Twelve Quid a Night Book Reviews

Twelve Quid a Night by Brian Calvert & Tony Foster Book Summary

It is the 1950’s and rock and roll is spreading over the world, even in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England - an old coal mining town noted for its beautiful cathedral and Wakefield Trinity – its Rugby League football team.
David is a musical genius though he's not fully aware of it. He’s also a social misfit, close to being on the Autism Spectrum. He runs his own rock and roll band doing gigs in pubs and working men's clubs around Yorkshire. What's different about him, and his band - The Dawnbreakers, is that they sound exactly like the original American recordings by Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Coasters, etc. Without any formal musical education, David manages to hear all the different parts played by the world's top artists and bands and reproduce them; teaching the members of the Dawnbreakers.
The band goes from strength to strength, fueled always by David’s relentless drive for musical perfection. He takes on new members – a vocalist Doug and rhythm guitarist Alan. Doug has a much more gregarious nature and wants to be an entertainer. Alan is content to learn at the master’s feet. Tension builds as Doug tries to change the band into more of an entertainment act – resisted by David, still tied to musical perfection
David gets an offer from one of England’s major recording studios to be, in effect, their musical director for new bands that are coming on the scene fast and furious. While they might have a good-looking singer with long hair and a lip-curl, some of them don’t have much musical talent. David’s job is to arrange and provide backings for them and make them sound professional on their recordings. It’s a major move for him and his wife Louise – to the big smoke – to London. Practically unheard of for a young fellow from Wakefield. It’s the start of session musicians. The same is happening in America.
He leaves the Dawnbreakers and starts his new position. He creates fabulous backings for the recordings of a new up-and-coming band called The Bugs who make the big time in the UK. In a period helping them out when their lead guitarist is injured, he goes on tour with them and meets his idol – Chuck Berry, playing with the Bugs as Chuck’s backing band.
The pressures of the job and the touring get to him over time and he starts doing drugs.
He misses the birth of his son while he’s away and, in a depressed state, tries to kill himself. Thankfully he is rescued, and this begins a healing process, aided by his wife Louise.
The formative years of the band members are explored, including life growing up in the 1950’s; teenage life in Yorkshire; feeble attempts at sex; performing in pubs and clubs; the early ‘skiffle’ days; competing in the UK national talent competitions; song writing; meeting Chuck Berry; David’s move to Australia; Doug’s success as a major UK entertainer with his own national TV show and David’s reconciliation with the band members he dumped long ago.

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