|
Post by Gralto on Jun 16, 2015 13:17:15 GMT
Just been forwarded this information, which some of you may already know:
The Road Is Long...The Hollies Story - The first ever biography of The Hollies (well, in English!! - SS)- is published next Thursday the 24th of June. This day marks the 50th anniversary of the band's first No.1 hit and the book's author Brian Southall will be doing around 20 radio, press and online interviews.
Info copied from an advance promotion sheet put out by the publisher Red Planet Books:
Main selling points • The first ever biography of one of the sixties and seventies biggest British bands • Former band member and superstar Graham Nash is a contributor • Strong fan base and still touring • Social media marketing campaign and strong interest from reviewers
About the book The publication date marks the 50th anniversary of the band’s first No.1 hit back in 1965 when ‘I’m Alive’ knocked Elvis’ ‘Crying in the Chapel’ off the top spot on June 24th. This is the first ever biography of a band which had two remarkable careers. Their amazing run of three-part harmony hits every year came to an end when Graham Nash left for the US taking his new songs ‘Marrakesh Express’ and ‘Teach Your Children’ with him to form Crosby, Stills & Nash. But a second run of success was kick-started with a wave of classic singles led by ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ and ‘The Air that I Breathe’ dominated charts and the airwaves in the 1970s. With exclusive guest interviews and contributions from band members including Graham Nash, THE HOLLIES STORY promises to re-evaluate their place in the history of popular music. The band is one of the leading British groups of the 1960s (231 weeks on the UK singles charts during the 1960s; the 9th highest of any artist of the decade) and into the mid 1970s. Sixties hits included: Just One Look; Here I Go Again; I’m Alive’; Look Through Any Window; If I Needed Someone; I Can’t Let Go; Bus Stop; Stop, Stop, Stop; On a Carousel; Carrie Anne; King Midas in Reverse; Jennifer Eccles; Sorry Suzanne and He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother Seventies hits included Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress; and The Air That I Breathe. The road is long... THE HOLLIES STORY Brian Southall Brian Southall Publication date: June 24, 2015 Available from June 3, 2015 ISBN 978 1 9059 5976 1 Extent: 192pp Illustrated 8pp Page size: 228x 152mm Binding: Paperback Recommended Retail Price: £15.99 $25.95
|
|
|
Post by gee on Jun 16, 2015 17:00:00 GMT
Thanks for the info Simon - from that promotional stuff it sounds interesting
Brian Southall worked for EMI for 15 years plus was at A & M Records too, and was with 'Disc' & 'Melody Maker' UK music papers so he presumably has alot of contacts at EMI & in the music industry.
Southall has written a number of other music books notably several re The Beatles.
Red Planet Books were doing a pre-publishing price of 10.99 UK pounds plus postage, Amazon UK show it at 15.99 regular price plus postage
It's 192 pages thus I would assume it should at least consist of a general overview of The Hollies story, presumably concentrating most on the original & later key main group members backgrounds, the band's formative years, & detailing their singles & albums chart heyday from 1963 to 1974, hopefully going into some detail and devoting at least a final chapter to the latter seventies onwards (even if that part might be more of a general 'skip over' !).
I only hope it's NOT full of the same old comparisons with other bands (ie The Beatles, etc) with The Hollies coming off as 'second best' as more than one writer & internet 'reviewer' (even a couple of album sleeve note writers) have done in the past...
whatever, we shall see, fingers crossed it will be a decent book at last devoted to The Hollies - we could do with one !
|
|
|
Post by stuball on Jun 18, 2015 13:24:57 GMT
whatever, we shall see, fingers crossed it will be a decent book Yes, my feelings exactly! Eager and apprehensive at the same time. Hopeful that we will finally get a good in-depth account of the group, yet at the same time more than a little concerned that The Hollies will be damned with faint praise in comparison with their more illustrious contemporaries, and also painfully aware that this tome may be more than a little Nash-centric.
|
|
|
Post by Gralto on Jun 18, 2015 23:11:42 GMT
Well I know that Southall has spoken to Butch Mepham of the Fourtones (the keeper of that band's flame) so knowing Butch as I do, he will have some good yarns for quoting in this book
|
|
|
Post by roots66 on Jun 21, 2015 18:37:36 GMT
|
|
|
Post by gee on Jun 22, 2015 9:30:42 GMT
Interesting interview - thanks for the link !
Not sure about the authors idea for a sixties line up 'reunion' tour tho' - would Allan Clarke's voice now really be up to it ? (has it improved enough over the years during his long lay off from regular performing ?)
I do know, having seen them both perform, that Carl Wayne & Peter Howarth had/have very Loud voices too (I'm sure Mike Rickfors had in the USA concerts too) so while Clarkey was of course a hard act to follow I think Brian Southall's a little unfair on Clarke's successors, tho' Allan is of course THE Hollies lead vocalist singing most of their famous back catalogue so strongly...
Brian sounded perhaps a little 'dismissive' of The Hollies studio albums in that interview too ? (an old stereotypical idea re The Hollies) saying they were never a big albums band, true their famous hit singles are mainly what the group's reputation is founded upon, and tended to eclipse the accompanying LPs at the time, nevertheless they still had Eight UK chart studio albums over 1964-74 with most notably; 'Stay With..' 1964 (no.2 ) 'Hollies' 1965 (No. 8) & 'Sing Dylan' 1969 (No. 3) - while 'In The Hollies Style' reached the top twenty of the NME Albums chart & besides those UK chart albums also charting in other countries both studio albums; 'Distant Light' and 'Romany' charted overseas if not in the UK - so they weren't by any means a poor 'albums' band at all were they...?
While of course some compilation albums of their hits sold very strongly - notably; 'Hollies Greatest' (UK No.1) & 'Twenty Golden Greats' (No.2) even 'Hollies Live Hits' (No.4) and later on both the 'Evergreen' cover CD & 'The Hollies Greatest Hits' CD charted in 1993 & 2001 respectively, as have other hits compilations, while down under another 'Greatest Hits' CD dislodged The Beatles 'One' CD (after several weeks at the top spot)from the summit of the album chart in New Zealand.
Brian clearly has many contacts and has interviewed or spoken via email to alot of figures involved with the group
- so it should be a interesting book on The Hollies (at last !)
Note There is also an interesting interview with Allan Clarke titled; 'Allan Clarke - Would You Believe' on that Strange Brew website
|
|
|
Post by christocello on Jun 22, 2015 15:44:07 GMT
Reunion of the sixties line-up? - I also think that wouldn't be a great idea. As an admirer of the Zombies most important Album (Odessey and oracle) I listened some days ago to an actual yt-video ("Emily") of the surviving members. The voice of someone in his 70s can't be compared with his strong voice in his 20s. Even when I'm listening to nowadays Macca, it hurts my ears and heart, although he might be great in respect to his age. Only the Beach Boys made it so clever - IMHO they worked not only with lots of backing singers but they also made lots of use of technical device ("melodyne" e.g.) to let their voices appear much younger (That's why God made the Radio; e.g. also Brian's newest album).
Some weeks ago I acquired a tape from the Hollies 1990 UK-Tour - and even in this recording they had put some of the songs into a lower key. And the really great songs like "He ain't heavy" were suffering from a certain inconsistency in Allan's voice. So what would a reunion be good for? Also the short-lived 1983 reunion seemed to me as if it was mostly done for the money and the media - and for the memory to compare the grown up (old) lads with an energetic combo that a lot of fans still had in their heart. And even here the questions may arise - should a 60s line-up have Eric Haydock or Bernie Calvert on Bass?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2015 17:18:14 GMT
Of course there won't be a 60s reunion. I did live in hope after the R&RHoF that Allan and Graham would do something together (maybe an album & a few semi-acoustic dates) but even that seems extremely unlikely.
As for lowering the keys, as early as 1975 (on the circulating TV Special) "I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top" was performed lower, and in 1982 even "Carrie-Anne" was brought down from it's usual "C" to "Bb" so that Allan could sing the middle eight (later they brought it back up to it's usual key, but got Graham and then Alan to sing the middle eight instead). So Allan's voice was losing it's range a lot earlier than many fans assume.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2015 17:24:11 GMT
As for Macca, he seems to cope better these days on screaming rockers than he does on softer material (Helter Skelter, I Got A Feeling, even Long Tall Sally are all performed in their original keys). So (unlike Allan) he hasn't so much lost power or range, it's more that he struggles to keep a smooth pitch.
Someone whose voice has held up remarkably well is Mick Jagger - though of course he was always a much more limited vocalist than Allan, Macca etc in the first place...
|
|
|
Post by gee on Jun 22, 2015 18:26:35 GMT
Years ago a schoolfriend of mine's Father was a great fan of Bing Crosby - I recall his 'old man' had loads of Bing's albums all from his vintage years
His Dad was quite blunt and told it like he saw (or heard) it - he told me he LOVED Bing's singing...then added:
'of course he's bloody RUBBISH now tho' (!) - his voice 'went' about ten years back & he now just 'croaks' out 'white christmas' as he just can't give it up...'
I laughed at the time at his frankness ...Bing's voice sounded not too bad to me (or when he did that duet with David Bowie) but I guess compared to his 'heyday' his voice had deteriorated alot which an ardent longtime fan could tell...
...and now when I hear Sir Elton John or Sir Paul...and (in the latter years with The Hollies) Allan Clarke's voices a mere shadow of their old sound...
I know my own fav 'music era' has arrived at the same point in time as my old school pal's father's had all those years ago...!
One Direction...your time will come ! lol
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2015 18:08:28 GMT
I do often wonder why Allan only really stayed at the top of his game for 2 decades when others lasted so much longer. Bad luck? Bad technique? Possibly a little too much "rock & roll lifestyle" (fags, booze & dope)? Though others such as P.J. Proby and Phil May did far worse for far longer yet even now couldn't be called "a mere shadow" of their former selfs, and of course our own Graham Nash did a heck of a lot of drugs for a long time yet remains in fine voice.
|
|
|
Post by gee on Jun 23, 2015 20:25:12 GMT
Remember that after 1968 Nash sang far gentler harmonies in CSN(Y) - some of their songs carried little while a few had no harmonies and the lead vocal work was shared between all members
'singalong' songs like say; 'Just A Song Before I Go' had none of the vocal 'blast' of say 'I Can't Let Go' etc...and ALOT of Hollies the sixties songs (the hit singles particularly) were dynamic vocally, where as from 'He Ain't Heavy' & some 'Dylan' songs onwards more 'emotive tinged' ballads and wordier crafted songs like 'I Can't Tell The Bottom...' and especially; 'Gasoline Alley Bred' etc became more featured - look at say the 'Everlys' style sweet harmonies Clarke-Sylvester section on 'Air' ('Peace came upon me...') compared to the vocal delivery on sixties hits like 'On A Carousel' or 'Listen To Me' etc
Also both Nash & Sylvester only sang parts of Hollies songs in concerts too while Clarkey belted out the main vocals at full blast
From 1978 & 'Twenty Golden Greats' onwards MORE of the older sixties hits began to replace album songs like 'My Island' etc in their concert show further putting a burden on Clarkey's voice in the concerts (Nash had departed after 1968 while Sylvester wasn't there until 1969 nor after 1981 when Coates did most high harmonies...but Clarkey was there from the beginning until 1999 except just under the two years over 1972-73)
I've heard Allan later apparently 'insisted' on doing all the concert lead singing too - if true not the wisest of ideas given The Hollies vocally demanding setlists - (Sylvester was unwisely 'phased out' as a Lead singing balladeer for them after 1974 only singing a couple of songs later in 1979 on '5317704' to save studio time, when Terry might have given Allan a much needed helping hand with the Lead vocal work...)
Until Clarke began to feel the strain vocally in the 80's - when Hicks began singing the odd song like 'When I'm Dead And Gone' & Alan Coates sang 'Butterfly' etc Clarke had done virtually all if not all the live singing (look at 'Hollies Live Hits' tracks in 1976 etc)
In retrospect there was NO reason why Terry Sylvester could not have sung; 'Jesus Was A Crossmaker', 'Indian Girl', 'Pick Up The Pieces (Again)', 'No More Riders', 'Harlequin', even 'Pull Down The Blind' or 'Cable Car' etc in seventies Hollies concert shows....
while later Alan Coates could also have sung a few more of Graham Nash's old lead vocals; 'Clown', 'Tell Me To My Face', 'Postcard' etc...and Tony Hicks also could have sung a regular concert lead vocal in turn of; 'Pegasus', 'Look At Life' and 'Born A Man' besides singing 'When I'm Dead And Gone' in the seventies shows onwards - all but one of which were actual Hollies recordings (as opposed to all the 'covers' that Clarke seemed to want to sing that were non Hollies tracks like; 'When Doves Cry', 'Riders on The Storm' etc...)
often the cover songs were ones that many Hollies fans weren't expecting to hear in the show or in truth were really that bothered about the band performing and WOULD I'm sure have really much preferred to hear more of the group's own back catalogue performed live, even if sung by Terry, Tony or Coatsey ! (giving Allan Clarke's voice a break...) Even Graham Nash had no real leads on 'What Goes Around...' in 1983 besides just a few odd lines...tho' he sang 'Teach Your Children', 'King Midas...' & 'Wasted on The Way' in their concerts
I think Allan was his own worst enemy doing almost ALL the live songs often at full belt (I remember hearing his voice 'crack' during 'Soldier's Song' around 1997...)while his R & R lifestyle also took it's toll, plus I don't think he'd been vocally 'trained' re how to look after his vocal chords when singing (as actors & singers are often trained to do), someone once said on a forum that Allan's vocal projection was not done in the best way to safeguard his voice (how true that is we can only guess)
whatever, around the mid nineties the 'wear & tear' on Clarkey's voice really became noticeable...
Although Tony Hicks was there from 1963 Tony only provided the lower harmony, and on the hits etc he normally sang the least so his voice was under no such strain or threat as Allan's over the long haul...
|
|
|
Post by Stranger on Jun 24, 2015 11:28:30 GMT
Speed reading it here.
Some good tidbits and opinions from insiders, a lot of detail on the early days and not so much on the later stuff. Rickfors era is glossed over in about two pages.
It's a bit like reading a massive Wikipedia article.
|
|
|
Post by roots66 on Jun 24, 2015 12:23:32 GMT
Same here. As expected with the length, it's a pretty basic biography, emphasizing the Nash years. It's O.K, fair to middling. He gets most of the details right, though there a few mishaps with the chronology/order of events. This may just be my perception but he seems to deal with their management and EMI staff more than the band members themselves, so if you like music biz stories, you'll probably dig it. Caveat emptor to Kindle users: the Kindle edition has no pics. The only pic, on the cover, is incorrectly credited to Henry Diltz--should be Guy Webster.
|
|
|
Post by Stranger on Jun 24, 2015 12:48:01 GMT
'80s glossed over... no mention of Clarke's second departure in '78?
Calvert couldn't have been that hard to track down...
|
|
|
Post by JamesT on Jun 24, 2015 15:47:19 GMT
Don't think I'll bother. Great shame.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2015 16:44:25 GMT
I look forward to reading it eventually, but I'm in no great hurry (I only got around to buying / reading Graham's book about 4 months ago, and actually enjoyed it for more than I expected to).
There will be other books on The Hollies.
|
|
|
Post by stuball on Jun 24, 2015 23:38:03 GMT
I was hoping against hope for a fresh perspective on The Hollies but it seems it's not to be: dismissive of their albums, spotlight on the Nash years, 2 pages on the Rickfors era?!? No contributions from Hicks and Elliott or Sylvester and Calvert( it gives me some hope Bobby's and Terry's books are actually in the pipeline?). Allan unwilling to talk about group members or management figures. No mention of Allan's second leaving! No thanks! I'm giving this book a miss.
|
|
|
Post by Gralto on Jun 25, 2015 8:31:35 GMT
So much good stuff being posted on here from members this last month. Really time poor right this moment so unable to offer only a few words here and there.
Initial posts from purchasers suggests indifference to the book. I'm reserving my judgement until I've got hold of a copy. I'm so old school it will be a hard copy! Cheers Simon
|
|
|
Post by gee on Jun 26, 2015 12:46:52 GMT
'80's glossed over' - well who's really surprised at that ?
Let's face it in the eyes of the wider public The Hollies virtually disappeared in the 80's (in the UK let alone USA or elsewhere !)
- some people honestly believed the band 'broke up' after about 1975 or 76...
what is there to say re the 80's if we are being brutally frank ?
the band were quite happy to be 'low profile' by entertainment industry standards - no new studio album after 1983, nothing of any real note for folk outside the fanbase to notice - even WE had trouble finding out about their very sporadic new singles at times (!) so I hardly expected a great in depth look at what happened after the reunion with Nash in 1983 (a reunion considered rather a disappointment in truth)
Obviously the sixties chart single heyday & on up to 1974 would be THE period most books would cover (aimed at the wider public) just as that LTAW DVD featured...
'The Rickfors Era' got two pages...well of course some on here LOVE that period - as I do - but the sad simple fact is The Hollies themselves certainly don't !
- Carl Wayne had to REMIND Tony & Bobby about 'The Baby' in 2000....while from 1973 Allan Clarke refused to sing anything Mike had done outside the couple of recuts on the 1974 album.
It was a troubled period re some members & ex-members personal feelings, they suffered their first ever UK 'flop' single with an official release...and producer Ron Richards further clashed with them leaving them to produce 'Romany' themselves (- and make a fine job of it too !)
....while The LCW/USA tour affair still rankled years later within the group, causing some lingering friction between Clarkey, Tony, and Terry ...Mike Rickfors was embarressed about the whole period (he shouldn't be, but was), Tony knows he made a bad managerial error refusing Clarke's offer to tour...and Bobby refers to it as 'a bland period for The Hollies' - no wonder it only merits two pages in this book !
WE know they cut two great albums, and some fine (then) unissued material over 1972-73 with Mike of course.... ...but to the wider British public they just had a minor UK hit 'The Baby'...cut one album the UK music press crucified ('Allan Clarke RIGHT to leave Hollies...' the music paper review headline ran) they never did any UK tour or TV work, and suddenly reappeared WITH Allan Clarke on 'Top of The Pops' a while later singing 'Curly Billy' all smiles...(!)
Hopefully this is just the beginning of books re The Hollies, and hopefully will lead to future books aimed at the deeper 'Hollies people' where THEN we may have a much more in depth look at the seventies as well, the album catalogue, etc
Plus hopefully future books that include an unbiased more detailed critical look at their music and their influence plus a proper profile of the main Hollies band members from Don Rathbone & Vic Farrell (Steele) right up to Peter Howarth & Steve Lauri...(group members/vocalists as opposed to just their 'sidemen' keyboard players like say Pete Wingfield, Hans Peter Arnesen, Dave Carey etc - important tho' they were, and worthy of listing & a mention re each of course - but a proper profile given to each of the main members & how they each contributed to the band... )
also hopefully a few 'myths' re the group we see regurgitated over and over again will then be finally dismissed and The Hollies seen in the same light as some of their much lauded contemporaries, many of whom they had MORE hits (singles and albums) than...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2015 15:39:51 GMT
Hopefully this is just the beginning of books re The Hollies, and hopefully will lead to future books aimed at the deeper 'Hollies people' where THEN we may have a much more in depth look at the seventies as well, the album catalogue, etc Plus hopefully future books that include an unbiased more detailed critical look at their music and their influence plus a proper profile of the main Hollies band members from Don Rathbone & Vic Farrell (Steele) right up to Peter Howarth & Steve Lauri...(group members/vocalists as opposed to just their 'sidemen' keyboard players like say Pete Wingfield, Hans Peter Arnesen, Dave Carey etc - important tho' they were, and worthy of listing & a mention re each of course - but a proper profile given to each of the main members & how they each contributed to the band... ) also hopefully a few 'myths' re the group we see regurgitated over and over again will then be finally dismissed and The Hollies seen in the same light as some of their much lauded contemporaries, many of whom they had MORE hits (singles and albums) than... As I've suggested before Geoff, why don't YOU write that book? You're obviously one of the more knowledgeable fans (on all eras), and you can write. Seriously, think about it.
|
|
|
Post by gee on Jun 26, 2015 22:31:11 GMT
Thanks Peter, of course you, James, Cameron, Dirtyfaz, etc and of course Simon (without whom none of this would be online !) are ALL equally very knowledgable Hollie guys too (plus the American Hollies guys who post on here of course)
I regret I'm just not really in a position to do it, but I'd certainly always be happy to help anyone who was doing such a book of course if anyone else was willing & able to do it...
Between us on here we do put together a great deal of facts and little known aspects re The Hollies story with each member having their own fav era of which they have built up an impressive amount of personal knowledge on the band (and remember you NEVER know it all) - just look at the 'Distant Light' thread on here and all the additional info various members postings have combined to build up re that very 'sketchy' part of The Hollies recording sessions history...
it's a pity the old 'EO' forum postings were all lost (no fault of Simon's of course - no one can know what lies ahead re internet problems etc !) as so much important info from many contributions by the members was up on there...
|
|
|
Post by cameron on Jun 29, 2015 0:24:14 GMT
I'm about half way through the book. Here's my thoughts so far:
It's a great introduction to the Hollies. If you were a causal fan and wanted to know more about them, it's a great read. If you're a real hardcore fan, then there's nothing super revelatory there. Some interesting interviews with some Hollies associates (albeit some of them quite tenuously linked to the band) that add to things that we already knew. A lot of the details of the changes in the Hollies management over the years are highlighted, which is something I for one knew very little about, so that's been nice to learn about.
The Nash Years is the main focus of the book. By about half way through, it only just gets on to 1966 around the time of For Certain Because... The rest is almost glossed over from what I've read so far.
A couple of points I'd make is that: - quite a lot of the interview material with the band themselves (other than Graham Nash's comments, which I believe he was interviewed especially for the book) are all from previous interviews. A lot of the quotes have a feeling of "deja vu" as you read them because they've featured in articles before. Some date as far back as the NME and associated press at the time but some are more recent too. - The book is quite Americanised, which doesn't aid the Hollies story very well. There's some confusion over the albums themselves, release dates of singles and I just glean from reading it that the book is written from an American point of view. Sadly this confuses the story slightly for those who don't know it inside out. As we know, American releases were erratic at best. - It's quite a dry read to be honest in the respect that it is literally just the story of the band. There's very little elaboration on the tracks (other than the hits, obviously), songwriting, working in the studio or touring. It's very much making use of what information was already publicly available about the band. I would have liked some more elaboration on how they worked in the studio, how they got their sound and what it was like working through the different periods - especially 1966 through to around 1974.
Personally, I don't think it's right to slate the book as the author has conjured up the first ever official account of the Hollies' story and it makes a great read - unless you're a die-hard fan who knows it all already! If I were to have written it, I'd have started by just interviewing the band members. Like I said earlier, there's a lot of tenuously linked people recounting their fifteen minutes of fame with the Hollies, whom don't add a great deal to the Hollies story. I would have also shifted the focus from their single releases, release dates and chart performance and spent more time focusing on the albums: their masterpiece Butterfly is only mentioned once in passing! There's great stories behind all of their albums whether it's a shift in style (that usually influenced the next hit single), a snapshot in time (the beat boom of Stay With The Hollies or In The Hollies Style to the 'summer of love' Evolution and Butterfly) or it was a period of turmoil for the band (Hollies Sing Dylan or Romany etc...) and it'd be nice to raise awareness that the Hollies, despite what history seems to remember, do have a stunning back catalogue of albums!
|
|
|
Post by gee on Jun 29, 2015 14:31:07 GMT
just got my copy and quickly 'skipping through' it...
looks an enjoyable enough read, could do with a fair bit of 'fleshing out' tho' - all a bit; 'by quoted articles'-ish as others have observed
spotted a few silly errors presumably due to sheer carelessness or rushing the thing (after doing all the basic hard work why not get it 'proof read' to iron out any little easily correctable errors ?)
- on page 61 Southall states;
'the group's second album 'In The Hollies Style flopped completely and failed to chart anywhere...'
which is just NOT true - The 'In The Hollies Style' album DID make the New Musical Express albums chart top ten, entering at no.7 in the week of 24 October 1964 enjoying a FIVE week period in the top ten peaking at No. 6 in the week of 21 November 1964 before dropping out of the NME Album chart Top Ten - this can be verified on page 22 of the book; '30 Years of NME Album Charts' published in 1993 by Boxtree Ltd.
also it's Peter BOWN not Brown (page 128) who was their recording engineer (probably a printer's error tho' as he gets the name correct elsewhere)
Hicks-Clarke only penned ONE song as a duo on 'Sing Hollies' - 'Please Let Me Please' - not two as stated on page 132
while also on that page Bernie's instrumental was not titled; 'Reflections of a LONG TIME Past' but; 'Reflections of a TIME LONG Past'....!
page 163 has some confusion re ' I Don't Understand You' - three versions were cut, two with Terry Sylvester, one with Labi Siffre - a version crept out on the Rock-in-Beat first issue of 'What Goes Around...' some years back - I believe featuring Terry Sylvester (sounds like Terry's voice) - some have argued but I'm pretty sure it's one of the Sylvester versions.
and while never 'officially' released a version of 'I Don't Understand You' HAS been on sale on that German CD...
Not sure I'd just go with Bruce Welch remarks - he can't remember some facts re his own band The Shadows !
page 167 - was Ray Stiles really in The Hollies as early as 1984 as this book claims ? - I seem to recall Steve Stroud was The Hollies bass player then....!
page 170 - is RICHARD Hartley Elliott listed as a director and company secretary of The Hollies Limited ?
so it looks like the book needed a quick run through to put right some silly basic errors here and there, and for me there is a little too much of Eric Haydock's opinions (including seemingly obligatory four letter words !) and far too little of other key band members input overall....
but at least it's a book ON The Hollies at long last, something I thought we would never get...!
|
|
|
Post by gee on Jun 30, 2015 14:25:08 GMT
Having read it a bit further in depth
- it certainly bears some credit to Brian Southall for doing as much research as he could with the 'available' backroom figures in The Hollies story - given Ron Richards, Peter Bown, Robin Britten, and latterly even Carl Wayne are all sadly no longer with us...
Of the band members I note Southall only really had a proper interview with Eric Haydock - hence something of an inevitable slant towards Eric's too often "F*cking" (!) viewpoint .... (why can't people talk without the seemingly obligatory four letter words ?)
Southall mentions that Allan Clarke was relatively unco-operative, merely referring the author to archive interviews he'd given which should tell him all he needed to know... (small wonder Allan's solo career never 'took off' if his 'PR' skills are still that poor...finally a book on The Hollies and he doesn't want to know !)
Tony Hicks, Bobby Elliott, & (maybe surprisingly) even Terry Sylvester never replied to Southall's request for interviews or info...
you would have thought Terry Sylvester at least would have jumped at the chance to put across his 'pennyworth', his version of events re his part of their story, and drawn some wider public attention to himself as a soloist today surely (?)
I know Terry claims he has a 'meaty' book in the pipeline 'pulling no punches' etc - tho' if it turns out to be Terry gleefully getting some sort of silly 'revenge' etc by just waving alot of 'dirty washing' about in public I won't be interested....(on the other hand IF it's his own proper balanced pop career 'story' - which WOULD be most interesting - I'll be quick to grab a copy !)
Tony was always unlikely to make any comment (I'll be surprised if this forthcoming CD set due next month actually has booklet notes by Tony Hicks as a website has claimed - I'll expect Bobby to be doing the writing....) Mr. Hicks has never been that bothered it appears about 'going public' aside from the music itself and the odd interview for Radio or a DVD etc,...and I can't see that changing much
Bobby is working on his own story / Hollies book so maybe that explains his lack of response to Southall ?
Yet Graham Nash - 'Superstar', MEGA EGO, (whom some so called 'fans' so eagerly love to belittle time & time again) - was prompt to reply via email from the USA and openly responded as helpfully as he could to Southall's questions without any problem at all.... funny eh ?
you might assume Graham Nash by now would be the one figure NOT bothered about responding...yet he did (as he did when Simon interviewed him some years back)
- which ties in with my own memory of a Hollies fans convention the fanzine; 'Carousel' were involved with some years ago - they asked Hollie band members & ex-members for anything from items to messages & recollections re The Hollies etc
- ONLY Graham Nash & (then more open) Terry Sylvester, by then both longtime 'ex-Hollies' even bothered to respond to the request from group's own fanzine !
Brian Southall says he was unable to trace Bernie Calvert at all (!) - which seems odd as Bernie happily contributed to that 'They Ain't Heavy...' BBC radio Hollies story done just a few years back
it doesn't appear Southall was able to track down either Mike Rickfors, Don Rathbone, or get the views of anyone else involved with The Hollies later - figures like; Peter Howarth, Ray Stiles, & especially long time high harmony singer/guitarist Alan Coates (who was with them over 20 years from around 1981-82 to 2004 !)
The book might have been 'fleshed out' more with a few more latter era band members input possibly, while the absence of any proper input from at least four of the longtime key Hollies members; Clarke, Hicks, Elliott, Sylvester, or Bernie Calvert's views is a great pity
|
|