Larry Page RIP - the Teenage Rage

A couple more music deaths to catch up on. Larry Page, who has died aged 86, was promoted as the 'Teenage Rage' when his career was launched in the late fifties. He received his moniker from a Sunday newspaper journalist and his bespectacled look set him apart from other pop contenders. He made appearances on TV shows such as 'Six Five Special' and 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' and he toured with Cliff Richard. But records such as 'Under Control' showed that he didn't have a great voice. He realised this and made his mark as a manager, record producer and record label owner in the sixties. Indeed his management career rivals that of sixties legends such as Brian Epstein and Andrew Loog Oldham. He was involved with early sixties artists such as Johnny B Great and girl group the Orchids along with the Riot Squad, but in 1963 he became one of three managers of the Ravens, who became the Kinks. They of course enjoyed great success but not always a harmonious relationship with Page. The partnership broke up acrimoniously and Page eventually lost a court battle for a 10 per cent share of their earnings. But by this time he had found a new group, Andover-based the Troggs. Their recording of Chip Taylor's 'Wild Thing' was a smash hit and led to a string of successes over the following few years. Page set up his own label, Page One, in partnership with music publisher Dick James, and released a variety of records ranging from US soul such as Pic and Bill, West African Highlife and material by the Larry Page Orchestra. His relationship with the Troggs eventually resulted in another court case and Page One closed down, but, undeterred, Page went on to found Penny Farthing records. This had initial success with 'Venus' by Shocking Blue but despite an early release by Heatwave the label steered towards middle of the road records by artists such as Daniel Boone and Johnny Pearson and included items such as the Chelsea club song 'Blue Is The Colour'. He went on to launch yet another label, Rampage, before reviving his original Page One name in the eigthies. RIP The Teenage Rage.

Another recent death is that of keyboard player Mike Pinder, aged 82, who was the last surviving original member of the Moody Blues. He performed on all the seven Moody Blues albums up to 1974 and was one of the first musicians to play the mellotron. He released a solo album 'The Promise' in 1976.