Carlo Little

Born 17 December 1938, Wembley, Middlesex, England. Died 6 August 2005, Cleadon, Tyne and Wear, England. Little was listening to Frankie Laine, Ted Heath and Chris Barber when he got his first set of drums after leaving school. Then he discovered Lonnie Donegan and 'Skiffle' - a sound that was sweeping Britain and one which was easy to imitate. Little was hooked. He joined a teenage group called Derek Addison's Rhythm Katz, doing church hall & wedding events. Then Rock n' Roll arrived and just as Little was coming to grips with it he was called up for National Service in 1958. Not all was lost as he became a drummer in the Royal Fusiliers and was demobbed February 6th, 1960. Looking up old friends in the Cannibal Pot coffee bar in Sudbury's Harrow Road Little was introduced to David Sutch. They got on well and decided to form a rhythm & blues group. They met 16 year-old guitarist Bernie Watson, who introduced them to 15 year-old bass guitarist Ricky Brown (aka Fenson) who, in turn, introduced them to 16 year-old Nicky Hopkins. They met up for a first practice in the rear hall of the Sudbury Swan pub, where it was decided that the excentric and long-haired Sutch would be their singer. Thus, Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages was born. Three months later the new group had perfected enough songs for an act. Much history follows, as the first drummer of the Stones, auditioning Ritchie Blackmore, mentoring Keith Moon, joining Cyril Davies' band, to finally having his own band the Carlo Little All Stars in 2001.