What was the closest the Hollies got to a UK hit from 75-80?

[calvertbesseralseric]

Obviously the Hollies had a protracted absence from the UK charts following the release of Curly Billy all the way up to Soldier's Song, so as someone who obviously wasn't brought up in 70s England, which of their "flops" of the era came closest to cracking the charts/receiving substantial airplay? Why did they perform so incredibly poorly in their home country, which certainly had its share of Hollies fans even then?

[gee]

Good question !

As we have discussed elsewhere following up 'The Air That I Breathe' in 1974  was the key single release....

and sadly they blew it big time with the low key 'Son of A Rotten Gambler' (supposedly 'rush released' per the promo and issued at Ron Richards suggestion) which  had earlier been a big hit in Canada (for Anne Murray) but sadly for The Hollies proved to be  a BIG error despite being another decent enough Chip Taylor song like 'I Can't Let Go' and 'The Baby' tho' in truth crucially it was nowhere near as immediately striking as either of those were - even if the band turned in a pretty strong performance of it in retrospect

they DID pick up some regular UK radio airplay - tho' then BBC Radio One DJ Tony Blackburn tellingly commented after playing it:

'hmm I must say I prefer The Hollies doing songs like Sorry Suzanne or Bus Stop !'

they also performed SOARG on ITV 'Les Dawson Show' (what if it had been 'Tip of The Iceberg' or even the Clarke version of 'Out On The Road' ?)

sadly the UK public just were not impressed with SOARG which was SUCH a key single release....probably leading to the parting of the ways with Ron Richards a year or so later on

Allan's 'I'm Down'  - was next and charted well down under - DJ John Peel rated it highly and while no doubt a strong song and band performance was far too heavy a subject to work really for UK singles buyers taste I would assume and failed to chart


'Sandy' - could and should have charted but following two  slow rather unmemorable flop UK singles (even if decent songs in themselves) it only picked up some Radio Two airplay as far as I remember and did nothing for them despite being a much loved concert song thereafter...

BOTH of those were on the UK album 'Another Night' and very likely many UK Hollies fans settled for having the songs on LP and therefore didn't bother getting the polydor singles of the two songs  

'Boulder' - was a fine production job by Alan Parsons, initially it was a stand alone single  and no question a strong performance notably by Allan and Terry vocally - but again got minimal radio airplay, was probably seen as just 'more of the same' mega serious stuff by UK Disc Jockeys  and with scant promotion failed to chart at home despite making no.10 in New Zealand  - someone SHOULD have been aware of the problem re run of the mill ballads (compared to 'He Ain't Heavy' / 'Air That I Breathe') just  not working on singles by this time

A ballad has to really stand out as a song - like 'He Ain't Heavy' and 'Air That I Breathe' - to work on a single, and they don't come along very often...something The Hollies 'committee' seemed quite unable to grasp back then or even in the 80's ...and when they DID do another style on singles they STILL got it wrong re the UK market

hence: 

'Star' - which did get some more UK radio airplay but again failed to chart at home - the 'mock reggae' thing worked later for 10cc re 'Dreadlock Holiday' but while charting in Europe at home it failed to register probably as to many by now The Hollies were being deemed an older chart force not so relevant in 1976....shame !


'Daddy Don't Mind' - while a o.k. song had rather a weak song scenario with character names and the unexpected trombone solo rather broke the flow of the piece not helping it as a potential UK chart single - even Bobby admitted that !

'Woggle that whatnot' - made Bernie Calvert cringe ! he openly admitted that he  loathed it, tho' again it charted elsewhere...in the UK it was largely dismissed as jumping on the disco bandwagon BUT with a slowish tempo not suitable for dancing ! (that made sense....) - the guitarwork and Chicago like brass was fine plus solid drumming and tight harmonies, probably the weak lyrics like: 'rub-a-dub-hug me' etc made it an unlikely chart contender at home

- besides would you ask for a single with that ghastly title of  'Wiggle That Wotsit' ?? (chances are a record shop girl might slap your face and get you arrested !)

'Hello To Romance' - did pick up some radio airplay and had it been following some more uptempo chart hits just might have charted at home as it was a fine ballad and excellent group performance...but after a long period absent from the UK charts again was probably seen by many as too low key and just not memorable enough from a band many by now may have viewed as a 'spent force' (?)

'Amnesty' - as above ! despite great vocals and a decent guitar solo it was just 'too serious' for most I suspect


'Something To Live For' - as above only even less of a stand out track !

'Heartbeat' - guess what, another slow ballad ! it got some Radio Two airplay but sank without trace...funnily enough their unusual synth' led take on  'Peggy Sue' seemed to pick up more UK radio airplay at the time than the actual polydor single of 'Heartbeat' did as a few DJs liked the differing take on a famous song

so there you have it, how to release the wrong songs or the wrong song at the wrong time !

while each song had it's merits clearly by 1975 they were going wrong re choices on singles as UK radio airplay diminished re new singles more and more plus their famous sixties / early seventies past hits overtook the new singles greatly on UK radio and in truth polydor it must be said were losing interest in them and gave the seventies singles less and less promotion as the decade went on

their BEST chances for another UK chart hit single after 'Air' came with first  'Son of A Rotten Gambler' re regular radio airplay and a TV show plug while it was also readily available in stock in the record shops (I got my copy handed over the shop counter no problem) however significantly by later seventies few shops it seems were stocking Hollies singles and you had to specifically order them !

 - also they had some chart potential with; 'Sandy' then 'Star' and later 'Hello To Romance' as those singles probably got the most UK radio airplay

- had they done a few UK TV shows to push those singles maybe they just might have got a chart entry...clearly a TV promotion pushed both 'Hollies Live Hits' and 'Twenty Golden Greats' up the UK album chart to no.4 and no.2 in 1977 and 1978 and indeed 'Soldier's Song' managed to just scrape into the UK top fifty in 1980 - so SOME chart potential still was there in the UK for the group

To younger people in the seventies used to groups such as Roxy Music, 10cc, the Glam rock acts etc The Hollies were probably seen as a rather old fashioned band, good but maybe a bit passe by today's younger acts standards (ironic many like Elton John, Alvin Stardust, Wings, Slade, David Bowie etc were contemporaries of The Hollies) and them always seeming to do such melodramatic 'serious' songs probably had little appeal to younger UK record buyers who mainly got new singles releases then, while older buyers were buying LPs more


here is that 1974 TV version of 'Son of A Rotten Gambler' on Les Dawson's show - and note how image wise they still look very good here compared to how absurd they looked only a couple of years later !!


after this they became rare on UK TV besides one ITV special and a performance of 'Long Cool Woman' on Mike Mansfield's ITV show 'Supersonic' I can't think of much else at home on UK TV in the seventies until they appeared circa 1980 plugging 'Soldier's Song'

[albatros]

The breakpoint in the single charts was first the release of "SON OF A ROTTON GAMBLER" as successor of THE AIR ... - a fatal mistake. I would have chosen as the successor to THE AIR - DON`T LET ME DOWN - from the 74 blue eyes HOLLIES LP. After that, Sandy and I`m Down would surely have reached the charts.
The second big mistake happened to the band after the renewed number 1 hit from the year 1988. After a Nr. 1 hit the AIR THAT I BREATH - ware was published again as back of HEAVY. Who came up with this stupid idea - incomprehensible.
Why the HOLLIES did not release super song material like:

IF THE LIGHTS GO OUT - 1st version from 1979 with MIKE BATT
I CAN`T LIE NO MORE - also a MIKE BATT song

We will never know.

[moorlock2003]

US Epic passed on SOARG in favor of Allan's ballad "Don't Let Me Down" (only worldwide 7" release other than on a Mexican EP), but the edit (3:10) they created
spoiled the flow of the song, dooming it.   I wish they had chosen one of the fine rockers on the album. "Falling Calling", "Rubber Lucy", and "It's a shame it's a game" all had hit potential, and if Epic had brought the band over here like they should have, a proper promotion could have boosted the band's status at a crucial time. It is odd that this didn't happen; Epic made up a large promo poster for the album, touting the "long awaited reunion with their founder, Allan Clarke", so who dropped the ball? The record company is partially to blame, but most of the blame belongs with the band's laziness by not coming to the US to promote the reunion and their excellent (best ever?!) album. It hurts me to think how things could have been different if better decisions had been made.

[anthony]

I think the Hollies lost their relevance in the mid 70's, I think with the new bands and singers coming through the Hollies may have just become a bit of yesterdays news.  

I thought soldiers song was brilliant and should have been a world wide hit, but that's the Hollies fan talking, the new artists had taken over by that stage I feel.

Funny when I see their music clips like Star, the audiences seem bored. Funny when they tried to be modern they got knocked for song like Wiggle that wotsit, a disco type number,

its like we can't take a trick. 

[moorlock2003]

The success of their ballads ultimately did them in chartwise. When upbeat music was all the rage, with bands such as The Sweet, Mott the Hoople, and many others were conquering the charts, The Hollies were putting out pleasant but drab fare like Gambler, I'm Down, Boulder to Birmingham, and Amnesty. They had it in them to rock, but the consensus in the UK was that more ballads would keep them in the charts. This was emphasized when their US and Canada No. 1 Long Cool woman didn't even make the Top 30 in the UK. More ballads came and sank without trace. They should have stayed in the rocking musical direction that was working for them, even if it wasn't in the UK. No producer hired after Ron Richards quit was also a mistake. I still say "Star" could have been a hit had a proper producer been involved.

[Stranger]

I think Mexico Gold was the ideal follow up to Long Cool Woman in the US. They should have tried it instead of Curly Billy.

I think they could also have dusted it off as the follow up to Air instead of Gambler. It fit very well as both an LCW follow up and in keeping with their Hollies 74 style.

[Deleted]

Born To Run should've been a Hollies single.

[cameron]

Funny how great 'Tip Of The Iceberg' would have been instead of even 'The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee', but it remained in the can until 1997! How did no one spot that one? It's got an infectious beat, a euphoric middle-eight section and absolute top drawer Hollies harmonies. Not to mention it's actually got much better lyrics than '...McGee' and 'Son Of A Rotten Gambler'. I think the Hollies lost a lot of confidence in themselves; partly because of their comparatively poorer chart performances but I think they held onto Ron Richards for far longer than they should have. He didn't seem to push them at all - ever, for that matter, not just in the 1970s. He was very much the "get it in the can and go home before last orders" type of guy, whereas I thought the Hollies audibly sounded much better from around 1972 when Alan Parsons took over. The recordings were generally more polished and more fleshed out, like they'd been allowed the time to spend on them.

Back to the original point, there was little to excite the charts in the UK between 1975 and 1980 in terms of singles, but LPs faired better. 'Hollies Live Hits', previously a German and Canada only LP in 1976 got UK release in early 1977 and climbed to Number Four in the UK album chart. Then '20 Golden Greats' ignited the charts in mid-1978 and reached Number Two. So the interest in the group was obviously there. It's also worth noting that there was no official UK tour from 1968 through to 1974! The odd date here and there, but no proper tour. I don't think they came back to the Uk until 1977 either, so again, that could be the problem. And as pointed out, there was very little action of the Hollies on TV in the UK during those years too. This would have been the start of their self-imposed semi-retirement around 1975.

[gee]

Some light re the band's confidence might be in a review in a UK music paper either NME or 'Melody Maker' I read just after 'Air That I Breathe' was a hit

it told of The Hollies not having toured the UK for several years at that point and how they meantime had done Cabaret which showed re the 'well rehearsed chat' between songs that seemed a bit excessive to the reviewer who was surprised there was NO sign of 'Curly Billy' in the setlist !

he said Bobby Elliott held them together through a shaky start and it was only after the third number they seemed to settle down more

he felt Allan Clarke seemed rather ill at ease unless singing and re the songs they did the expected hits but the reviewer found the unccompanied version of 'Amazing Grace' fine for working men's clubs but not what younger people wanted

the reviewer seemed to think the band was unsure whom they should be aiming themselves at - the 'chicken in a basket' crowd or not etc...he also suggested they sort out an encore for their act !!

I think he had some valid points and it seems the band were a little unsure of their musical direction at that point as if the BIG success of 'Air That I Breathe' rather threw them a bit - this had happened earlier re LCW in 1972 and again later re 'He Ain't Heavy' in 1988

[knut]

I totally agree with Albatros. Both songs would have been huge. But If the lights go out was out in Germany as a single A?

[moorlock2003]

Apr 28, 2019 10:37:54 GMT Stranger said:

I think Mexico Gold was the ideal follow up to Long Cool Woman in the US. They should have tried it instead of Curly Billy.

I think they could also have dusted it off as the follow up to Air instead of Gambler. It fit very well as both an LCW follow up and in keeping with their Hollies 74 style.

Absolutely. Mexico Gold is a hip tune, too. It's about marijuana! This could have absolutely erased any notions of the band being square. Epic should have replaced Curly Billy with Mexico Gold on the LP.

[knut]

I totally agree with Albatros. Both songs would have been huge. But If the lights go out was out in Germany as a single A?

[moorlock2003]

Mexico Gold, had Epic chosen to issue it, would have been the followup to Long Dark Road.

If the Lights Go Out was a US A-side too, although the track got a remix that was horrible!

[knut]

I think Albatros wanted the Terry Sylvester version of ITLGO

[stuball]

Apr 29, 2019 16:37:06 GMT moorlock2003 said:

Apr 28, 2019 10:37:54 GMT Stranger said:

I think Mexico Gold was the ideal follow up to Long Cool Woman in the US. They should have tried it instead of Curly Billy.

I think they could also have dusted it off as the follow up to Air instead of Gambler. It fit very well as both an LCW follow up and in keeping with their Hollies 74 style.

Absolutely. Mexico Gold is a hip tune, too. It's about marijuana! This could have absolutely erased any notions of the band being square. Epic should have replaced Curly Billy with Mexico Gold on the LP.

Mexico Gold was a great recording and to my ear, sounds like a hit. But I wonder if its allusion to marijuana didn't scotch its release. Hollies fans generally being thought of as being quite straight-laced, perhaps management thought it might damage the group's squeaky-clean image.

[Deleted]

Any drugs-related song would've probably have been banned by the BBC, therefore greatly reducing its chances of becoming a UK hit.

[ransford]

Hollies lost their musical direction in mid seventies. Should they have continued on the Mikael Rickfors-era, or gone back to just make hits? Allan returned and they found The Air. A lovely tune. The success was there again. But what to do next? More ballads?? I think they should have chosen something more up-tempo to show they were not stuck in the ballads track. Probably they didn't have in the basket, but write it or buy it then! (Some of you suggested Mexico Gold but in my option it didn't have the potential, I don't like the song that much).

I've never understood why they released Son Of A Rotten Gambler as a follow up to The Air. It´s just not good enough. Like Knut I agree with Albatross that later on the Mike Batt songs had full potential being big hits. Soldiers Song is another favourite of mine. A very good and commercial song with strong and always actual lyrics.

Hollies seems to have given up getting another hit nowadays. Re-record Soldiers Song and there it is with a a little help from good promotion.

[gee]

it was longtime producer Ron Richards idea to go with 'Son of A Rotten Gambler' and it's failure probably began the effective main parting of the ways between them across most of the seventies

I don't think 'Mexico Gold' with references to drugs and going south of the border to find a woman with lines like;
'I was looking for a lady someone to have my baby..' would have gone down well in the UK in 1974 - remember them singing 'she was gonna have a baby' stunned the 'Top of The Pops' crowd in 1970...!

likewise 'I'm Down' was very unlikely to chart in the UK either with 'someone went through pain to have me...' etc - mature, deeper yes...but UK seventies hit material NO !!

consider these as possible polydor singles:

the powering 'Tip of The Iceberg' (a non album track) following after  'Air That I Breathe' showing their contrasting styles then the gentler harmony led  'Sandy' followed by maybe the pulsating slide guitar driven  'Time Machine Jive' then the carefree singalong  'Sweet Country Calling' followed by 'There's Always Goodbye' (with a slight remix to highlight the 'layered' guitar intro rather more), then driving numbers with o.k. lyrics (in contrast to the  two issued singles; 'Daddy' and 'Wiggle' which had  more banal ones !) say  '48 Hour Parole', then maybe a nod to disco but more brisk danceable with powering percussion in 'Draggin' My Heels' - it charted in Canada - followed by maybe a guitar led rocker 'Louise' with fine sax work then onto the romantic  'Hello To Romance' followed by another powering pop/rocker 'Burn Out', maybe next up  'It's in Everyone of Us' (then a known song featuring  in Dave Clark's successful 'Time' musical), again then back uptempo with 'If The Lights Go Out' (Sylvester version) then the dramatic  'Soldier's Song' followed by a driving guitar/ vocal harmonies led 'That'll Be The Day' (done just as Status Quo later did with their successful UK hit cover of 'The Wanderer' some two years on in 1982) ......

....if these made up those polydor UK singles they just might have seen The Hollies notch up a few more UK chart hits over the seventies up to 1980 ?? ('Sandy' and 'Hello To Romance' might have charted in the UK then IF they followed on from more recent chart singles as they likely would have got far more UK radio airplay possibly on BBC's Radio One which would have made a big difference)

I can't in all honesty really see 'It's in Every One of Us' being a hit single for them however it was probably the best known song to the wider public on an album '5317704' in 1979 that to me never had ANY potential chart singles on it - Gary Brooker failed to get a UK hit with his single cover of 'Say it Ain't So Jo' so it's unlikely it would have worked for The Hollies as a charting  single either (?) and that was probably the only other potential single from the album in my view, certainly we do know that 'Something To Live For' sank without trace...

They did of course cut a lovely version of Gary Benson's 'Sanctuary' that could have had some chart potential but as with 'Carrie' later it seems the record company had no interest in releasing it...

the formula re singles was simple...keep it quite accessable, uptempo and danceable, mainly cheerful and more MEMORABLE for the wider public to cotton onto and ENJOY listening to !

it's not rocket science - overall you keep the slower deeper more melodramatic material for albums....


re singles: prominent use of Clarke's voice, the trademark vocal harmonies,feature  Hicks guitar, Elliott's drumming etc... that is play to  the band's core strengths on mostly upbeat positive songs  - and you could also slip in a few slower romantic songs from time to time but these should be very much as exceptions NOT the rule !

instead they chose slow melodramatic ballads with the odd mock reggae and slow tempo mock disco songs plus songs with out of place trombone solos and re rather odd named characters like

'Sass E. Frass' and 'Joe D. Glow'....!

boy did the band badly need a younger outside producer to succeed Ron Richards like say; Gus Dudgeon, Roy Thomas Baker, Glyn Johns etc

[baz]

A lot of great thoughts and opinions shared in this thread which pretty much sums up what went wrong with The Hollies in the mid 70's and how they vanished from being chart regulars. My own thoughts...

That run of singles from "Gambler" to "Boulder" I think caused irreparable damage. The songs in the main were OK, but all were plodders. I can understand why they figured the success of "Air" and remembering their second biggest earliest hit was with "Heavy" they should aim for ballads but it was a huge mistake. Whilst "Heavy" and "Air" are anthemic to this day, where The Hollies went badly wrong was they forgot what made them so successful as a singles act in the first place as the vast majority up till "Air" were lively songs one could sing along and tap their feet to. It was a simple formula that worked a treat and in 1974, that all came to a crashing halt. Four dirgey ploddy flops in a row over a 2 year period... 2 years was a long time back then and one can suspect casual Hollies fans giving up on them as those 4 singles are rather heavy going. As suggested above, they should had tossed in a ballad every few singles. They then changed tack with "Star", "Daddy" and "Wotsit" all of which were much livelier but they weren't the best of songs and "Wotsit" was plain embarrassing. Then it was back to the ballads and with those late 70's albums getting ever slower, it sounded like the band had sunk into a coma. There were some good songs buried in there (or left unreleased) but being surrounded by a lot of forgettable sludge, they didn't stand a chance. Punk and New Wave had started shaking things up and The Hollies sounded well out of step by comparison. If only they did what The Searchers of all bands did, who surprised everyone with a credible new wave styled direction. OK, The Searchers didn't enjoy hits again but they did regain credibility and that Sire period stands up way better than what The Hollies were churning out at the time. The Hollies were a fine little rock/pop band and drowning in ballad hell, lost their edge and credibility and people forgot what they were truly capable of.

"Buddy Holly" - to my ears - wasn't a bad album. It has it's moments but was a couple of years too late and they made a calamitous choice for the single. It's 1980, a new decade, times had changed and here were The Hollies hopelessly out of date whereas had they used one of the rockier tracks as a single, they might had fared better as there was a curious rock and roll revival going on during that time into 1981 and 1982 but once again, The Hollies blundered and missed the boat.

Another problem was in spite of the fact they turned in many fine albums, The Hollies were never taken seriously as an album band and it's a shame 1974's "Hollies" didn't sell as well as it should as that was a strong set. There are a few good songs on the albums that followed but gradually, become bogged down in ballads. Was this the same band who years earlier had us all singing along to many a classic single? Their promotion as outlined above didn't help either but even then, I think even if they had more TV exposure in the UK, it still wouldn't have made much difference as there was no escaping the age old image problem the band had. Tony and Terry always looked fine and "with it" but Allan went too far with his rock god barechested antics and perm and as for Bernie and Bobby's follicular problems, they weren't the trendiest looking of bands and I think that's why their album covers... my God, their album covers, were so awful.

With a few decades hindsight, it's all too easy in some ways to say "they made mistakes with that" but things turned out the way they did. A shame in many ways as they could and should have been much bigger but there we go...

[gee]

One curious thing re seventies Hollies that was totally the opposite to sixties Hollies....

...was often they seemed to sound rather SAD and forlorn in their ballad harmonies - a fine sound yes but if you take that fifth CD in 'Head Out Of Dreams' filled with all those slow 'Crazy Steal' / 'Five Three One...' ballads lumped together...boy is it heavy going and quite sombre in tone

the emotive tinge that Clarke-Hicks-Sylvester naturally had as on say 'He Ain't Heavy' / 'My Life is Over With You' etc was then balanced by more upbeat uptempo happier tracks too like 'Please Let Me Please' etc

however later they seemed very melancholic too often with scant balancing out of brighter tracks  - hence on 'Crazy Steal' songs like 'Burn Out' and the jaunty 'Caracas' stand out like palm trees in a desert of gloomy songs !

while a more serious ballad in itself like say 'Boulder' or 'Amnesty' may be fine IF surrounded by more cheerful contrasting driving tracks with some guitars and drumming if you make it all doom and gloom it hardly inspires the wider public people to bother with your product

dropping 'If The Lights Go Out' for 'Soldier's Song' - then later 'Laughter Turns To Tears' for the more melodramatic 'Too Many Hearts Get Broken' says it all

I suspect Mr. Hicks was chiefly responsible - hoping for another 'He Ain't Heavy' / 'Air That I Breathe' big ballad hit

but far too often the 'joy' in the later Clarke fronted Hollies seemed to be far too marginalised plus Allan always seemed to look as miserable as sin even singing 'Heavy' at no.1 in the UK

contrast the doomy Hollies general stance - 'Heartbeat' was another such single - with Clarkey's solo albums then which were full of driving rockin' numbers...

[baz]

Oct 15, 2019 19:13:45 GMT gee said:

but far too often the 'joy' in the later Clarke fronted Hollies seemed to be far too marginalised plus Allan always seemed to look as miserable as sin even singing 'Heavy' at no.1 in the UK

I do wonder about that. Maybe Allan was fearful that "Heavy" reaching number one in 1988 was gonna be a repeat of what happened in 1974 and trigger off another long run of ballad singles. And what happened? EMI reissued "Air"... was that a Hollies decision or EMI's? Whoever made that decision, it was another clanger because it cemented them as an "oldies" band. They did put out "Find Me A Family" shortly after and that TV show caused a little controversy at the time which gave them some unexpected press coverage, but little could any of us had guessed there would only be two or three new tracks to come and then Allan was gone in 1999.

A few of my schoolpals who had bought the "Heavy" hit liked the B side - "Carrie" and in 1988 that still sounded relatively fresh. I liked it, was a good opener to "Rarities" which was a very strong album, I was very excited by it at the time, actually enjoying side one more than side two which considering they were tracks they'd rejected, I was staggered by the high quality of the material. "Louisiana Man" and "Eleanor's Castle" were the weakest and most novel songs but the rest were excellent including the two late 70's ballads which were welcome as they weren't surrounded by a ton of other ballads so they stood out. The Rickfors cameo was a neat touch as well... always enjoyed that track.

Wasn't it suggested at the end of the epic Record Collector piece in 1988 that Allan was keen to get recording new material? That didn't happen and I was baffled why on earth there wasn't a new album of new material in 1989 or 1990. Another wasted opportunity. Maybe Allan had that feeling deep down that the success of "Heavy" in 1988 wasn't going to pay off at all well on a creative level.

[cameron]

I've always had a strong conviction that 'Reasons To Believe' was Allan's response to the Hollies not wanting to do another album. How else do you explain a ten year gap between solo LPs? I know some people don't like 'Reasons To Believe' because of its slightly dated production (though not as bad as 'What Goes Around', IMO), I actually really enjoy the album. Allan's voice is still a force to be reckoned with and the songs are of a consistently good quality. But that was released in 1990, so the 1988 mention of wanting to record a Hollies album seems plausible.

I've long said that around 1978, Allan's solo LPs start to overtake the Hollies' efforts in terms of quality. I think had the Hollies skipped 'Buddy Holly', which I know was Allan's idea, and recorded his whole 'Legendary Heroes' album, their fortunes would have been more favourable. Especially with such a strong lead single in 'Slipstream'. As much as I love Allan's solo career, he just didn't quite have the profile and presence to lift off on his own, he needed the Hollies and they needed him. That's been proved again and again. 

I've always liked 'Rarities', in fact, there's very very few previously unreleased Hollies songs that I've thought that they did right leaving them in the vaults. Even 'Schoolgirl' is now a fairly regular staple of compilation albums. The Lewisham Odeon concert too, Tony and Bobby were interviewed a couple of years before it was issued, stating that their performance was "flat" and "horrible", confirming that it would never be released. Upon hearing it, I have no idea what they were talking about! I really hope Ron Furmanek's project unearths some more gems, which I just know that it will.

[baz]

Oct 18, 2019 17:43:37 GMT cameron said:

I've long said that around 1978, Allan's solo LPs start to overtake the Hollies' efforts in terms of quality. I think had the Hollies skipped 'Buddy Holly', which I know was Allan's idea, and recorded his whole 'Legendary Heroes' album, their fortunes would have been more favourable. Especially with such a strong lead single in 'Slipstream'. As much as I love Allan's solo career, he just didn't quite have the profile and presence to lift off on his own, he needed the Hollies and they needed him. That's been proved again and again. 

I've always liked 'Rarities', in fact, there's very very few previously unreleased Hollies songs that I've thought that they did right leaving them in the vaults. Even 'Schoolgirl' is now a fairly regular staple of compilation albums. The Lewisham Odeon concert too, Tony and Bobby were interviewed a couple of years before it was issued, stating that their performance was "flat" and "horrible", confirming that it would never be released. Upon hearing it, I have no idea what they were talking about! I really hope Ron Furmanek's project unearths some more gems, which I just know that it will.

Though lead singer and stage frontman of The Hollies, Allan never seemed truly comfortable in the role especially when Graham Nash departed so as a solo act, he had the voice and material but not the dynamic presence or gift of the gab to assert himself as a name in his own right. Graham was always forceful and had leadership qualities so knew how to stand out and speak for himself (and The Hollies) whereas Allan was more reticent so wasn't quite "pushy" when it came to pushing his solo career, plus he was split between that and The Hollies - The Hollies was his bread and butter, so his solo career felt more like a sideline. Allan was a great team player but not a leader. Graham could and still does talk forever and a day with huge belief in himself but reading Allan's interviews over the years there was often a sense of uncertainty and a brutal sense of honesty where he undersold himself. It's been great seeing and hearing him in recent interviews as he's much more relaxed and humble... before, he could be a little bitter at times. Calling Graham's newest songs "dreary" shortly before Graham departed in 1968 was not a nice way to talk publicly and he was very dismissive during his second departure about Terry Sylvester doing press on behalf of The Hollies. This is not having a dig at Allan - he came across to me as a realist, wearing his heart on his sleeve and in the music industry that could go against you.

Another problem I think that went against him that was highlighted on his first album was you hear his voice then you couldn't help but expect THOSE harmonies to kick in on the choruses and the fact they were absent possibly alienated a few listeners who took a chance. It's a little reminiscent of the ballad singles dilemma we talked about above where an occasional ballad single would had been fine - "Long Cool Woman" stood out on "Distant Light" but had there been 2 or 3 more solo Allan tracks on that album it would had been too much, so faced with albums full of just Allan and no Hollies harmonies, it wasn't what the general buying public wanted. Full marks to Allan for doing what he did as a solo act as indeed his solo work was more interesting and livelier than what The Hollies were doing in the mid to late 70's but sadly, that success as a solo artiste eluded him and his chances were slim.

"Rarities" was a genuine treat back in 1988 and you are right in that much of the unreleased material that was on there and has emerged since then was of the highest quality to the degree it's almost unbelievable they were cast aside for whatever project they were working on. As a musician and singer myself, I can vouch for the fact that artistes are usually their own worst critics... they rejected songs for whatever reasons feeling it wasn't as up to scratch as others they had at the time and as for the Lewisham show... what sounded "horrible" to them sounded mighty fine to the rest of us which perhaps goes to show the artistes are not always the best judges of their own work. I have recorded all manner of songs over the years and couldn't bear listening to most of them for a variety of reasons but years later revisiting them with fresh ears, I can often be surprised and wonder why I disliked them back in the day as now they're not all bad at all!