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Post by swinginglanilondon on Jul 9, 2023 8:20:26 GMT
So recently I found n YT this live audio concert from Derby y. 1990. Was it post eby a forums member here? I think I read before about the Pinball Wizard live audio and really find very interesting the nod to Lennon (via Revolution) and even Jim Morrison (via Light My Fire). Any background info on this? Thanks |
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Post by gee on Jul 10, 2023 21:39:04 GMT
They did quite a number of covers of others famous songs - back in the sixties and seventies too - but notably so in the 80's and onward up to Allan's retirement from the group
they also sang John Lennon's 'Norwegian Wood', Tony sang both McGuinness Flint's 'When I'm Dead And Gone' and John Sebastian's Lovin Spoonful hit 'Daydream' and played snatches of The Shadows instrumental hit 'Apache' while Allan sang Prince 'When Doves Cry' (mainly as Allan's daughter Piper loved Prince - hence also they performed and cut 'Purple Rain'), Procol Harum's 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' plus they did various rock & roll classics too, Chris Montez hit 'Let's Dance', Johnny Kidd's 'Shakin' All Over' and indeed The Who's 'Pinball Wizard'
it was all performed expertly of course - tho' at the time watching those very enjoyable concerts I remember wondering just how many of the famous artists they were saluting would have ever in return considered doing a Hollies song in their concerts ?? (besides The Searchers)
also with SO MANY great songs of their own in a massive back catalogue of gems that were never 'dusted off'and performed live (or if so very seldom)...I wondered why they never bothered doing more of THEIR material and devoted concert time to others ?
you can't fault their choices or performances...but it possibly hinted at a degree of group lack of self belief in their own recorded material beyond the famous hits when compared to other artists (some - not John Lennon of course - with far less classic songs under their belts than The Hollies had but would not readily have done such 'salutes' to fellow artists)
whatever I did notice when Carl Wayne came in besides a few Move songs and Ray's Mud hit 'Tiger Feet' they noticeably largely veered away from these covers and er 'moved' towards more of their own recorded tracks and songs even doing 'The Baby' in shows....
so maybe it was Allan who most enjoyed doing the famous songs covers ?
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on Jul 11, 2023 8:54:17 GMT
Always loved their rendition of "Whiter Shade of Pale"
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Post by baz on Jul 11, 2023 11:10:45 GMT
so maybe it was Allan who most enjoyed doing the famous songs covers ? Perhaps he did but I think it was more to do with the increasing problems with his voice as some familiar Hollies songs ended up having to be played in lower keys so he wouldn't struggle to hit higher notes... as demonstrated on this video where all the hits except Stop Stop Stop and Long Cool Woman are in lower keys. I recall this particular issue has been covered before on another thread and I'm one of those people who if I hear a familiar song in a different and lower key, it changes the character of the song, rarely ever for the better so I found listening to Too Young, Carrie Anne, Air and Heavy here hard to stomach as they just sound "wrong"... however I will give credit here to Alan Coates who does the high harmony parts impressively. As the 90's wore on they were also unearthing odder songs from the Hollies' catalogue... for instance "Not That Way At All" a song I like but not one I'd ever expect to hear them do onstage but was easier on Allan's voice hence it being played. A common issue where ageing vocalists are concerned, it enables the singer to get through but... I do recall Bobby and/or Tony once saying somewhere that it was a relief when Carl Wayne joined as they were able to play the hits again in their original keys. The fact that the "famous covers" dwindled after Allan's departure also gives credence to the fact the covers were there to help Allan cope as we do know in the later years, Tony and Bobby did feel frustrated with Allan's plight and I get the feeling they were a little frustrated at resorting to these covers when they knew they had more than enough Hollies material for a strong live show. |
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Post by sandy on Jul 11, 2023 17:16:12 GMT
I seem to remember Tony really enjoying the covers they did too? In sound checks they used to ' warm up' sometimes by doing bits and bobs😊I don't think it was all to cover Allan. I think it just broke up the potential monotony of doing same songs, but without any great rehearsal needed. Tony often said they'd been ' messing around with this"...A bit of fun!
As far as lowering the keys, the current line up have definitely lowered some now too. 'Air' being the big one.
And notice how Steve ,Ray and Tony cover some songs now, to give Peter a break. The Hollies had better be careful, as they're going to wear out another lead vocalist's voice!!!!Just proves, as Allan says, how hard it is to sing those songs for many years! 😉
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Post by nashfan076 on Aug 5, 2023 0:22:22 GMT
Very nice find. Has the audio of them doing Norwegian Wood & Daydream ever turned up?
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Post by anthony on Aug 5, 2023 6:04:26 GMT
Hi all, talk about covers, I have a cassette them singing Please Please me and woman. I think they also sing If I needed someone. Sadly being cassette I can’t copy them, I’d love to have them on disc myself. I think for the band it eased the boredom of singing the same songs year after year, I love the covers.
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Post by downriver on Aug 5, 2023 19:16:26 GMT
Man, I REALLY enjoyed listening to that.
I am surprised (and saddened) to hear a clearly struggling Allan as early as 1990 though.
I genuinely thought that was way more of a much later as the 90s wore on thing.
Woah.
Weirdly, Great Balls Of Fire doesn't seem to be affected, in fact sounds even better because of it!
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Post by baz on Aug 5, 2023 21:48:46 GMT
I am surprised (and saddened) to hear a clearly struggling Allan as early as 1990 though. I genuinely thought that was way more of a much later as the 90s wore on thing. Ironically it was when they were at number one in 1988 it became clear not just to me, but many others, that Allan's voice wasn't what it used to be. That was thanks to when they performed "Heavy" with a live vocal on Top Of The Pops where the lower key was instantly noticed and when Allan came in, one noticed a difference in the tone of his voice. I was in my final year at school and the following day, several of my chums and even one of my tutors commented on how "the singer's" voice "didn't sound very good". So even as early as 1988, keys were being lowered to accommodate Allan. As a historic aside, a few school pals bought that single and said they liked the B' side "Carrie" as indeed did I. A nice time to be a Hollies fan as "All The Hits And More" was the first major CD release to contain all the hits in one place and "Rarities" was really enjoyable as well. |
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Post by downriver on Aug 5, 2023 22:34:41 GMT
I am surprised (and saddened) to hear a clearly struggling Allan as early as 1990 though. I genuinely thought that was way more of a much later as the 90s wore on thing. Ironically it was when they were at number one in 1988 it became clear not just to me, but many others, that Allan's voice wasn't what it used to be. That was thanks to when they performed "Heavy" with a live vocal on Top Of The Pops where the lower key was instantly noticed and when Allan came in, one noticed a difference in the tone of his voice. I was in my final year at school and the following day, several of my chums and even one of my tutors commented on how "the singer's" voice "didn't sound very good". So even as early as 1988, keys were being lowered to accommodate Allan. As a historic aside, a few school pals bought that single and said they liked the B' side "Carrie" as indeed did I. A nice time to be a Hollies fan as "All The Hits And More" was the first major CD release to contain all the hits in one place and "Rarities" was really enjoyable as well. Ah! I was in school myself! That was a GREAT time, I had just became a fan of "this other band with The Beatles" so to have the Hollies and George Harrison in the charts was amazing. I didn't even know what The Hollies looked like so that was my first exposure to Clarkey. He looked like SUCH an ancient man to me then and now I am almost the age he was in that clip. Crazy. I wonder if they had to fight to sing live or if the producer wanted them to mime to the original recording? My dad bought the 12" single which I still have. "Carrie" is brilliant to me now but at the time I didn't like what I called "modern music" back then haha! |
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Post by baz on Aug 5, 2023 23:55:52 GMT
I wonder if they had to fight to sing live or if the producer wanted them to mime to the original recording? I think it was simply being logical. It would have looked ridiculous seeing the 1988 Hollies miming to the 1969 recording so it had to be re-recorded in the 1988 style which was absolutely the right choice. TOTP could also be very strict as witnessed in 1981 with the "Holliedaze" appearance which was offered to the band but it had to feature Graham Nash and Eric Haydock as they were originally on some of the songs in the medley and come on, as great as it was to see them together again, it did look a bit bizarre seeing them in 1981 miming to clips of songs from the 60's and early 70's but had Nash and Haydock not agreed to do the show, the appearance would not have happened. I've seen a fair few videos of 60's acts miming to their hits a decade or more later and it just looks wrong. The last time Herman's Hermits appeared on UK TV before they split was on some kids show called "Ed and Zed" where they plugged their latest record "Lady Barbara" but the show starts with them miming to the 1964 recording of "I'm Into Something Good" and it just looks and sounds ridiculous given by December 1970 they had much longer hair, some moustaches etc. That's the equivalent of seeing The Beatles as they looked in 1969 on the Let It Be footage miming to "Love Me Do"! |
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Post by sandy on Aug 6, 2023 7:35:17 GMT
Man, I REALLY enjoyed listening to that. I am surprised (and saddened) to hear a clearly struggling Allan as early as 1990 though. I genuinely thought that was way more of a much later as the 90s wore on thing. Woah. Weirdly, Great Balls Of Fire doesn't seem to be affected, in fact sounds even better because of it! Have to say ,I went to soooo many concerts at that time, and don't remember Allan struggling until much later on than that. There were odd isolated cold/ bug issues for the occasional night, as with everyone, including Coatsey, and Im pretty sure this is an odd one.I have a similar one where Tony even has to do the talking in-between because Allan had a cold, and Allan tried, but couldn't make himself heard. 😉 As for Totp ' 'Heavy', I personally thought it was great - Allan's voice was richer than when he sang it in 69, and it suited his age and voice at the time. I know that later, there was indeed a struggle, obviously, but certainly not that early. Lower key started out as adjustment for maturity. Only later later nineties did it become because of physical struggle.Even Peter has lowered keys after so long singing them- he's older now too😉 |
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Post by downriver on Aug 6, 2023 18:18:14 GMT
I wonder if they had to fight to sing live or if the producer wanted them to mime to the original recording? I think it was simply being logical. It would have looked ridiculous seeing the 1988 Hollies miming to the 1969 recording so it had to be re-recorded in the 1988 style which was absolutely the right choice. TOTP could also be very strict as witnessed in 1981 with the "Holliedaze" appearance which was offered to the band but it had to feature Graham Nash and Eric Haydock as they were originally on some of the songs in the medley and come on, as great as it was to see them together again, it did look a bit bizarre seeing them in 1981 miming to clips of songs from the 60's and early 70's but had Nash and Haydock not agreed to do the show, the appearance would not have happened. I've seen a fair few videos of 60's acts miming to their hits a decade or more later and it just looks wrong. The last time Herman's Hermits appeared on UK TV before they split was on some kids show called "Ed and Zed" where they plugged their latest record "Lady Barbara" but the show starts with them miming to the 1964 recording of "I'm Into Something Good" and it just looks and sounds ridiculous given by December 1970 they had much longer hair, some moustaches etc. That's the equivalent of seeing The Beatles as they looked in 1969 on the Let It Be footage miming to "Love Me Do"! Good point. I'm reminded of that heartbreaking clip of an adult Frankie Lymon miming to his boy voice Why Do Fools Fall In Love, it's tragic. |
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Post by gee on Aug 10, 2023 21:25:40 GMT
Re the 1988 performances of 'He Ain't Heavy' on BBC's 'Top of The Pops' they would have had to sing it live as the 1969 hit single of course had featured Terry Sylvester's co-lead and high harmony voice which obviously they could not replicate in 1988 so fresh live versions by the then current Hollies line up was the solution
I believe they did three recordings for three editions of the show, tho' I recall The Searchers then commenting onstage how MISERABLE The Hollies (Allan in truth) looked doing the chart topping song...adding they would have been 'over the moon' had they got a number one with one of their old hits years later...!
Re Allan's voice I recall a Hollies concert around 1987 or maybe 1988 where Allan's voice 'cracked up' during 'Soldier's Song' at the line; '...and when the dice of war...'
Tony Hicks, Alan Coates and at the back Ray Stiles all immediately dived in vocally and they did the rest of the song in close harmony together with Allan
Tony made some remark off microphone to Allan after - probably asking if he was o.k. - and thankfully Allan was fine for the rest of the concert....but it was the first time I ever saw Allan's voice have any problem...
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