Ritchie Blackmore accepted the invitation to replace Watson but had to fulfill his commitments as guitarist with Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers and recommended Dave Wendells from The Crescents depped for a couple of weeks.
Incidentally Wendells would replaced Watson in The Rebel Rousers, 7 months later.
Ritchie Blackmore became the new guitarist of the band for 7 months. It was a very formative stint according to him: he learnt to act like an imbecile. At that time, The Savages they just were dressed in animal skin on stage so Blackmore out because he used to hide behind his amps and in the wings...
During May 1962, the Savages became just a three piece when Nicky Hopkins’ replacement Andy Wren was asked by future Rolling Stones Brian Jones to join the band he built up, standing in for Ian Stewart, stuck in Scotland, and rehearsing in a pub called The White Bear, London. He then took up the role of vocalist and reludanctly returned to the fold a few weeks later. A Mick Jagger from Dartford, Kent, took over from him.
On June 25, 1962 at Wembley Town Hall Sutch and his band were supported by Paul Dean & the Dreamers, a local outfit fronted by future acting star and Savage Paul Nicholas. That night, it was so crowded that many of the girls stood on the bench seats around the hall perimeters to see the band properly and promptly punctured the leather with their stiletto heels, causing a mile furore that made the local papers...
After the gig a young Keith Moon, who was drummer in a local band called Lee Stuart & the Escorts, approached Carlo Little to ask him for drum lessons. Moon would take lessons from Little for a few months before practicing on his own and joining a surf band called The Beachcombers. He would even stood in for Little in the Savages - just for odd gigs - the following Summer, and later became the mad drummer of the Who from 1964 to 1978.
In late 1962, Carlo Little and Rick Brown deputised for the Rolling Stones on several occasions - e.g. at London Piccadilly and Flamingo Jazz Clubs, or at Richmond Sandover Hall - and it was Little who recommended them drummer Charlie Watts. They eventually re-united with Watson and Hopkins again to become the core of Cyril Davis & His R&B All Stars in November 1962. Nicky Hopkins was to become a prolific session man, recording with the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Beatles and many more.
Like the previous year, Joe Meek heard about the rows within the band and offered the guitar player a job with the Outlaws who were at this time more well known than the Savages. And Ritchie Blackmore stepped into the shoes of his old mate Rodger Mingay once again.
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