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The latest issue of Vintage Rock contains a Tribute to Brian . Also Vince Eager pays tribute on his page and tells how they started out together
as a harmonica group before switching to skiffle. He also has a few anecdotes and tells how the nickname “Licorice” came about. Nothing to do with sweets apparently.

Bazzer

Back in the 1950s Brian played Clarinet in a band where that instrument could be played.
Clarinets are built using African Ebony that is naturally black. Because of this muscician gave the
Clarinet the nick name of Licorice Stick. It's not a difficult leap to make to then give a Clarinet player
the same nickname given to the instrument itself.
Anyway, thats how the story goes, the one that I read recently around the time that Brian died

DustyShoes wrote:Back in the 1950s Brian played Clarinet in a band where that instrument could be played.
...

This simply is not true. Brian never played a clarinet.
He got this nickname when playing in The Harmonica Vagabonds together with Roy Taylor (later Vince Eager) and Roy Clark. On a journey from Grantham to Skegness for an Easter weekend gig they had a break in Boston. A novelty shop there was selling plastic trumpets, saxophones and clarinets. They worked similar to a kazoo and sounded alike. A clarinet was bought for Brian, a trumpet for Roy C and a saxophone for Roy T.
On their further way they 'practised' with these instruments to an extend that the driver introduced them for their solo pieces "It's Roy on the saxophone", "It's Roy on his golden trumpet" and "It's Brian on his 'Licorice' stick". This evening Roy T introduced Brian on stage as 'Licorice Locking' and from that day on always called him Licorice.
I have talked with Brian at one of the German ShadowsConventions about this story and he confirmed it to be true.

......That is correct ulrich, exactly what Vince Eager wrote.

Baz