Danny Burns and The Phantoms

BIRMINGHAM

Updated November, 2011

Danny Burns (Pete Worral)

lead vocal

Eric Foxall

drums (left in 1964)

Alan Oldaker

lead guitar, vocal

Larry Sheil

bass guitar, vocal

Tom Williams

rhythm guitar, vocal

Barry St John (Barry Smith)

drums (joined in 1964)

Danny Burns and The Phantoms were well known around Birmingham during the early 1960s although relatively little has been written about them until now. They were one of many British groups to perform over in Germany during the first half of the decade. Alan Oldaker who was lead guitarist in the band, and drummer Eric Foxall have provided their story along with the photos and posters shown on this page.

The line-up was originally formed by guitarists Alan Oldaker and Tom Williams in 1960. Eric Foxall was recruited (because he had an electric guitar) but he was soon persuaded to take up the drums instead! According to Eric, he'd met Tom in a guitar shop and went back to his house where Tom's dad gave him an old snare drum and the band started from there.

Larry Sheil was a friend and neighbour of Tom's and took up bass guitar. Pete Worral joined the group as vocalist and soon adopted the stage-name of 'Danny Burns'. At that time, the line-up was known as 'Danny Burns and The Sundowners'. This may have caused some confusion as there was another Birmingham group also called The Sundowners.

The bookings undertaken by Danny Burns and The Phantoms were initially small working men's clubs, weddings and school dances which gave them the chance to improve their playing techniques. American style rock 'n' roll was the order of the day which meant that competent groups like The Phantoms were in high demand. After a short while, the band were approached by Birmingham booking agents Midland Scene Promotions, operated by Bruce Jordan and John Saint with the intention of getting a lot more work.

In early 1963, Danny Burns and The Phantoms were to witness the future of pop music when a group they shared the bill with in Sutton Coldfield called 'The Beatles' brought the house down as they played to a frenzied audience. By this time, Danny Burns and The Phantoms were becoming well established in and around the Midlands as well as other parts of the country. They had by now 'turned professional' and as such were having to accommodate a rather hectic gigging schedule. A surprising event happened to the band as they played a venue in Solihull. Alan Oldaker takes up the story;

"Halfway through the evening, a television crew came in with Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies and asked if we minded being filmed with them dancing, as evidently this was one of their favourite places. This was during the infamous 'Profumo Affair' and we agreed of course. As far as I know, the film was to have been a documentary on Christine Keeler but was never released by the BBC".

During the course of 1963/1964, Danny Burns and The Phantoms had managed to back the well-known West Midlands vocalist Nicky James who had previously fronted Denny Laine and The Diplomats. There was also an occasion when the Phantoms backed local recording artiste Tanya Day. One of the more embarrassing gigs for the young group was when they backed strippers performing at the notorious 'Bermuda Club' in Navigation Street, Birmingham.

In February of 1964, Danny Burns and The Phantoms had their first opportunity to work in Germany and were booked to appear at a festival in Frankfurt and at Storyville for one week. Unfortunately, Alan Oldaker was unable to go on this trip as he was under the age of 18 at the time despite a trip to the High Court in London to seek special permission. To avoid cancelling the booking, the band had to find a substitute guitarist (Alan Watson) for their first week abroad whilst Alan remained in the U.K.

By now, Danny Burns and The Phantoms were working in the bigger clubs and ballrooms in and around Birmingham including the famous 'Plaza' circuit and the Cedar Club. Around this time, Eric Foxall left and was replaced by drummer Barry St. John. The group was also asked to audition at a club in Doncaster for a two month gig in Germany. They were successful and in June 1964 left the U.K. for Hamburg. The Hamburg arrangement was that the band would play at the 'Hit Club' on Grossefreiheit, seven days a week for a month with no days off! The second month was a little easier and it saw the band tour Westphalia and actually had the odd day off.

For reasons unknown (although the arduous work load may have been a factor), The Phantoms line-up split after the group returned from Germany. This was a big problem for Danny Burns whose booking agent Doug Thompson (former guitarist of The Rockin' Berries) had already arranged for him to return to Germany. Danny immediately assembled an all-new backing group called 'The Burnettes' who were made up of former Astonaires bass guitarist Graham Franklin, guitarist Bill Hunter from The Everglades, and drummer John Lee.

Danny Burns also took on a young and talented guitarist from Aston named Trevor Burton (also from The Everglades). Unfortunately, it turned out that Trevor was only 15 at the time and thus too young to legally play in the German clubs. Luckily for Trevor, his big break soon came when he was then snapped up by well-known local vocalist Danny King to become a part of 'The Jesters' line-up. This band became 'The Mayfair Set' from which Trevor later left to become a founding member of the hit group The Move.

'Danny Burns and The Burnettes' travelled to Dortmund in Germany for Christmas 1964 but following that, it's unknown what became of them. As for the rest of The Phantoms, if anyone has information concerning what they did after the group disbanded, please drop me a line!

Thanks to Alan Oldaker for assistance in preparing this biography of Danny Burns and The Phantoms as well as sending photos and memorabilia. Thanks also to Eric Foxall for sending information and photos.

If you would like to contribute to this page, please e-mail john@brumbeat.net

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