Rory Storm (born Alan Ernest Caldwell;[1] 7 January 1938 – 28 September 1972) was an English musician and vocalist.

The Hurricanes were one of the most popular acts on the Liverpool and Hamburg club scenes during their existence, although their attempt at a recording career was not successful.

Their second and final single was a version of the West Side Story song "America", and was produced by the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein.

His father was a window cleaner by profession, and a part-time porter at the Broadgreen Hospital, often singing songs to patients.

[6][9] Because of Storm's stammer, his friends never allowed him to tell a joke or to order a round of drinks, as it could take a long time.

[10] Still known as Alan Caldwell, Storm opened the Morgue Skiffle Club in the cellar of a large Victorian house, "Balgownie", at 25 Oakhill Park, Broadgreen, on 13 March 1958.

[11] It was in the Morgue Skiffle Club that George Harrison auditioned for the Quarrymen, playing "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" by Bert Weedon before being admitted as a member of the band.

[8][10] Paul McCartney has stated that George Harrison auditioned for John Lennon on the top of a bus by playing "Raunchy".

Storm and the Hurricanes entered "Search for Stars", a competition managed by Carrol Levis, at the Liverpool Empire Theatre on 11 October 1959, reaching second place ahead of 150 acts.

[13] Larry Parnes became interested in the Hurricanes, and invited them to audition at the Wyvern Club as a backing group for Billy Fury.

[13] In July 1960, the group secured a residency at Butlins holiday camp in Pwllheli (playing in the Rock 'n' Calypso Ballroom) for £25 each per week (equivalent to £700 in 2025).

[19][20] After the summer season ended in early October 1960, Storm and the Hurricanes were free to travel to Hamburg, replacing Derry and the Seniors at the Kaiserkeller.

[23] After punishing the stage for days, a slight crack appeared, and when Storm jumped off the top of the upright piano, during a performance of "Blue Suede Shoes", it finally broke.

[24] During their eight-week residency, Williams arranged a recording session at the Akoustik Studio, which was a small booth on the fifth floor of 57 Kirchenallee (the Klockmann-House) on Saturday, 18 October 1960.

[20] Williams asked John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Harrison from the Beatles to play and sing harmonies for Walters (of the Hurricanes) on the recording.

Sam Leach (a Liverpool promoter) arranged a series of dance nights at the Palais Ballroom in Aldershot, starting on 9 December 1961.

[26] During a Hurricanes' residency at Butlins, Lennon and McCartney drove from Liverpool to Pwllheli North Wales on 15 August 1962 to ask Starr to join the Beatles.

[17] According to Epstein in his autobiography, Storm was "One of the liveliest and most likeable young men on the scene ... was very annoyed when Ringo left, and he complained to me.

[28] The Hurricanes then became known for having a succession of drummers, including Gibson Kemp, Brian Johnson, Keef Hartley (August 1963), Ian Broad and Trevor Morais, who all stayed with the group for a short period before leaving.

[6] A young man was once caught by a porter at Bootle railway station writing "I love Rory" over the walls, and when questioned, it turned out to be Storm himself.

[7] In January 1964, during a performance at the Majestic Ballroom, Birkenhead, he climbed up one of the columns supporting the balcony but slipped and fell 30 feet (9 m) to the floor below, fracturing his leg.

[7][34] Storm was often photographed for the magazine, such as being surrounded by nurses when he left the hospital after breaking a leg during a performance, or playing for the Mersey Beat XI football team.

[7] The group's typical 40-minute set list during 1963/1964: Other songs included in the set were: The Hurricanes recorded songs for Oriole's two This is Mersey Beat albums but released only two singles: "Dr Feelgood"/"I Can Tell", Oriole (45-CB 1858 12/63) and "America"/"Since You Broke My Heart", Parlophone (R 5197 11/64), which was produced by Epstein at IBC Studios in London.

[39] In 1967, Storm's guitarist, Ty O'Brien, collapsed in his home and was taken to a hospital where he would die from complications after an appendicitis operation at the age of 26.

[40][41] Storm disbanded the Hurricanes and became a disc jockey, working at the Silver Blades Ice Rink in Liverpool, in Benidorm, Spain (he was also a water-skiing instructor there), and in Jersey and Amsterdam.

The postmortem revealed that Storm had alcohol and sleeping pills in his blood (as had his mother), but not enough to cause his death, which was ruled accidental.

In September 2012, it was reported that a reel-to-reel tape of a complete concert by Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, from 5 March 1960 at Liverpool's Jive Hive, had been unearthed in the basement of his sister Iris Caldwell's house.