Fritz Fryer

Sep 13 2007 by David Charters, Liverpool Daily Post

ABOUT 43 years ago, every girl christened Juliet could expect the classroom Romeo to lean over her desk and sing in plaintive style, “There was a love I knew before, she broke my heart, left me unsure – Jooooleeee-eh-eh-et”.

The boys responsible for this were called the Four Pennies, a group which never quite did for Blackburn what The Beatles did for Liverpool, but will be remembered for their superb harmonies and snazzy stage presence.

Like so many young men of their era, Lionel Morton (vocals and rhythm guitar), David “Fritz” Fryer (lead guitar), Mike Wilsh (bass) and Alan Buck (drums), loved folk/blues and rock and roll.

Naming themselves after a music shop in Penny Street, in Blackburn, they toured Lancashire, appearing with The Beatles at The Cavern.

Fortunes changed in 1963 when their prize for winning a talent contest in Blackpool was a recording contract with Philips.

Fryer was a large and jovial figure. His mother was a leading light in the Salvation Army and his father a church organist.

Their first single, Do You Want Me To, tickled the Top 50, attracting the attention of the music press.

Success came with Juliet, a truly memorable song. Wilsh had composed a haunting melody, which needed words. So he joined Morton at Fryer’s house to work on the lyrics. Fryer’s two-year-old niece, Juliet, was also there.

Competition in the British charts would never be so tough again. The Beatles, Stones, Who and Kinks were all at their zenith. But Juliet toppled the Searchers’ Don’t Throw Your Love Away to claim the top spot.

Fine harmonies led by Morton featured in the subsequent hits – I Found Out the Hard Way, Black Girl (a raunchy Leadbelly song), Until It’s Time for You To Go, and Trouble is My Middle Name.

Although they would have been an ideal cabaret act, the group split in 1967, giving their final concert in Turkey, where they had a number one hit with Cats.

Fryer was in Fritz, Mike and Mo, before becoming a record producer in Monmouth, whose output included Prelude’s After the Goldrush (1974). He also worked with Motorhead.

With his partner of 30 years, Joan Graham, he had also run an antique shop in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

They moved to Lisbon, Portugal, but Fryer had cancer,

Fritz Fryer, of the Four Pennies; born December 16, 1944, died September 2, 2007.