The Hollies
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The Hollies in 1964 |
The Hollies are an
English rock and roll band formed in the early
1960s.
Although the group admired
Buddy Holly, their name was inspired primarily by the sprigs of
holly in evidence around
Christmas of 1962, at the time they re-formed their previous band, The Deltas, and had to come up with a new name. [
1] They signed to
Parlophone in 1963 as label-mates of
The Beatles, and released their first album in the
United States in 1964 as part of the first wave of
British Invasion releases. They are commonly associated with
Manchester, as several original Hollies came from the city and its outlying communities.
The Hollies had a squeaky-clean image, and were famous for their rich vocal harmonies, which rivalled those of
The Beach Boys. They scored their first major British hit in 1964 with a cover of
Maurice Williams and The Zodiac's "Stay" which hit #8 in the UK charts. They quickly followed with a cover of
Doris Troy's "Just One Look". Frequent releases during the mid-60s included many
cover versions of popular songs, as well as a few group-penned hits and many songs written especially for them by professional songwriters.
By 1965 The Hollies were established as one of Britain's pre-eminent singles bands, and they enjoyed huge chart success in many countries in the mid-Sixties, releasing a string of classic harmony-pop hits including "
"Bus Stop"" (written by future
10CC member
Graham Gouldman), "
I'm Alive", a UK No. 1, "
I Can't Let Go", "
Stop Stop Stop", "
Carrie Anne" (from which actress
Carrie-Anne Moss got her name, having been born when the song was on the charts), "
On a Carousel", "
Look Through Any Window", and "
Jennifer Eccles".
Drummer
Bobby Elliot considered by many to be one of England's best drummers;
Eric Haydock aslo considered to be one of the better bassists on the early British beat scene, Haydock and drummer
Bobby Elliot were one of the tightest, hardest rhythm sections in British
Pop/
Rock of the period.
Bernie Calvert, who replaced
Eric Haydock in 1966, is the subject of some controversy for fans. Many don't consider him to have been a good bass player, at least compared to Haydock, whose playing had a much higher profile on the group's records. Ron Richards seemed to bear this out in his contribution to the notes of Epic Records' 20 Song Anthology, remarking that Calvert was not a good bass player, and that Richards deliberately buried his sound in the mix of their songs once he joined the group.
Their albums in sixties were showing artistic growth,though they never lose their pop formula.Nevertheless, they released some very good albums,which demonstrated signs of folk rock on
Would You Believe?,and psychedelia on
For Certain Because,
Evolution and
Butterfly(on all of three albums
Allan Clarke,
Graham Nash,
Tony Hicks penned only their own material).
Between 1964 and 1969, only two Hollies songs failed to reach the UK Top 10. "
If I Needed Someone" (No. 20, 1965), was a
George Harrison composition, recorded by The Beatles on
Rubber Soul, and
John Lennon's dismissive comments of their rivals' version led to angry exchanges in the press between both groups. Few people know that The Hollies actually recorded the song weeks before The Beatles did."
King Midas in Reverse" (No. 18, 1967), an original Hollies song, was heavily influenced by prevailing trends in
psychedelia, with an ambitious strings, brass and flute arrangement. Its modest success was a disappointment particularly to Nash, who was keen to progress beyond their usual style. The albums in sixties were showing artistic growth, though they never lost their pop formula. Nevertheless, they released some very good albums, which demonstrate signs of folk rock on
Would You Believe, and psychedelia on
For Certain Because,
Evolution and
Butterfly (all three of which contained Hollies-penned material).When Nash left in 1968 due to creative differences, in particular over the plan to record a full album of
Dylan songs which he saw as a step backward for the band, he joined forces with former
Buffalo Springfield guitarist
Stephen Stills and ex-
Byrds singer
David Crosby to form one of the first
supergroups,
Crosby, Stills & Nash. He was replaced by guitarist-singer
Terry Sylvester, formerly of the
Swinging Blue Jeans. This lineup had an immediate hit in 1969 with "
Sorry, Suzanne", which reached No. 3 in the UK.
The group hit No. 3 again in 1970 with the emotional ballad "
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", whose recording featured the piano playing of
Elton John.
Clarke briefly left the group in 1971 for a solo career. On the expiry of their EMI/Parlophone contract they signed with Polydor, and European star
Mikael Rickfors overcame language barriers as Clarke's replacement, yielding the minor hit "The Baby". Meanwhile EMI had taken a two-year-old track from their album "Distant Light", featuring Clarke on lead vocal and unusually lead guitar as well, the
Creedence Clearwater Revival-inspired smash, "
Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress", as a rival single, reaching No. 2 in the US and No. 32 in the UK. Clarke rejoined in 1973 and they returned to the UK Top 30 with another swamp rocker penned by Clarke, "
The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee".
In 1974 they had a UK No. 2 hit and US Top Ten success with the soaring, grandiose love song "
The Air That I Breathe", which brought comparison with the group's successful vocal style to
The Everly Brothers as well as to The Beatles; it had previously been recorded by
Phil Everly on one of his solo albums. It was their last major UK hit for over a decade. Subsequent singles like "
Son of a Rotten Gambler", "
I'm Down", "
Boulder to Birmingham", and "
Sandy" failed to chart, although in the last of these the Hollies showed foresight in appreciating the songwriting talents of newcomer
Bruce Springsteen.
Unlike some other British Invasion bands the Hollies were also accomplished in concert, as indicated by their 1977
Live Hits album, recorded in Christchurch, New Zealand the previous year, which included effective performances of lesser-known songs such as Hicks' working-class portrayal "Too Young to Be Married" (a No. 1 single in several overseas territories, though never released as such in the UK or US), as well as the expected hits.
In 1981 Calvert and Sylvester left. That same year, in the wake of the "
Stars on 45" medley craze, they were persuaded to record their own contribution, "Holliedaze", which returned them to the UK Top 30. Nash and Haydock briefly rejoined to promote the record on
Top of the Pops. They continued to record and tour all over the world in various lineups through the mid-
1980s, last hitting the US Top 40 with a remake of
The Supremes' "
Stop in the Name of Love", which reached No. 29 in 1983, from the album
What Goes Around. A live album featuring the Clarke-Hicks-Elliott-Nash regrouping,
Reunion, followed that same year.
After its use in a TV commercial for Miller Lite lager in the summer of 1988, "He Ain't Heavy" was reissued in the UK and reached No. 1, thus establishing a new record for the length of time between chart-topping singles for one artist of 23 years. By this time bassist
Ray Stiles, formerly a member of 1970s chart-topping glam rock group
Mud, had joined the permanent line-up. A reissue early in 1989 of "The Air That I Breathe" only made No. 60.
In 1993 another new single, "The Woman I Love", written by
Nik Kershaw, reached No. 42 in the UK.
The Hollies still tour, although with only two original members, Hicks and Elliott. After Clarke's retirement in 1999, he was replaced by
Carl Wayne, former lead singer of
The Move. Wayne only recorded one song with them, "How Do I Survive", the last (and only new) track on the 2003
Greatest Hits. He worked with the group for nearly five years, his presence assuring the addition of a few Move songs to the live show, before his untimely death from cancer in August 2004, and was replaced by Peter Howarth.
The Hollies' first new studio album since 1983,
Staying Power, trailed by the singles "Hope" and "So Damn Beautiful", was released in 2006.
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The Hollies |
*
Allan Clarke : guitar, vocals (1962-1971; 1973-1999)
*
Tony Hicks : guitar, vocals (1962
onwards)
*
Graham Nash : guitar, vocals (1962-1968: left to form
Crosby, Stills & Nash; 1981)
*
Don Rathbone : drums (1962; became manager)
*
Vic Steele : guitar, vocals (1962)
*
Bobby Elliott : drums (1963
onwards)
*
Eric Haydock : bass (1963-1966; 1981)
*
Bernie Calvert : bass (1966-1981)
*
Terry Sylvester : vocals/guitar (1969-1981)
*
Mikael Rickfors : vocals/guitar (1972)
*
John Miles : guitar, vocals (Guest Appearance)
*
Alan Coates : vocals, guitar (1982-2004)
*
Dennis Haines : keyboards (1983-1989)
*
Steve Stroud : bass (1982-1985; 1990; 1996)
*
Ray Stiles : bass, vocals (1985
onwards)
*
Ian Parker : keyboards (1991
onwards)
*
Carl Wayne : lead vocals (2000-2004)
*
Peter Howarth : lead vocals (2004
onwards)
*
Steve Laurie : vocals/guitar (2004
onwards)
* Jamie Moses : guitar, vocals (several tours and recordings)
*
Dave Carey : keyboards (1990)
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The Hollies |
#
Stay with the Hollies,
1964#
In the Hollies Style,
1964#
The Hollies, 1965#
Would You Believe?,
1966#
For Certain Because, 1966#
Evolution, 1967 #
Butterfly, 1967#
The Vintage Hollies, 1967 (stereo reissue of
In The Hollies Style)#
The Hollies' Greatest, 1968 (compilation)#
Hollies Sing Dylan,
1969#
Hollies Sing Hollies, 1969 #
Reflection, 1969#
Confessions of the Mind,
1970#
Distant Light,
1971#
Romany,
1972#
Out on the Road,
1973 (released only in Germany)#
Hollies,
1974 (sometimes listed as
Hollies '74 to distinguish it from the band's earlier self-titled album)#
Another Night,
1975#
Write On,
1976 (not released in US)#
Russian Roulette,
1976 (not released in US)#
Hollies Live,
1977 (released everywhere but US, reissued 1998 as
Live Hits, its original UK title)#
Clarke, Hicks, Sylvester, Calvert, Elliott 1977 (released only in US, contains tracks from
Write On and
Russian Roulette)#
A Crazy Steal,
1978#
,
1978#
5317704,
1979#
Buddy Holly,
1981#
What Goes Around,
1983#
Reunion,
1983#
Staying Power,
2006*
Official band site*
Hollies Lyrics*
The Class of 64 Featuring Eric Haydock
*
Yahoo Groups The Hollies Free Yahoo fan group
