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We Love that Old Time Rock & Roll

A conversation with new Sandcastle owner Vic Clark is like taking a tour through rock n’ roll history. The one-time drummer from Birmingham – the other one was from Liverpool – has backed up or played shows with many of rock’s giants. Start with Carl Perkins, the man who wrote and first recorded Blue Suede Shoes. Then add names like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. And yes, the greatest rock n’ roll band in the world, the Rolling Stones.

“In those days there were bands on every corner,” Vic says recalling his start. “I played with a couple of local groups, playing pubs and movie theaters before moving along to a band, the Shouts, that did lots of radio recording.”
The group became the backup band for Gene Vincent, the man who cut the classic Be Bop A Lula, and for the next five years toured with him all over Europe.

“We went everywhere: France, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland. But it was hard work and it took it toll. One night after a show with Carl Perkins I was sent to hospital. That’s when I decided to give up touring.”

But not the business. The Shouts got back together and managed by Don Arden, Sharon Osborne’s father and later Ozzie’s manager, formed a recording company and released the hit She Was My Baby.

“We were sponsored by Radio Caroline, a boat that broadcast rock n’ roll from offshore in England because the BBC was the only outlet for music back then and they didn’t play our kind of music. Everybody listened to Radio Caroline until the government managed to shut it down. They made a movie about it called Pirate Radio with Phillip Seymour Hoffman. When them gone, I decided it was time to move on.”

While he still played occasionally for fun and gave private drumming lessons, Vic put the same incredible energy he had put into playing his drums into an apprenticeship in engineering. Then in 1977 he followed his Mum, Dad and sister to Canada.

But you can never quite take the rocker out of rock n’ roll. Soon after arriving in Canada, Vic was asked to audition for Alice Cooper and got an offer to go back out on tour. He thought about it, but family won out and Vic hung up his sticks, settled in Ontario, met his wife Kimberly and worked as an engineer and then as a computer programmer before retiring about seven years ago.

Soon Vic was back on the road again, touring the states. However, this time it was with Kimberly and they toured in a motor home, not a bus. After six years on the road, the couple discovered Tropical Palms in 2010. They liked it so much they spent the winter here, decided to buy a Sandcastle vacation cottage and sold their RV on Craig’s list. This coming year they’re hoping to be at the Resort from October through April.

The couple likes hanging out at the pool, enjoying the entertainment – as opposed to being the entertainment – walking over to Old Town for the antique car shows, and going to the Universal and Disney. And now that they have the Sandcastle, they hope for visits from their 4 children and 6 grandchildren.

When Chuck Berry sang “Just give me that rock n’ roll music, any ole way you choose it, it got a back beat you can’t lose it” it might have been singing about the backbeat Vic pounded out on his drums. We sure know Vic hasn’t lost it.

 

This entry was posted on Friday, September 2nd, 2011 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Sunburst. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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