Quite simply the biggest character on the British rhythm
and blues scene since the early 1960s, Zoot Money was
born George Bruno Money on 17 July 1942 in Bournemouth,
Dorset, England. Part of a large and noisy family, both
his parents were Italian immigrants, although his father's
family (really called Money) were originally English.
At school Zoot played the French horn and sang in the
choir, but it wasn't long before he heard the call from
the pied pipers of rock and roll (aka Jerry Lee Lewis
and Ray Charles - what a combination!) and found himself
transformed into a leading light on Bournemouth's vibrant
music scene.
In 1961 Zoot formed the first incarnation of the Big
Roll band; over the next two years the line-up settled
into Andy Summers (guitar), Nick Newall (saxophone)and
Colin Allen (drums), with Zoot on piano and Hammond
organ. This dramatis personae continued for a few years
with various interruptions. The first was when Zoot,
spotted by "British Blues Godfather" Alexis
Korner's then manager, was invited to play with Korner's
seminal Blues Incorporated for a temporary spell. Zoot
decided to stay in London, and the other Big Rollers
soon joined him.
Before long The Big Roll Band, alongside
those other luminaries of the Soho blues scene of the
time, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames and The Animals,
had become permanent fixtures at the Flamingo Club in
Wardour Street. Zoot's shows were famed far and wide for
his combination of outrageous antics (including "shocking"
trouser activity that predated PJ Proby by several years),
tight musicianship and passionate vocal delivery. At that
time, to be seen - let alone to play - at the Flamingo
was just about as achingly hip as it got. Two new members,
Paul Williams (bass/vocals) and Clive Burrows (saxophone),
were added to the line-up, and things really began to
take off.
