HEINZ BURT - TORNADOS

Another local Southampton lad who made the big time as a member of the world famous Tornados, whose amazing instrumental hit "Telstar" sold in the millions all over the world. An amazing life of ups and downs with a very sad ending as you read my condensed version of his career and then be linked to more webpages on Heinz

Eastleigh's very own pop star who first came to prominence back in the early Sixties as bass player with one of the U.K.s most successful instrumental groups - The Tornados. Their biggest hit was 'Telstar' and was produced by legendary record producer Joe Meek at his home grown studio on the Holloway Road in North London above a shop! Joe was a very complex man with many demons that got him into a lot of trouble in those days and you can find loads of information on this eccentric genius all over the internet. His revolutionary use of acoustics and echo can be heard on many big hits of the time and the various groups were split up into different areas and even different rooms or on the staircase as Joe went about his way. This clipping below shows Joe and the Tornados hard at work, as well as offering an insight into this great band and its unusual sounds.

Heinz grew up in Eastleigh, after his family moved from Germany and he played with a few local groups such as 'The Stormers' and 'The Falcons' who auditioned for Joe Meek, who really took a very 'personal' interest in this good looking lad...... Heinz moved in with Joe who persuaded him to try a peroxide blonde look that was quite OTT in those years but the image certainly helped. Heinz was then placed with the Tornados and enjoyed a fantastic year which saw 'Telstar' reach the no 1 spot in the American charts - a first for any UK act and this paved the way for the next wave of British pop groups over the next few years.

Heinz then decided to pursue a solo career in 1963 with his own hit single of 'Just Like Eddie' a tribute to Eddie Cochran who had been killed in a car crash in Chippenham Wiltshire in 1960. This record got to no 5 in the charts but later discs flopped and Heinz just faded back into obscurity living back in Eastleigh, eventually working at the nearby Ford factory.

His solo live shows were not a great success, especially on a tour with rock n roll legends Gene Vincent and Jerry Lee Lewis in which he had a tough time from the mostly male audiences, some of whom threw baked beans at poor old Heinz (obvious ammunition of course) In 1967, Joe Meek blasted his landlady to death (with a shotgun belonging to Heinz!) before turning it on himself and ending an amazing story that I believe is the subject of a film out in 2008 - a must see for anyone interested in that era.

Heinz carried on with a few live shows and various bands, culminating in a very successful show on the 1972 Wembley Show of Rock and Roll Legends alongside Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and co. His alcohol problems added to failing health and Heinz performed his final set at the Banister Ballroom (Hulse Road Social Club) in March 2000. Confined to a wheelchair, through motor neurone disease, he bravely managed a few great classic songs and it was a very moving night for all his family and friends who knew that the end was near. Aged 57, he died of a stroke just a few weeks after this show and around 150 people attended his funeral at Eastleigh Crematorium on 15th April. Heinz was dressed in his stage clothes for the final time, with Telstar was playing on the loudspeakers in the chapel as everybody said goodbye to one of Southampton's biggest stars. More information can be found on the web, including this article on Billy Fury

This rare photo was taken at Heinz's house in Eastleigh, where his showbiz pals came round for a cup of tea, when appearing on a big touring show in nearby Southampton. I'm not sure if any of the neighbours knew who were just a few doors away from their homes! The house would have been besieged! I can recall some of the names and perhaps any of my colleagues can fill any gaps unless I do some more searching and surfing!

Back Row L-R Karl Denver (of KD Trio) ?(KD Trio?) Heinz George Bellamy ?(T) Clem Cattini (T)

I hope you have enjoyed my little tribute to a much missed Southampton musician who is well remembered by quite a few of the very same people who feature in my other webpages. If you have any more input, then please get in touch and I gather that Heinz is still a 'collectable' artiste with a company called Rollercoaster Records who sell many rare and wonderful rock n roll records. The are based in Stroud Gloucestershire and I had this promotional card sent to me by Johnny Dymond which features an early photo of Heinz but I'm not sure if Rollercoaster Records go back that far? Maybe the new company has just used the old image on their current files etc. Just click on the photo - then come back!

2008 sees the long awaited release of the movie 'Telstar' which portrays the legendary Joe Meek, so a must for any fans of that era.

Also, I recently discovered a very informative website dedicated to his memory with a lot of info, images plus links to other sites. It is the Joe Meek Appreciation Society and can be found at:

You may also wish to read about the amazing Reg Calvert whose early Southampton background can be seen at:

Reg was tragically murdered in 1966 during his new business venture in the murky dealings of Pirate Radio, following several years of managing and promoting pop groups and singers on the South Coast.

*STOP PRESS* Within hours of this new page going 'live' I had this great mail from Pete Broyd who is well featured across my website memories and this is his mail which offers a personal insight. He pointed out a slight error on names and this has now been corrected (Clem Cattini)

This is what's so great about my website which grows day by day and I will make every effort to update and load new pages as even more info/pics come trickling in.

The description of the last picture has one mistake - Clem Cattini is stood behind Billy Fury.

We got to know Clem, Allan and Brian Gregg very well in the late 50's as they appeared as the Pirates (with Johnny Kidd), Terry Dene's backing group, and in fact the backing for all of the Larry Parnes singers when they toured. At one time they featured a young Georgie Fame on piano. They came to the Gaumont as Tommy Steeles Steelemen.

(Georgie Fame was originally called 'Lance Fortune' by Larry and when he left for a solo career and changed his name to GF, Larry didn't want to waste the Lance Fortune name so he gave it to another singer who went on to have a hit with 'Be Mine')

The reason that we got to known them so well was the fact that they also came down as Rory Blackwell's Blackjacks, which confused the locals somewhat, especially when we were supporting them.

Unfortunately Allan Caddy died in 2000 aged 60 but I was very pleased to see that Clem and Brian are still around and involved in the music business.

Of all the musicians that we worked with we rated Brian and Clem as two of the nicest guys in the business - and with Al Caddy they were responsible for the two timeless riffs in 'Shakin' all over' and 'Please don't touch' with Johnny Kidd.

Heinz was younger than our group and tended to hang around trying to get a chance to join in - much as Rod Stewart did 10 years later. I remember that he was dominated by his girlfriend, a skinny girl with mousy hair and National Health glasses. I wonder what happened to her?

I last met Heinz in a club in Eastleigh about two years before he died. He had trouble with conversation but we swapped stories of the 'Pier Days' and had a few laughs.

His last words as I left were 'Keep Rockin' man' - something that he seemed to do right up to the end.

Thanks for the memory jerker David.

PeteB