The Tornadoes were a legendary British instrumental rock formed in 1961 in London, England which was initially musically active up until 1967. They briefly reunited in 1975 as well. Their music was a mixture of instrumental rock, space age pop, surf rock, and beat, and they are best remembered for their catchy, enchanting, and magical US no. 1 hit single Telstar (inspired by the artificial satellite of the same name). Telstar was a big musical achievement for the band as well as for the British instrumental rock music in general. Furthermore, it was the first US no. 1 hit single by a British musical act (which makes it even more legendary in the passage of time).
The Tornadoes, a great British instrumental rock band best remembered for their 1962 hit Telstar. Image source: www.youtube.com
The band collaborated with record producer Joe Meek (for whom they actually formed as a backing band). They also worked with English singer Billy Furry. They had a series of songs which charted quite well both in the United Kingdom as well as in the United States. The hit single Telstar was also accompanied by an early music video, namely a short scopitone film. The scopitone is a jukebox that has a 16mm film component.
For a certain period of time, this band was perceived as serious rivals to the legendary Shadows, another great British instrumental rock band. During the 1960s, the Tornadoes three studio albums. Other studio albums by the band were subsequently issued as well, namely two studio albums during the 1970s, four during the 1990s, and the last one in 2007.
Below you can listen to Telstar, a great timeless instrumental rock song via YouTube. Thank you very much for your time, attention, and readership! All the best and rock on!
- The band’s official website, about page on www.thetornados.net
- The band’s Wikipedia page on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- Scopitone on www.wikipedia.org (in English)