The Twilights - Bad Boy (1966)

(Larry Williams)
Australia
#4 Melbourne #3 Adelaide #42 Perth

Single on Columbia June 1966.

Beatles-influenced Adelaide band The Twilights had several hits around the country 1966-68, from a repertoire that included band originals (If She Finds Out, Young Girl, Cathy Come Home) as well as cover versions (Larry Williams’s Bad Boy, The Velvelettes’ Needle In A Haystack).

Popular in Adelaide from 1964, The Twilights expanded their national audience when they relocated to Melbourne in 1965. As part of their prize in winning the national Hoadley’s Battle of the Sounds in July 1966, The Twilights were produced by Beatles engineer Norman “Hurricane” Smith at Abbey Road: see What’s Wrong With The Way I Live.

Twilights vocalist Glenn Shorrock and guitarist Terry Britten have followed long and diverse careers: Shorrock was famously with Axiom and Little River Band, and Britten’s compositions have been widely recorded, including We Don’t Need Another Hero and What’s Love Got To Do With It? by Tina Turner (both co-wr. Graham Lyle from Gallagher & Lyle).

Milesago’s Twilights page has post-Twilights news of drummer Laurie Pryor and rhythm guitarist Peter Brideoake but loses the trail of vocalist Paddy McCartney and original drummer John Bywaters.

References, further reading: 1. Milesago’s detailed Twilights history adds a 1982 memoir by Twilights singer Glenn Shorrock and a personal appreciation by Paul Culnane. 2. Ian McFarlane, The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop (1999), pp. 652-654.

Thanks to Terry Stacey for suggestion.

Rick And The Bad Boys - Bad Boy (1966)

(Larry Williams)
Australia

Single on Downunder June 1966.

The label’s writer credit to Marty Wilde is a mix-up: see Marty Wilde’s Bad Boy, a different song, below. This record is definitely the Larry Williams song.

Sydney band active 1965-66. Vocalist Rick Suey and guitarist Kim Humphreys were later in Hot Cottage 1968-73 (Spencer et al, Who’s Who of Australian Rock.)

Produced by Nat Kipner. For more about Nat see Rosalyn by Steve [Kipner] & The Board).

The Beatles - Bad Boy (1965)

(Larry Williams)
UK

On the albums Beatles VI (USA 1965) and A Collection of the Beatles Oldies (But Goldies) (UK 1966).

The Beatles recorded two other Larry Williams songs: Dizzy Miss Lizzy (1965, on Help! and Beatles VI) and Slow Down (1964, US single and UK EP Long Tall Sally).

Further reading: Follow the links above to discographical details at Dmitry Murashev’s excellent DM’s Beatles Site.

Larry Williams - Bad Boy (1958)

(Larry Williams)
USA
Original version

New Orleans rock’n’roll singer-songwriter and pianist Larry Williams (1935-1980) had two hits on Specialty, Short Fat Fannie (1957, #5 USA, #21 UK) and Bony Moronie (1957, #10 USA, #11 UK), but several of his compositions were recorded by other artists, including fellow Specialty rocker Little Richard.

Williams’s danceable records were in a similar vein to Little Richard and other New Orleans contemporaries, with jumping sax, thumping piano and raw vocals. His songs were especially popular with musicians of the British beat era: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals and John Lennon, for example, recorded versions of Larry Williams songs.

Marty Wilde - Bad Boy (1959)

(Marty Wilde)
UK
Red herring
#7 UK #45 USA #21 Melbourne #12 Adelaide

Same title but not the same song as ‘Bad Boy’ (wr. Larry Williams) by The Twilights.

This melodic British pop song with leisurely guitar-strumming sounds more like Cliff & The Shadows than anything in Larry Williams’s territory.

Further reading: Arnold Rypens lists other versions of this song at The Originals.

The Jive Bombers Featuring Clarence Palmer - Bad Boy (1957)

(Lil Armstrong - Avon Long)
Red herring
#36 USA

Same title but not the same song as ‘Bad Boy’ (wr. Larry Williams) by The Twilights.

Song co-written and first recorded as Brown Gal (1936) by Lilian Armstrong, second wife of jazz trumpeting legend Louis Armstrong.

Further reading: Song history at The Originals.

Glen Mooney & The Beaumen - Bad Boy

(Marty Wilde)
Australia
Red herring

1965/66

Same title but not the same song as ‘Bad Boy’ by The Twilights.

Band from Toowoomba, Queensland, on local label JBs, with a version of Marty Wilde’s song entitled Bad Boy.

The B-side shows that the disc was printed with The Barmen, but a sticker on the A-side changes that to Beaumen.

Reference: Andrew Ainsworth’s post on the Beaumen, with label shot, at Antipodean Beat (now offline).