Allan did a great interview this afternoon with Johnnie Walker on his Sunday afternoon BBC Radio 2 Show “Sounds of the Seventies”, which is probably Allan’s most high profile interview about his upcoming album to date.
It’s a great interview, marred only by Johnnie’s seeming lack of research about Allan and his career in places, including asking about his son Josh! But at the same time, showcased a very open and honest Allan, even squeezing in the very obscure solo track “Who?” from “Headroom” (1973).
A few revelations: firstly his ongoing talks with Graham Nash to do “something together soon”, secondly complementing Terry Sylvester’s harmony singing, claiming he was a better fit for the Hollies than Graham’s voice, which is something we’ve all said here. So it’s obvious that Mr Clarke isn’t following Terry on Twitter! Allan also makes a heartfelt apology to Tony at the end for dismissing him as not an original member in a recent interview, which was nice but I didn’t feel necessary, so obviously there’s been some repercussions behind the scenes there perhaps.
Above all though, the comments sent in from fans during the show seem to touch Allan, not thinking he’s remembered or had an impact. He spends a portion of the interview gushing over his love of the Everly Brothers, and I don’t think it’s been pointed out to him that so many of us view Allan/The Hollies in the same regard that he has for Don and Phil. As much as I absolutely love the short Rickfors era and as well as the Hollies are doing now, you cannot dispute that Allan is THE voice of the Hollies. And what a voice he has. It was nice of Johnnie to remind him of how much he’s respected and loved as a musician.
As much as I absolutely love the short Rickfors era and as well as the Hollies are doing now, you cannot dispute that Allan is THE voice of the Hollies. And what a voice he has.
Very well put Cameron. Allan Clarke’s magnificent vocals underpinned the enormous success that The Hollies enjoyed for many years. Without doubt, he is one of the greatest singers of his era (and beyond).
Great to hear from Allan again looking so relaxed and happy !
Allan's kind remarks re Terry Sylvester besides his opinion might also be an attempt by him to smooth things over and Terry will now look really bad if he rants re Clarkey again...!
Lets hope Terry's pointless online rants now stop and relations between the main figurehead Hollies members can improve as that would be a very positive thing for the band's standing
Good to see Terry praising Allan in return too...!
I'm sure the similar ongoing acrimony between John McNally and Mike Pender has harmed The Searchers standing
That fresh breeze of positivity lasted about 120 minutes:
🎤 I said hello to Clarke at the R&RHOF & he turned his back on me, you only do that once to me, him & Nash stunk of dope, yuck, ‘So Sad To Watch, Good Love Go Bad’, the truth will come out, & it will be ugly, 🤔
I think Alan is doing the right thing by taking the high ground with Terry. Hes looking like a class act while Terry looks like hes a jealous and bitter old man. Maybe hes got the right to feel hard done by after the rrhof issues but thats over 9 years ago.
yes Terry does himself no favors with his 'bitter old man' routine
I have long suspected Terry's 'feuding rants' are really his trying to hold onto Nash and Clarke's coat tails - especially Nash - in order to keep a link between himself and a better known figure to most Americans
Note how Terry never rants at Tony Hicks the band overall manager who bluntly told him effectively to; 'either shut up or you know where the door is'- when he walked from The Hollies in June 1981
Terry has said he has NO 'issues' with any of the band members too
so I rather suspect all this Anti Clarke and Nash stuff is really just said for his own online profile purposes of linking himself back to them / The Hollies and to possibly also keep his online fans pleased as it makes him look like a 'rock star with attitude re past injustices' etc (yawn)
At the end of the day, Allan is putting out a new album, he's all over the radio again and even TV, we've all reached into our pockets and bought his album - so he's going to hopefully get a nice big royalty cheque at the end of the year so that's all why Terry is mad. He's not interviewed for anything (I think his "hourly rate" puts most people off), he's never the centre of attention in Hollies biographies/write ups, he's not had an album out since the early 1980s and he's living alone in an apartment in America, topping up his royalty fund with small oldies circuit gigs, singing songs that he didn't specifically make famous. He's so insignificant, that no media outlets have picked up on his rants to run a story and try to tarnish the Hollies' "squeaky clean" image, and the media will do ANYTHING to get a scoop like that. But a "Terry Sylvester mad at Allan Clarke" headline isn't going to gather much momentum. Allan has managed to keep a relatively low profile, so Terry is certainly unknown compared!
I think out of respect to Allan, we should stop giving Terry the attention he's craving, especially on the thread about his new solo LP.
I've ordered the vinyl and the signed CD. I'll mostly listen to the vinyl as I do with most releases, but thought the signed CD was a nice thing to have.
That fresh breeze of positivity lasted about 120 minutes:
🎤 I said hello to Clarke at the R&RHOF & he turned his back on me, you only do that once to me, him & Nash stunk of dope, yuck, ‘So Sad To Watch, Good Love Go Bad’, the truth will come out, & it will be ugly, 🤔
😕
.
I was with Dad throughout the R&RHOF and would like to clarify that the last time he smoked anything was the occasional cigar in the 80’s, and I don’t want to insult anybody’s intelligence on this forum by suggesting there might be any truth in this tweet by responding to it, but of course he didn’t smell of dope!
That fresh breeze of positivity lasted about 120 minutes:
🎤 I said hello to Clarke at the R&RHOF & he turned his back on me, you only do that once to me, him & Nash stunk of dope, yuck, ‘So Sad To Watch, Good Love Go Bad’, the truth will come out, & it will be ugly, 🤔
😕
.
I was with Dad throughout the R&RHOF and would like to clarify that the last time he smoked anything was the occasional cigar in the 80’s, and I don’t want to insult anybody’s intelligence on this forum by suggesting there might be any truth in this tweet by responding to it, but of course he didn’t smell of dope!
Maybe the smell was coming from Graham?
Seriously, thanks for clarifying.
I'm usually against all drugs, but it might actually do Terry some good to smoke something that chills him out a bit.
I think Terry has way too much time on his hands. He doesn't seem to have anything on his engagement calendar, so it appears to me that he simply sits and stews in his own juices. Constantly moaning over perceived past injustices is unhealthy and the only person he's hurting is himself.
Clarke seems to be in a much better place, with a new album to promote and a loving family surrounding him.
The contrast between these two ex-Hollies has never been greater than today: one happy, healthy and promoting a new record and the other sounding like a broken one.
I've ordered the CD but will also order the vinyl as a nice to have.
Any of you vinyl only or what's your format of choice?
I ordered both vinyl and signed CD. My preference is for vinyl, but I wanted a signed copy of the CD. I also wanted to upload the album onto the car stereo. I was so relieved to find that Amazon.co.uk will ship to Canada.