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Post by baz on Jul 23, 2020 12:28:54 GMT
Briggs was scathing about the book and said it contained nothing that hadn't been published before. And there lies the problem: nothing has been published before in a DC5 book. Briggs should write his own book, but until anything else is available I'd love to read this one. Briggs is a bit of a conundrum in that respect. He has stated many times he won't write a book, pretty much implying he'd only do so when a certain person is no longer stood in the way. It is possible that DC himself had the book withdrawn as anybody who dares write and publish any kind of a book without DC's involvement is doomed to certain failure. I recall DC claimed there was gonna be a book accompanying his infamous documentary a few years back... don't recall that ever happening.
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on Jul 23, 2020 15:03:16 GMT
From Herman's Hermits, I recall 'I Can Take Or Leave Your Loving' being a middling hit, and then fade to black. It was actually a #1 hit in Canada. "Sleepy Joe" was their last top 10 hit there, at #9. Herman's Hermits were actually more popular in Canada than the US -- with four #1s ("Mrs Brown...", "Silhouettes," "Wonderful World," "Dandy"); they also released "Je Suis Anglais" for the Quebec-only market. Everyday I seem to come across a tweet where someone is saying "I didn't know 'Long Cool Woman' was by the Hollies!" It's really an uphill climb to clue in North Americans sometimes...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2020 16:35:02 GMT
Books And there lies the problem: nothing has been published before in a DC5 book. Briggs should write his own book, but until anything else is available I'd love to read this one. Briggs is a bit of a conundrum in that respect. He has stated many times he won't write a book, pretty much implying he'd only do so when a certain person is no longer stood in the way. It is possible that DC himself had the book withdrawn as anybody who dares write and publish any kind of a book without DC's involvement is doomed to certain failure. I recall DC claimed there was gonna be a book accompanying his infamous documentary a few years back... don't recall that ever happening. It's the same with many "experts" - and I'm not denying that Briggs very obviously is one. At least 3 people on here are critical of pretty much everything that's written about The Hollies and are undoubtedly more knowledgeable than these writers, but they never ever put pen to paper/fingers to keyboard beyond replying to people on forums. A real shame, as forums and message boards (whether Hollies, DC5 or whoever) come and go, but books are around forever.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2020 16:49:43 GMT
From Herman's Hermits, I recall 'I Can Take Or Leave Your Loving' being a middling hit, and then fade to black. It was actually a #1 hit in Canada. "Sleepy Joe" was their last top 10 hit there, at #9. Herman's Hermits were actually more popular in Canada than the US -- with four #1s ("Mrs Brown...", "Silhouettes," "Wonderful World," "Dandy"); they also released "Je Suis Anglais" for the Quebec-only market. Everyday I seem to come across a tweet where someone is saying "I didn't know 'Long Cool Woman' was by the Hollies!" It's really an uphill climb to clue in North Americans sometimes... Canadians generally seemed far more loyal to the "British Invasion" groups than most, so much so that both The Swinging Blue Jeans and Gerry and The Pacemakers released their final 1966 albums exclusively in that country. Must confess I've a real soft spot for Herman's Hermits perfect hits.
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on Jul 23, 2020 17:04:43 GMT
It was actually a #1 hit in Canada. "Sleepy Joe" was their last top 10 hit there, at #9. Herman's Hermits were actually more popular in Canada than the US -- with four #1s ("Mrs Brown...", "Silhouettes," "Wonderful World," "Dandy"); they also released "Je Suis Anglais" for the Quebec-only market. Everyday I seem to come across a tweet where someone is saying "I didn't know 'Long Cool Woman' was by the Hollies!" It's really an uphill climb to clue in North Americans sometimes... Canadians generally seemed far more loyal to the "British Invasion" groups than most, so much so that both The Swinging Blue Jeans and Gerry and The Pacemakers released their final 1966 albums exclusively in that country. Must confess I've a real soft spot for Herman's Hermits perfect hits. I didn't know that! I did know that Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich were more popular here. They charted 7 times in Canada: "Zabadak" went to #1, "Legend of Xanadu" to #10 and their last hit (#28) was "Breakout" which was ONLY released here. As for Herman's Hermits -- I have "Just A Little Bit Better" on 45...their cover of "Sea Cruise" is BRILL. "Listen People" was one of my favourite songs as a little girl. That "British Invasion" stuff was perfect music for a little kid to be introduced to rock and roll with -- deceptively simple and easy to sing along to!
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Post by cameron on Jul 23, 2020 19:06:44 GMT
This is a great thread! My two cents...
The S+G “session” has been recalled many times by the Hollies over the years, with different takes on it each time. I believe Tony said it was in a hotel room, which might make more sense. They sang their version of ‘I Am A Rock’ and apparently Paul Simon was floored and couldn’t understand how it sounded so good, firming up that their third harmony was their secret weapon.
Herman’s Hermits should be remembered for their ‘There’s A Kind of Hush’ LP in 1966. Without doubt one of the very finest LPs of the British Invasion era. It’s right up there with ‘Hollies (1965)’, ‘Aftermath’ and ‘Face To Face’ for being all killer and no filler. ‘Blaze’ from 1967 was an acceptable follow up, with some quirkier songs like ‘Museum’ and ‘Moonshine Man’. It wasn’t officially released in the UK, only on MGM but heavily imported. I spent years looking for the elusive UK export pressing of the LP that was done for the Special Forces as a tax saving exercise, and I only fairly recently found a copy. Nearly all of the Beatles’ US-only LPs on Capitol were also pressed in this way. Like many others, precious few of the HH’s LPs were mixed into stereo, though Ron Furmanek did an excellent “50th Anniversary Collection” with new stereo mixes. It’s a fairly expensive two-disc set, but worth getting if you see it. ‘Blaze’ was issued in stereo only, and kind of sounds like pseudo stereo, but oddly the instruments are mono and the vocal double tracking and harmonies are spread over both channels. It sounds quite weird. There’s no denying that those guys could play though, it’s a shame Mickie Most chose so many session men to augment the sessions. I remember reading an “Encyclopedia of Rock” once in a library that grouped the HH with the Hollies for both being Manchester bands. It was brazen about BOTH bands mainly relying on session musicians! How do they get away with publishing that?! Bun E. Carlos is Cheap Trick has also said this, stating that Bobby Elliott didn’t play on many of the Hollies’ records... absolutely ridiculous.
DC5 continued to have an impact in the UK post-1966, but at a significantly diminished level. I believe this was the period that they shot a few films and US-promos? The DC5 catalogue is all but forgotten, thanks to Dave Clark’s greed I guess. He mentioned after the recent compilation that a definitive box was in the works and he’d been at Abbey Road doing some mastering. I don’t think history remembers him so kindly, but there’s many reasons for this, depending on who you ask...
I mentioned this on another thread; the Hollies never really got anywhere in the US because they didn’t actually try very hard. You have to remember, their success in Europe was phenomenal. They were arguably bigger in Germany and Scandinavia than they were in the UK in their heyday, so in their eyes, they didn’t need to “waste time” trying to crack America when they have so many loyal fans in Europe. Bobby and Tony still believe this today, and I absolutely agree with them. They owe nothing to America really, other than perhaps the surprise hit in ‘Long Cool Woman’... but it got there on its own. No one was pushing it. You read all these stories of PR people bribing radio DJs to play certain records to make them a hit, and this never happened to the Hollies, their music was played entirely on its own merit.
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Post by cameron on Jul 23, 2020 19:09:41 GMT
PS - as for writing a book about the Hollies; books are a bit of a fool’s game because they take an extremely long time to write and you get absolutely next to no financial reward for them. Or worse, the subject you’re writing about comes after you with a lawsuit! It’s a case of writing it for the sake of writing it, and I think relations in the Hollies camp are currently too frosty towards the idea of endorsing an official biography of the band. Bobby’s book is great, but I think the fans want to read some more about the songs themselves, the songwriting process and the recording sessions.
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Post by baz on Jul 23, 2020 21:38:40 GMT
The S+G “session” has been recalled many times by the Hollies over the years, with different takes on it each time. I believe Tony said it was in a hotel room, which might make more sense. They sang their version of ‘I Am A Rock’ and apparently Paul Simon was floored and couldn’t understand how it sounded so good, firming up that their third harmony was their secret weapon. What makes The Hollies cover even more interesting is how quickly they adapted it. It was first recorded in August 1965 by Paul for his first solo album which barely anybody bought. The S+G version cut in December 1965 and it wasn't released as a single in the UK until June 1966 which meant The Hollies would have learnt the song from the "Sounds Of Silence" album. That album was released in January 1966 in the States... but not released until March in the UK. S+G were riding high with the title track in the States but over in the UK, it was The Bachelors that had the hit! So, technically, S+G were newcomers with just one hit and The Hollies were quick to recognise they had great songs as they cut their version on 25th March 1966. Maybe they had access to an import or an acetate of the song but if they learnt it from the album, definitely a fine quick job! Little wonder then that Paul Simon was "floored" by The Hollies doing the song... within a year or two, it would be fashionable to cover Paul Simon songs so The Hollies were definitely ahead of the game. It's an interesting period where Paul Simon is concerned as it was also in March 1966 that The Seekers had a hit with "Someday One Day" which Simon had co-written with Bruce Woodley which also helped further the S+G cause though it wouldn't be too long before Paul sneered about MOR type acts covering his songs. There was also "Red Rubber Ball" which did nothing in the UK but a hit for The Cyrkle around this same time... Then we have the third Simon/Woodley co-write, the long forgotten "I Wish You Could Be Here" released on The Seekers' "Come The Day" album. Check that song out... good song (absolutely love The Seekers!) but does the intro sound a little familiar? Now listen to the intro of The Hollies' version of "Marrakesh Express"... some similarities there!
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Post by stuball on Jul 23, 2020 22:12:45 GMT
One song I remember as a kid was called 'Bend It', by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich. It was around '66 and I was about 14. It was a big, big hit, played continuously on local radio(in southwestern Ontario) and, to my young ears, sounded a bit 'dirty'. After it faded from the charts, I can't recall ever hearing it again on radio. Funny how that happens to some songs. You start to question your own memory!
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on Jul 23, 2020 22:25:12 GMT
One song I remember as a kid was called 'Bend It', by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich. It was around '66 and I was about 14. It was a big, big hit, played continuously on the radio, and to my young ears, sounded a bit 'dirty'. After it faded from the charts, I can't recall ever hearing it again on radio. Funny how that happens to some songs. You start to question your own memory! Yeah "Bend It" charted on RPM, if you count #94 as "charting". "Hold Tight" went to #52, "Hideaway" to #69, "Save Me" To #93...
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Post by johnt on Jul 23, 2020 22:37:42 GMT
I remember reading somewhere that Dave Dee & Co spent a massive 47 weeks in the charts in 1966 here in the UK with those 4 hits. Not far off a full year!
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Post by cameron on Jul 23, 2020 23:15:50 GMT
DDDBM&T are one of those criminally forgotten groups of the 1960s. Like the Hollies, those guys could REALLY play and sing. They played on all their records, with no studio musicians substituting for any of them. Their virtuosic playing combined with Dave Dee's showmanship made them a very popular live act. In fact, they won Germany's Musicladen's 'Group of the Year' for 1967 AND 1968! I knew their big hits, even though they're rarely played on the radio any more, but was intrigued to dig deeper when I was a teenager and discovering the music of the 60s. I found their 1966 LP 'If Music Be The Food of Love' to be more or less exactly what you expect from them, sustained over a whole LP. But the real surprise came when I discovered their 1968 LP, 'If No One Sang'. This is a sublime effort from a mere "pop group" with a gimmicky name. A fantastic production and a real mixed bag of material that shows off the true scope of their talents. They were huge across Europe, especially Germany as previously mentioned. They seemed to quit at their peak, with demand for compilation albums of their material sustaining well into the 1970s. They were a fantastic live act, but regrettably I've never found a complete concert recording of theirs, other than a poor quality film of them appearing in Paris in 1967. The audio is terrible, with only the vocals coming across. But even with this factored in, it shows you that they were a very exciting live act.
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Post by baz on Jul 23, 2020 23:24:09 GMT
I remember reading somewhere that Dave Dee & Co spent a massive 47 weeks in the charts in 1966 here in the UK with those 4 hits. Not far off a full year! They were a great singles band and listened to chronologically it's fun hearing how they grew increasingly adventurous climaxing with the potent 1968 pair of "Legend of Xanadu" then the sublime "Last Night In Soho" - "Wreck Of The Antoinette" as OK and fun as it is was a step downward and the remaining singles not as good, but still a great run of hits that remain enjoyable, each a unique entity in it's own right, never repeating themselves. On TV, they usually had tongue firmly in cheek so watching the footage we have is always a pleasure. Sadly they get dismissed and overlooked as being just another "pop" band but their best singles still holds up now and some of them contained some fine self penned flip sides as well. They deserve far more respect than they get nowadays but I know I'm in the right place where most would agree with me!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2020 8:07:43 GMT
Just stumbled upon this quote: GRAHAM NASH, THE HOLLIES: "We fuckin’ hated the Dave Clark Five! They were just awful to us. They were snotty and they couldn’t play for shit. I mean, if you’re great, maybe you have the right to be a little stuck-up, but if you’re not great, fuck you and your attitude." www.vanityfair.com/culture/2002/11/british-invasion-oral-history
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Post by baz on Jul 24, 2020 12:04:38 GMT
Just stumbled upon this quote: GRAHAM NASH, THE HOLLIES: "We fuckin’ hated the Dave Clark Five! They were just awful to us. They were snotty and they couldn’t play for shit. I mean, if you’re great, maybe you have the right to be a little stuck-up, but if you’re not great, fuck you and your attitude." www.vanityfair.com/culture/2002/11/british-invasion-oral-historyAh, the infamous tour featuring The Hollies, the DC5 and The Kinks! Dave Davies also had some choice less than complimentary things to say about DC and the DC5's conduct and attitude on that tour. Both The Kinks and The Hollies were keen there be a camaraderie but lamented that the DC5 were always sheltered, separated from the rest of the entourage hence a whole bunch of pranks being played on the DC5 including one where Eric Haydock allegedly tampered with their electricity! The DC5 were renowned as a live act and a pity the only recorded evidence of them playing live is one short TV appearance ("Nineteen Days" is excellent) and a couple of murky bootleg live recordings as otherwise in the studio it was generally Mike Smith, Denis Payton and Lenny Davidson augmented by session musicians. I think Graham was perhaps a little unfair about their music playing capabilities but definitely on the case regarding their attitude as Dave ran the entire show and other members seemed to only speak whenever he permitted them to. Ray Davies recalled Graham coming to The Kinks' defence when some agent tried to tell them how to act onstage and telling the agent to let The Kinks be and develop their own thing. In stronger language of course so even as early as 1964, Graham was on the attack and defence. The DC5 did some great stuff and focusing on the American market recorded and issued a ton of material which never came out in the UK for good reason - too much filler, but their sole movie "Catch Us If You Can" stands out being a rather moody contemplative effort and there's some memorable singles with some fine B sides to be enjoyed. It's uncanny how similar their trajectories run alongside Herman's Hermits as both were bigger in the States, both on Columbia in the UK, both having their material picked by their producers Dave Clark and Mickie Most, both falling into commercial decline in the States in the late 60's, both shifting focus to the UK and Europe bagging a few more hits and both splitting up in 1970.
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Post by sandy on Jul 24, 2020 12:32:22 GMT
Just stumbled upon this quote: GRAHAM NASH, THE HOLLIES: "We fuckin’ hated the Dave Clark Five! They were just awful to us. They were snotty and they couldn’t play for shit. I mean, if you’re great, maybe you have the right to be a little stuck-up, but if you’re not great, fuck you and your attitude." www.vanityfair.com/culture/2002/11/british-invasion-oral-history😂😂Never one to hold back, was our Willy!!!! Imagine the scene, if Twitter had been around then...... Terry v Graham...fight!! 😂😂😂
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Post by sandy on Jul 24, 2020 12:38:49 GMT
That's interesting Stuball. The Hollies in America seem like serial one hit wonders. Surely by '74 with ten hits under their belts (including some very big ones) they could have been a reasonable concert draw. Just the other day I was reading a contemporary news report of how their '83 New York gig with Graham was scheduled for Radio City with a capacity of 6,000 and had to be moved to I think the Bottom Line with a capacity of 600. Yes, The Bottom Line was really a New York club with an intimate feel and a limited capacity. It was the place where generally, new hot acts would be put on display for the press and fans, as a way of breaking them to the general public. The fact that The Hollies with umpteen hits,were for the umpteenth time, being broken to an American audience, says it all when it comes to the group's standing in the US. Years ago, a critic remarked regarding The Hollies, that they were as popular as their latest single: if it was a smash, then the group was in the limelight. But if it was a flop, they sank into obscurity. And that was very much true. The Hollies first established themselves stateside with 'Bus Stop' and their follow up hits allowed a major presence until 'King Midas' tanked. With the following run of minor hits, by mid '68 they disappeared from the American consciousness until 'He Ain't Heavy'. Then once again forgotten until 'Long Cool Woman' re-established them. And the same pattern again until 'Air'. Hollies albums sold only if there was a hit 45 included. 'Dylan' didn't chart, 'Moving Finger' barely, because of a lack of public awareness. The old phrase 'Out of sight, out of mind' could have been written for The Hollies' American experience. On the Nash reunion tour, the group got a lot of publicity, not just in pop magazines but in the daily papers as well. Add to this a strong push from Atlantic, backing the 'Stop In The Name Of Love' single, and the 'What Goes Around' LP, and the stage was set for what should have been a very successful tour. But it was the same old story: Nash or no Nash, The Hollies were always good for a hall of about 2000 or so. That was their fan base over here. Pick something too big, Radio City say, and there'd be acres of empty seats. Graham Nash's star had faded considerably by '83, so he wasn't going to be a game changer. Perhaps the promoters thought CSN&Y fans would come out in droves. If so, they were delusional: the two groups may have had fine harmonies in common, but their fans were as different, and as compatible, as chalk and cheese. That the 45 stalled at #29, and the album got generally tepid reviews, didn't help either.
The Hollies had earlier played The Bottom Line in May '75, when Epic Records booked four shows there and four more at The Roxy in L.A.(another small club of 500 or so) to promote the LP 'Another Night'. That album had got absolutely glowing reviews from critics, but the final result was the same: 'Another Night' stalled at #123, due to the relative failure of the singles 'Sandy'(#85) and 'Another Night(#71), and sank into Hollies album obscurity. Oh, and regarding these '75 Hollies Bottom Line shows, more than one reviewer questioned why a group of The Hollies stature and history, was forced to display their talents at a small club accustomed to breaking new and up coming acts.
Makes you wonder how sales of the proposed USA tour due now, were going.Some of the halls seemed huge! Perhaps they may think again about which venues to book if they ever reschedule it? Can't believe they were all sold out, I think it seemed a little over ambitious.
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on Jul 24, 2020 14:25:32 GMT
Just stumbled upon this quote: GRAHAM NASH, THE HOLLIES: "We fuckin’ hated the Dave Clark Five! They were just awful to us. They were snotty and they couldn’t play for shit. I mean, if you’re great, maybe you have the right to be a little stuck-up, but if you’re not great, fuck you and your attitude." www.vanityfair.com/culture/2002/11/british-invasion-oral-historyAh, the infamous tour featuring The Hollies, the DC5 and The Kinks! Dave Davies also had some choice less than complimentary things to say about DC and the DC5's conduct and attitude on that tour. Both The Kinks and The Hollies were keen there be a camaraderie but lamented that the DC5 were always sheltered, separated from the rest of the entourage hence a whole bunch of pranks being played on the DC5 including one where Eric Haydock allegedly tampered with their electricity! The DC5 were renowned as a live act and a pity the only recorded evidence of them playing live is one short TV appearance ("Nineteen Days" is excellent) and a couple of murky bootleg live recordings as otherwise in the studio it was generally Mike Smith, Denis Payton and Lenny Davidson augmented by session musicians. I think Graham was perhaps a little unfair about their music playing capabilities but definitely on the case regarding their attitude as Dave ran the entire show and other members seemed to only speak whenever he permitted them to. Ray Davies recalled Graham coming to The Kinks' defence when some agent tried to tell them how to act onstage and telling the agent to let The Kinks be and develop their own thing. In stronger language of course so even as early as 1964, Graham was on the attack and defence. The DC5 did some great stuff and focusing on the American market recorded and issued a ton of material which never came out in the UK for good reason - too much filler, but their sole movie "Catch Us If You Can" stands out being a rather moody contemplative effort and there's some memorable singles with some fine B sides to be enjoyed. It's uncanny how similar their trajectories run alongside Herman's Hermits as both were bigger in the States, both on Columbia in the UK, both having their material picked by their producers Dave Clark and Mickie Most, both falling into commercial decline in the States in the late 60's, both shifting focus to the UK and Europe bagging a few more hits and both splitting up in 1970. Dave Clark just always struck me as a businessman posing as a musician. I mean, they did form in the first place as a fundraiser for their footie team, right?
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Post by stuball on Jul 24, 2020 14:26:21 GMT
In simple terms, you could say that The Hollies were never very popular in North America. A few of their singles were, but even they were hit and miss, and spread over almost a decade.
It wouldn't be unfair to state that the group failed to make much of an impression (good or bad) upon the American (or Canadian) consciousness. For example, 'Long Cool Woman' was a massively popular song. But the group who did it, not so much.
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Post by stuball on Jul 24, 2020 14:30:37 GMT
Just stumbled upon this quote: GRAHAM NASH, THE HOLLIES: "We fuckin’ hated the Dave Clark Five! They were just awful to us. They were snotty and they couldn’t play for shit. I mean, if you’re great, maybe you have the right to be a little stuck-up, but if you’re not great, fuck you and your attitude." www.vanityfair.com/culture/2002/11/british-invasion-oral-history😂😂Never one to hold back, was our Willy!!!! Imagine the scene, if Twitter had been around then...... Terry v Graham...fight!! 😂😂😂 Obviously a comment made well in retrospect. You'd never get language like that in print in '64!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2020 14:56:05 GMT
Dave Clark just always struck me as a businessman posing as a musician. I mean, they did form in the first place as a fundraiser for their footie team, right? Some say the same about Mick Jagger, ex student of The London School of Economics! I'm sure that a great many artists wish they'd had Dave Clark's foresight... I do suspect that at least part of the reason that other musicians disliked the DC5 is because they were notably clean-leaving, preferring to play sports or go to the gym rather than get stoned or drunk.
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on Jul 24, 2020 15:32:35 GMT
In simple terms, you could say that The Hollies were never very popular in North America. A few of their singles were, but even they were hit and miss, and spread over almost a decade. It wouldn't be unfair to state that the group failed to make much of an impression (good or bad) upon the American (or Canadian) consciousness. For example, 'Long Cool Woman' was a massively popular song. But the group who did it, not so much. Again, more slightly popular in Canada than the US, chartwise. (CHUM is the Toronto-based chart which was the standard until 1964 when RPM began) I'm Alive: RPM 35, CHUM 11, (Billboard 103) Look Through Any Window: RPM 3 (Billboard 32) I Can't Let Go: RPM 44 (Billboard 42) Bus Stop: RPM 1, CHUM 3 (Billboard 5) Stop Stop Stop: RPM 1, CHUM 4 (Billboard 7) On A Carousel: RPM 7, CHUM 12 (Billboard 11) Pay You Back With Interest: RPM 18, CHUM 45 (Billboard 28) Carrie-Anne: RPM 9, CHUM 3 (Billboard 9) Just One Look [re]: RPM 30 (Billboard 98 in 1964, 44 in 1967) King Midas In Reverse: RPM 31 (Billboard 51) Dear Eloise: RPM 26 (Billboard 50) Jennifer Eccles: RPM 19, CHUM 27 (Billboard 40) Sorry Suzanne: RPM 41 (Billboard 56) He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother: RPM 73 in 1969, 10 in 1970, CHUM 1 (Billboard 7) I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top: RPM 48 (Billboard 82) Long Cool Woman: RPM 1 (Billboard 2) Long Dark Road: RPM 24 (Billboard 26) Magic Woman Touch: RPM 55 (Billboard 60) Air That I Breathe: RPM 5 (Billboard 6) Sandy: RPM 93 (Billboard 85) Stop In The Name Of Love: RPM 35 (Billboard 29) Weirdly, I never heard "I'm Alive" at ALL until 2003 ("King Midas", "Dear Eloise" and "Jennifer Eccles" "I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top" - it was only because of a greatest hits compilation in the 70s that I knew those songs). But both "Sorry Suzanne" and "Magic Woman Touch" had a lot of airplay, so the rankings always surprised me.
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Post by cameron on Jul 24, 2020 17:44:12 GMT
I think everyone’s issue with Dave Clark was that he was so smug about it all. He had the record companies dancing to his tune and was making some serious money - whereas almost all of these other groups weren’t. Ray Davies recalls having to scrimp and save to buy a two-up, two-down house with his wife in 1967! Allan Clarke reveals going to put money down for a house around 1966 and finding that there wasn’t enough for him to do so. The Small Faces were also famously “kept” by Don Arden, on a laughable minimum wage with expenses. Dave Clark had somehow managed to avoid all that, and was stomping around the States in a private plane while other groups had to take the Greyhound bus! So you can see where the resentment lay. Dave Clark’s reluctance to do anything artistic or progressive only widened the gap. I think his delusional/twisted view of his group’s legacy with a habit of throwing money at things to make them appear better than they really were has only driven many members of the public to draw the same conclusions about him.
As for that infamous DC5/Kinks/Hollies tour, Eric Haydock revealed the story in Brian Southall’s book about the Hollies, announcing that it was he and Kinks bassist Pete Quaife who took a pair of bolt cutters to the stage power cable as DC started singing his set closer ‘Glad All Over’!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2020 9:27:18 GMT
The one thing I hate is how (from 1966 onwards) groups were divided into "rock" and "pop", with only The Beatles somehow spanning the two. Fortunately, many of us on here, perhaps because The Hollies are so often dismissed as lightweight, can see beyond the acclaimed Kinks/Small Faces/Who/Creation, and appreciate just how good The Tremeloes, Herman's Hermits, DD,D,B,M&T, The Shadows and The DC5 could be.
Love 'em or hate 'em, some of The DC5's records were sonically as powerful as anything by The Stones and The Who. Here's one of their best imo (give me The DC5 to The effing Byrds any day!):
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Post by baz on Jul 25, 2020 12:47:15 GMT
The one thing I hate is how (from 1966 onwards) groups were divided into "rock" and "pop", with only The Beatles somehow spanning the two. Fortunately, many of us on here, perhaps because The Hollies are so often dismissed as lightweight, can see beyond the acclaimed Kinks/Small Faces/Who/Creation, and appreciate just how good The Tremeloes, Herman's Hermits, DD,D,B,M&T, The Shadows and The DC5 could be. Love 'em or hate 'em, some of The DC5's records were sonically as powerful as anything by The Stones and The Who. Here's one of their best imo (give me The DC5 to The effing Byrds any day!): Yeah, now you mention it there was that snobbish division line that was formed so anyone who wasn't "rock" gets dismissed and most unfairly as many of the "pop" acts sure had their rocky moments and in many ways were more versatile, able to cater for various genres and audiences as the "poppier" groups could appeal to parents as well as youngsters. The DC5's best work rocked. There is no denying the power and energy of "Glad All Over", "Bits and Pieces" and "Anyway You Want It" which pulse and surge to great effect. "Nineteen Days" sure rocks and their early 1966 single "Try Too Hard" was a gem as well with its stop start rhythms and odd mood. Other great DC5 rockers stashed on B sides or albums include "Inside and Out", "Five By Five" and "Maze of Love" - I played the latter to a pal about 20 years ago and asked him to guess who it was and he was stunned when I told him it was the DC5. He had the same reaction to The Shadows' "Scotch On The Socks"! Also straddling the rock/pop divide is the classic "Yesterday Has Gone" by Cupid's Inspiration - flip it over and you get a great moody rocker in "Dream". The Sweet also had problems along these lines as most A sides were pop gems whilst the B sides showed their rocky side and they were a great rock band but couldn't get the credibility or crack the market because of the A side factor. And yes, as fine as some of their work was, I always felt that The Byrds were rather over-rated!
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