Daniel Joseph Anthony Meehan was a founder member of the British group the Drifters with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, which evolved into the Shadows.
16 Facts About Tony Meehan
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Tony Meehan played drums on early Cliff Richard and the Shadows hits and on early Shadows' instrumentals.
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Tony Meehan was professionally nicknamed "The Baron" by his many admirers and friends within the British pop-rock music industry.
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Tony Meehan is reckoned to have influenced many thousands of teenage boys and adolescents to take up music as a career, including Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, as a result of his iconic film performance in Cliff Richard's film The Young Ones.
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Tony Meehan was born to Irish Catholic parents at New End Hospital, New End, Hampstead, north London, England.
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Tony Meehan was 10 when he became interested in playing drums.
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Tony Meehan gradually established himself as a musician in the cabaret circuit, at the Churchill's Club in Bond Street, the Stork Club and other venues.
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Tony Meehan spent the next three years with the group, which soon became The Shadows.
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Tony Meehan teamed again with Harris and as a duo had success with the instrumental "Diamonds" which included Jimmy Page on acoustic rhythm guitar.
10.
The Beatles later found out that their manager Brian Epstein had paid Tony Meehan to produce the recordings made that day in order for the Beatles to retain ownership of the tapes.
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On 7 February 1962, Epstein met Tony Meehan, who made condescending comments about the Beatles' audition.
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Tony Meehan briefly played with the Shadows some years later when Brian Bennett was in hospital.
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Tony Meehan worked in London at a local college lecturing in psychology until his death.
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Tony Meehan was a regular churchgoer at his local Roman Catholic church in Maida Vale.
15.
On 29 November 2005, BBC News quoted Bruce Welch as saying that Tony Meehan had died the previous day, as a result of head injuries, following a fall down the main staircase at his London flat in Maida Vale.
16.
At his death, Tony Meehan had been twice married and had seven children, including pop singer Siobhan de Mare.