The Hollies
The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band as a Merseybeat-type group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns further north, in east Lancashire. Nash left the group in 1968 to form Crosby, Stills & Nash, though he has reunited with the Hollies on occasion.
"Hollies" redirects here. For other uses, see Hollies (disambiguation).
They enjoyed considerable popularity in the UK and Europe during the mid-1960s with a string of hits that included "Just One Look", "Here I Go Again" (both 1964), "I'm Alive" (1965; their first of two UK number ones), "Look Through Any Window" (1965) and "I Can't Let Go" (1966), although they did not achieve US chart success until "Bus Stop" was released in 1966. The group went on to have periodic success on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean over the next decade with hits such as "Stop Stop Stop" (1966), "On a Carousel", "Carrie Anne" (both 1967), "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (1969), "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" (1972) and "The Air That I Breathe" (1974). "He Ain't Heavy" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart following a 1988 re-release. Overall, the Hollies had over 30 charting singles reach the UK Singles Chart, 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and 21 on the chart of RPM magazine in Canada.
The Hollies are one of the few UK groups of the early 1960s, along with the Rolling Stones, who have never disbanded and continue to record and perform. In recognition of their achievements, the Hollies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.[1]
Origin[edit]
The Hollies originated as a duo formed by Allan Clarke and Graham Nash, who were best friends from primary school and began performing together during the skiffle craze of the late 1950s.[2] Eventually Clarke and Nash became a vocal-and-guitar duo modelled on American duo the Everly Brothers, working as "Ricky and Dane Young";[2] under this name they teamed up with a local band, the Fourtones, consisting of Pete Bocking on guitar, John 'Butch' Mepham on bass, Keith Bates on drums, and Derek Quinn on guitar. When Quinn quit to join Freddie and the Dreamers in 1962, Clarke and Nash also quit and joined another Manchester band, the Deltas, consisting of Vic Steele on lead guitar, Eric Haydock on bass guitar, and Don Rathbone on drums, which had just lost two members including Eric Stewart, who left to join a "professional" band, the Mindbenders.[2] During these periods the group were managed and promoted by Michael Cohen, a music enthusiast and clothing retailer from Oldham.[3]
The Deltas first called themselves the Hollies for a December 1962 gig at the Oasis Club in Manchester.[2] It has been suggested that Eric Haydock named the group in relation to a Christmas holly garland, though in a 2009 interview Graham Nash said that the group decided just prior to a performance to call themselves the Hollies because of their admiration for Buddy Holly.[4] In 2009, Nash wrote, "We called ourselves The Hollies, after Buddy and Christmas."[5]
Graham Nash departure[edit]
In addition to his Hollies work, Graham Nash co-wrote John Walker's first solo hit "Annabella" in 1967, and the following year sang on the Scaffold's UK chart-topper, "Lily the Pink" (which referenced "Jennifer Eccles"). The failure of "King Midas in Reverse" had increased tension within the band, with Clarke and Hicks wanting to record more "pop" material than Nash did. Matters reached a head when the band rejected Nash's "Marrakesh Express" and then decided to record an album made up entirely of Bob Dylan covers. Nash did take part in one Dylan cover, "Blowin' in the Wind", but made no secret of his disdain for the idea and repeatedly clashed with producer Ron Richards.
In August 1968, the Hollies recorded "Listen to Me" (written by Tony Hazzard) (Sept. 1968, UK No. 11), which featured Nicky Hopkins on piano. That proved to be Nash's last recording session with the Hollies; he officially left the group to move to Los Angeles, where he tentatively planned to become primarily a songwriter, after a performance in a charity concert at the London Palladium on 8 December 1968. Nash told Disc magazine, "I can't take touring any more. I just want to sit at home and write songs. I don't really care what the rest of the group think."[12] After relocating to Los Angeles, he joined with former Buffalo Springfield guitarist Stephen Stills and ex-Byrds singer and guitarist David Crosby to form one of the first supergroups, Crosby, Stills & Nash, which released "Marrakesh Express" as its debut single.
The B-side of "Listen to Me" was "Do the Best You Can", the last original recording of a Clarke-Hicks-Nash song to appear on a Hollies record (although "Survival of the Fittest", written by Clarke-Hicks-Nash, was re-cut with Terry Sylvester and issued as a US single in 1970).
Graham Nash was replaced in the Hollies in January 1969 by Terry Sylvester, formerly of the Escorts and the Swinging Blue Jeans. Sylvester also substituted for Nash as part of the group's songwriting team, with Clarke and Hicks. As planned before Nash's departure, the group's next album was Hollies Sing Dylan, which reached No. 3 on the UK chart, while the US version, Words and Music by Bob Dylan, was ignored.
Nash's departure saw the Hollies again turn to outside writers for their single A-sides, but the group's British chart fortunes rallied during 1969 and 1970, and they scored four consecutive UK Top 20 hits (including two consecutive Top 5 placings) in this period, beginning with the Geoff Stephens/Tony Macaulay song, "Sorry Suzanne" (Feb. 1969), which reached No. 3 in the UK. The follow-up was the emotional ballad "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell, which featured the piano playing of Elton John; it reached No. 3 in the UK in October 1969, and No. 7 in the US in March 1970. The next album Hollies Sing Hollies did not chart in the UK, but did well in the US—where it reached No. 32 after being retitled He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother and including that song—and in Canada.
1990s–present[edit]
In 1993, the Hollies had their 30th anniversary as a band. A compilation album, The Air That I Breathe: The Very Best of the Hollies, charted at No. 15 in the UK. This album included a new single, "The Woman I Love", which charted at No. 42 in the UK. Graham Nash again reunited with the Hollies to record a new version of "Peggy Sue Got Married" that featured prerecorded lead vocals by Buddy Holly, taken from an 'alternate' version of the song given to Nash by Holly's widow, María Elena Holly. This "Buddy Holly & the Hollies" recording opened the Not Fade Away tribute album to Holly by various artists. The Hollies also continued to tour and make TV appearances.
The Hollies were awarded an Ivor Novello Award in 1995 for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
Allan Clarke retired in February 2000. He was replaced by Carl Wayne, former lead singer of the Move. A New Zealand Hollies Greatest Hits compilation made No. 1 in that country in 2001, dislodging the Beatles' 1 collection from the top spot. While re-establishing the band as a touring attraction over 2000 to mid-2004, Carl Wayne only recorded one song with them, "How Do I Survive?" the last (and only new) track on the 2003 Greatest Hits (which reached No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart). After Wayne's death from cancer in August 2004, he was replaced by Peter Howarth. Shortly afterward, Alan Coates left the band and was replaced by Steve Lauri.
The Hollies charted at No. 21 in the UK in 2003 with the compilation album Greatest Hits from EMI in CD format. (EMI has released most of the Hollies' EMI music on CD over the past 25 years.)
The Hollies were inducted into the 'Vocal Group Hall of Fame' in the US in 2006. Also in 2006, the Hollies' first new studio album since 1983, Staying Power, was released by EMI featuring Peter Howarth on lead vocals.
The group released a studio album, Then, Now, Always, in late March 2009, again featuring Peter Howarth on lead vocals. The album was later given an official release by EMI in 2010 with the addition of an extra original song, "She'd Kill for Me".
In recognition of their achievements, the Hollies were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.[1] In the same year, a compilation album, Midas Touch: The Very Best of the Hollies, charted in the UK at No. 23.
In 2012, the Hollies released Hollies Live Hits! We Got the Tunes!, a live double CD featuring the Hollies' live performances recorded during the band's 2012 UK tour.
In 2013, the Hollies' 50th year was packed with a worldwide 50th Anniversary Concert Tour performing over 60 concerts.
In 2014, EMI released a 3CD compilation; 50 at Fifty which concluded with one new song; "Skylarks" written by Bobby Elliott, Peter Howarth and Steve Vickers.[21]
Original bassist Eric Haydock died on 5 January 2019 at the age of 75.[22]
During 2021, two new books were published, each detailing the career of the band. The first was Bobby Elliott's autobiography It Ain't Heavy, It's My Story, which told the story through his own perspective. The second one was by UK author Malcolm C. Searles, entitled Riding the Carousel, which covered the entire career of the group across its 600 pages.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[edit]
In 2010, the Hollies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[24] The band members inducted were Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks, Eric Haydock, Bobby Elliott, Bernie Calvert, and Terry Sylvester.
