2. Little RichardTutti Frutti
Grenada TV was very forward [thinking] in getting these rock & roll acts on. They’ve always been good at doing music programmes. They had Little Richard in the studio playing. I don’t think he did many things over here but he was on there. To see him stand by the piano, sweating under the sheen of the white lights [playing ‘Tutti Frutti’] in black and white was amazing. I was a kid and I was like, ‘who is this guy?’ He’s like a wild animal with this great rock & roll attitude.
He did so many great songs. Very up-tempo, very energetic, very animalistic, very stylish, and when you think about it, it’s very punk in a way. In terms of the energy and the excitement. You’ve just got to watch Little Richard slam and bang that piano and it just takes you away. It’s pure magic. You can see why he influenced all those 60s bands.
