeared in a number of movies in the 1960's - as a member of The Tornados in "Just For Fun", the male lead in "Farewell Performance" and featured heavily in 1963's "Live It Up", in which he also performed the title number. |
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Perhaps it would be most appropriate to leave the last word to Joe Meek, who said this in the sleeve notes about Heinz on the 1963 LP "A Tribute to Eddie": "Working with Heinz is like adding... a cherry to the top of a fruit salad. With his vital and exciting personality, his exceedingly smart appearance, his healthy clean looks, he brings a refreshing enthusiasm and jubilance to the studio and the recordings. From the first day he started working with me, I realised that here was an idealist, a young man brimming with ideas, and exciting ones at that. Often out of these came very solid realisms. This desire to entertain has shone through on the whole of his career and has put him well up in the popularity charts of this country. He is never happier than when he is appearing on stage and here every ounce of his energy and showmanship is projected over the footlights and absorbed by the audience. He is constantly changing and bettering his act so that it always will be new and appealing. Every one of his records have had that "something extra" that makes them easily recognisable as a Heinz sound... Heinz giving his all to every individual performance." |
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Heinz will be much missed among friends and fans alike. |
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