Cherry Beat - Characters



 were a band that released music in their original incarnation between 1971 and 1982. They formed in in late 1970, and were rooted in 1950's, and late 1960's , , and. Their first album was released in 1971, and was quite successful. Their second album released in 1972 was less successful, mainly due to the band's mixing 1950's rock and roll with more modern music resulting in a more diverse album.

The band were close to splitting after their second album failed to gain the same level of success that their first album had. But their and  at the time, Chudley Maron encouraged the band to stay together and settle on some more original styled rock and roll in order to get back to the top. The band's third album released in 1973 was an instant success. They continued to release music until 1982 when the band split.

The musical quartet consisted of Peter McDonald, Samuel 'Sam' Whitby (, vocals), and Torquil Dohrn (, vocals), and  Devon O'Connell (, vocals). Overall was considered to be slightly less successful than acts like  or, as well as being considerably less successful than. They were however, much more successful than many other bands and artists.

Peter McDonald

 * Gender: ♂
 * Hair Colour:
 * Eye Colour:
 * Skin Colour:
 * Height: 1.80 metres


 * Heritage: ,
 * Nationality: British
 * Voice Type:
 * Vocal Range: A1–C6

Peter McDonald (born 24th August 1950, Oxford,, Age 0) is an English , , and , best known as the in the 1970's  band. He usually plays a  with the marble coloured  removed, like  of. He also very much resembles Paul McCartney (and who previously played a Höfner bass guitar for the ) in his facial structure and appearance.

Peter has officially stated that his main idol is American recording artist, songwriter and musician. Although it is perfectly clear that Paul McCartney has a strong influence on Peter, both as a person, and as a musician. Like all members of, Peter did like to keep a low dosage of in his life, but he admits to have increased the dosage to help him record certain types of music with certain lyrics, namely 'Rainballs' which was inspired by The Beatles'  songs from their 1966 album . Peter was also not against drinking, or drugs and.

An obvious difference between Paul McCartney and Peter McDonald is that Paul is, but Peter is. When I wrote my first draft in a book, Peter was originally going to be the ist, Sam the ist, and Torquil the bassist. When the concept of surfaced for the third time, I made Peter the bassist to further enhance his similarities to Paul McCartney, although to avoid being that similar, I recently decided that Peter was to be right-handed.

Peter is a tenor, a trait he shares with Sam. His vocal range is very similar to the vocal range of Paul McCartney, so he had a very impressive vocal range, with no less than a minimum of 4 octaves. His vocal range is A1–C6. Overall, Peter would probably be better at playing s and s than Paul McCartney, as the latter admitted to not being able to play the violin, which would probably suggest that he can't play the viola as well.

In the early 1980's, Peter had his Höfner bass guitar professionally modified to resemble a. These changes involved removing the white outlines and sunburst finish from the body, sanding the headstock and lower bridge to bare wood, and recolouring the tuning pegs, neck, upper bridge, and tailpiece black.

Sam Whitby

 * Gender: ♂
 * Hair Colour:
 * Eye Colour:
 * Skin Colour: Light Tan
 * Height: 1.68 metres


 * Heritage:
 * Nationality: British
 * Voice Type:
 * Vocal Range: D2–F6

Samuel 'Sam' Whitby (born 24th November 1951,, , Age 0) is an English , , and , best known as the ist in the 1970's band. He is notable for being the only member of the group to have heritage instead of, but his official  is British.

He usually plays an  with the  removed and professionally sanded to bare wood and lightly lacquered with two thin coats of nitro-cellulose. His main idol is American, singer and songwriter. It is unclear whether any offences committed by Chuck Berry had any negative effects on the influence he had on Sam, though it is unlikely because he had no trouble in recording s of songs written by Chuck Berry, long after Chuck had committed those offences.

Sam did like to keep a low to medium dosage of in his life, which reportedly have had a more significant effect on him than it had on Peter. Sam technically didn't have to take as many drugs to get the effect he wanted, but he took at least as much anyway. When Sam was younger he was a regular and. His dosage would be reduced over time, as he got older.

When I wrote my first draft in a book, Sam was originally going to be the ist, Peter the rhythm guitarist, and Torquil the. When the concept of surfaced for the third time, I made Sam the rhythm guitarist, Peter the bassist, and Torquil the lead guitarist.

Sam is the only member of who is. Because of this, he had a hard time trying to play on Peter's whenever Peter was unavailable or needed to play a different instrument, but he managed it.

Sam is a tenor, a trait he shares with Peter. Overall, his vocal range is similar to the vocal range of his bandmate Peter which in turn is much the same as the vocal range of, though Sam was able to reach most of 's higher notes, something Peter couldn't do without his voice sounding unnatural.

Unlike Peter and his other fellow bandmates however, Sam could not hit impressively low notes. He was the only member of the band that could not reach an A1. Sam did however have a very impressive vocal range, with no less than a minimum of 4 octaves. His and  is higher than that of Peter and Paul McCartney, though it is lower than the timbre and tessitura of  and Roger Hodgson. His vocal range is D2–F6.

Torquil Dohrn

 * Gender: ♂
 * Hair Colour:
 * Eye Colour:
 * Skin Colour:
 * Height: 1.78 metres


 * Heritage: ,
 * Nationality: British
 * Voice Type:
 * Vocal Range: A1–F#5

Torquil Dohrn (born 23rd October 1952,, , Age 0) is an English , , and , best known as the ist in the 1970's band. The band spend the majority of their recording sessions in the Dohrn studio, which belonged to Torquil's grandfather. Torquil came from a wealthy family of musicians. He has  and can play many  including  and s.

He usually plays a goldtop  that has been recoloured and refinished to resemble a goldtop. His main idol is American musician, singer, and songwriter. Out of all the members of the band, Torquil probably took the highest dosage of, although reportedly he didn't or  as frequently when he was younger. Fortunately Torquil was a quieter and less aggressive person than his fellow bandmates, and while drugs did seem to make him into a somewhat unconventional sort of person, he didn't seem to be particularly vulnerable to them.

Unfortunately Torquil would start to smoke rather excessively over some years, notably between 1998 and 2006 while trying to relieve himself from depression following his temporary break up with his wife, Charlotte Henderson. This put Torquil's health at risk, and significantly increased his likelihood of getting lung cancer later in life, as his addiction to smoking resulted in getting rather unhealthy lungs which became partially coated with (tobacco residue). This also caused his skin to age.

When I wrote my first draft in a book, Torquil was originally going to be the, Peter the ist, and Sam the lead guitarist. When the concept of surfaced for the third time, I made Torquil the lead guitarist, Peter the bassist, and Sam the rhythm guitarist.

Torquil is, a trait he shares with Peter and Devon. Torquil is a baritone, a trait he shares with his bandmate Devon, having a slightly deeper vocal range,, and than  and. However Torquil was capable of singing songs with a register, as he had an extended upper range. His vocal range is A1–F#5.

Devon O'Connell

 * Gender: ♂
 * Hair Colour:
 * Eye Colour:
 * Skin Colour: Tan
 * Height: 1.76 metres


 * Heritage: ,
 * Nationality: American
 * Voice Type:
 * Vocal Range: A1–E5

Devon O'Connell (born 16th June 1952,, , Age 0) is an American , , and , best known as the in the 1970's  band. He is notable for being the only original American member of the group, although like Peter and Torquil, he had some Irish heritage. He usually plays a.

His main idol is American singer and songwriter. Ironically only ever recorded four  of songs written by Carl Perkins, none of which had featured Devon on lead vocals, though the master tracks of three of the covers had been recorded before Devon joined the group. Devon later recorded drum kit for those tracks after joining.

While Devon reportedly took fewer than the others, he was apparently the most aggressive and resentful member of the group. Over time he grew more and more frustrated over the fact that he wasn't given the chance to sing much on the band's records, being limited to just drums and occasionally. The band members grew sympathetic when Devon expressed his outrage, and he was eventually given the chance to contribute to at least one song per album.

He also got the chance to contribute more backing vocals on albums, namely on tracks written and/or sung by Torquil. Although it took a while before he developed the independence, Devon would eventually begin contributing his own compositions, but even then he had trouble getting the other band members to record them. Devon is, a trait he shares with Peter and Torquil.

Devon is a baritone, a trait he shares with his bandmate Torquil. Unlike his fellow bandmates, Devon had trouble singing songs within the, as he had trouble in reaching the high notes, something Peter and to a greater extent Sam could do quite easily, while Torquil was able to hit the low and middle notes of the tenor range easily, but struggle with the high notes, which Devon found difficult to reach, let alone struggle. His vocal range is A1–E5.

Milford Ekdahl

 * Gender: ♂
 * Hair Colour:
 * Eye Colour:
 * Skin Colour: Tan


 * Height: 1.79 metres
 * Heritage:, ,
 * Nationality: American

Milford Ekdahl (born 17th January 1969,, , Age 0) is an American , best known as a and  of the 1970's  band  during their first reunion in 1999. He is, a trait he shares with Peter, Torquil, and Devon.

Wilbur Milardo

 * Gender: ♂
 * Hair Colour:
 * Eye Colour:
 * Skin Colour: Light Tan


 * Height: 1.77 metres
 * Heritage: ,
 * Nationality: British

Wilbur Milardo (born 21st June 1971,, , , Age 0) is a English , best known as a and  of the 1970's  band  during their first reunion in 2001. He is the only member of the band that wasn't born at the time of the group's formation. Wilbur is, a trait he shares with Peter, Torquil, and Devon.

Chudley Maron

 * Gender: ♂
 * Hair Colour:
 * Eye Colour:
 * Skin Colour:


 * Height: 1.72 metres
 * Heritage: ,
 * Nationality: British

Chudley Maron (born 14th July 1947,, , Age 0) is an English , , and. He is best known as the original producer and music supervisor of the 1970's band. Chudley is, a trait he shares with band members Peter, Torquil, and Devon. Chudley stepped down from his position as producer due to the disagreements between band members as to who should produce their songs, but continued his role as the band's music supervisor.

Riley Ganz

 * Gender: ♂
 * Hair Colour:
 * Eye Colour:
 * Skin Colour:


 * Height: 1.74 metres
 * Heritage: ,
 * Nationality: British

Riley Ganz (24th January 1949,, – 24th December 2021, , England, Age 72) was an English , , and. He was best known as a longtime session musician, and a producer of the 1970's band.

In 1981, he was fired by Peter McDonald after the latter became infuriated by Sam Whitby's suggestion to make Riley their sole producer. Riley's production efforts often conflicted with Peter's best production interests at heart. Peter always preferred having Chudley Maron has the band's producer, unlike Sam.

Riley died from complications of in the  in London, England, on the 24th December 2021 at the age of 72. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 in late October 2021, taken to hospital in early November 2021, and intubated in late November 2021.

Gregory Dogan

 * Gender: ♂
 * Hair Colour:
 * Eye Colour:
 * Skin Colour: Tan


 * Height: 1.73 metres
 * Heritage: ,
 * Nationality: British

Gregory Dogan (born 11th February 1959,, , Age 64) is an English , and. He is best known as a producer of the 1970's band. Greg took over from Chudley Maron and Riley Ganz. Chudley stepped down from his position as producer due to the disagreements between band members as to who should produce their songs. While Riley was fired by Peter McDonald after being infuriated by Sam Whitby's suggestion to make Riley their sole producer.

Recording Sessions

 * Part One - The Band's Formation (7th January – 20th March 1971)
 * Part Two - The Band's First Album (8th May – 15th October 1971)
 * Part Three - The Band's Second Album (25th October 1971 – 13th June 1972)
 * Part Four - The Band's Third Album (16th May 1973 – 4th January 1974)
 * Part Five - The Band's Fourth Album (17th January – 21st December 1974)
 * Part Six - The Band's Fifth Album (24th January – 3rd September 1975)
 * Part Seven - The Band's Sixth Album (27th November 1975 – 15th December 1976)
 * Part Eight - The Band's Seventh Album (29th December 1966 – 17th November 1977)
 * Part Nine - The Band's Eighth Album (15th February – 13th October 1978)
 * Part Ten - The Band's Ninth Album (4th January – 11th July 1979)
 * Part Eleven - The Band's Tenth Album (26th July 1979 – 15th November 1980)
 * Part Twelve - The Band's Eleventh Album (2nd May – 25th November 1981)
 * Part Thirteen - The Band's Twelfth Album (31st December 1981 – 26th April 1982)
 * Part Fourteen - Post-Band Album Releases (10th February 1985 – 24th August 1998)
 * Part Fifteen - The Band's First Reunion (8th September 1998 – 10th January 2000)
 * Part Sixteen - The Band's Post Reunion Live Concert (26th February 2000 – 25th August 2001)
 * Part Seventeen - The Band's Second Post Reunion Live Concert (April 2003 – 25th July 2004)
 * Part Eighteen - The Band's Fourteenth Album (16th November 2004 – 6th February 2006)
 * Part Nineteen - The Band's Third Post Reunion Live Concert (February 2007 – 17th August 2009)
 * Part Twenty - Post-Reunion Album Releases (October 2009 – 19th November 2012)

Relationships
See Cherry Beat - Relationships

Session Musicians
See Cherry Beat - Session Musicians

Songs
See Cherry Beat - Songs