The Rubettes
The Rubettes are an English pop/glam rock band put together in 1974 after the release of "Sugar Baby Love", a recording assembled of studio session musicians[1] in 1973 by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton, the then head of A&R at Polydor Records, and his co-songwriter, Tony Waddington after their doo-wop and 1950s American pop-influenced songs had been rejected by a number of existing acts.[2] Waddington paired the group with manager John Morris, the husband of singer Clodagh Rodgers and under his guidance, the band duly emerged at the tail end of the glam rock movement, wearing trademark white suits and cloth caps on stage.[2] Their first release, "Sugar Baby Love" was an instant hit remaining at number one in the United Kingdom for four weeks in May 1974, while reaching number 37 on the US chart that August,[3] and remains their best-known record.[2] Subsequent releases were to be less successful, but the band continued to tour well into the 2000s with two line-ups in existence.[2][4][5]
The Rubettes
The Rubettes featuring Alan Williams (2000–present)
The Rubettes featuring Bill Hurd (2000–present)
England
1974–1980, 1982–1999, 2000–present
Polydor Records, State Records, Sobel Nation Records
See Original personnel for the 1970s personnel and Different versions of the Rubettes for Alan Williams' and Bill Hurd's
See Personnel section
History
Classic era (1974–1980)
The Rubettes' first and biggest hit was "Sugar Baby Love" (1974) which was a number one in the United Kingdom, going on to sell around 500,000 copies in the UK and three million copies globally.[6] With three more songs, "Sugar Baby Love" was recorded for Polydor in October 1973 at Lansdowne Studios in Holland Park, London, by a group of session musicians featuring the distinctive falsetto and lead vocals of Paul Da Vinci (born: Paul Leonard Prewer). However, Da Vinci did not join the others to become a member of the band put together by John Richardson, and instead pursued solo work, having signed a contract with Penny Farthing Records.[7] "Sugar Baby Love" was their only UK No. 1 and sole US Top 40 entry.[8]
For public appearances to promote the song, initially on Top of the Pops, Alan Williams took on the role of lead singer, being the only one of the original session singers able to duplicate Da Vinci's falsetto vocals.[9] The Rubettes then comprised Williams, Richardson, and Pete Arnesen (all three of whom had participated in the original recording) together with Tony Thorpe, Mick Clarke, and Bill Hurd.[10] In performance, the group wore distinctive white suits and white caps which, according to Williams, "were a practical addition to the ensemble.. [as] we all had long hair, which didn't suit the image we'd gone for.. We compromised by having our hair pinned up inside the caps...".[9]
Williams sang lead on later recordings, and the Rubettes went on to have a number of other top ten hits across Europe during the mid-1970s, such as "Tonight", "Juke Box Jive" and "I Can Do It", mostly written by the Bickerton–Waddington songwriting team. The Rubettes' success encouraged Bickerton and Waddington to set up State Records, so that ten months after the release of "Sugar Baby Love", the fourth Rubettes single "I Can Do It" was on State (catalogue reference STAT 1).[7] In November 1974, NME music magazine reported that The Rubettes, The Glitter Band and Mud were among the UK bands who had roles in a new film titled Never Too Young to Rock.[11]
In 1976 the band abandoned glam nostalgia to enter more serious territory.[2] "Under One Roof" (1976) sung by John Richardson was a portrayal of a gay man disowned and later murdered by his father; along with Rod Stewart's "The Killing of Georgie" (1976), it was one of the few songs that tackled the topic of homophobia.[2] Their most successful self-composed hit was the country rock styled ballad "Baby I Know" (1977) sung by Tony Thorpe, which reached number 10 in the UK and Germany in 1977. During this period the band continued to cater for the much bigger European market by continuing to release more commercial pop singles all featuring lead vocals by Alan Williams [10] such as "Julia" (1976), "Allez Oop" (1976), and "Ooh La La" (1977).[10] The band became a quintet in early 1975 with the departure of Arnesen, and later became a quartet in mid-1976 when Hurd departed the band; to this day the original band has never expanded its line-up beyond four members. Whilst the band continued as a four-piece; Hurd joined Suzi Quatro's band, touring and playing on a number of worldwide hits, which included the Top 20 success "She's in Love with You" in 1979, before re-joining the Rubettes in 1982.[12][13]
In another attempt to get away from the 'doo-wop' glam image, Thorpe insisted that the trademark vocal harmonies were left off of his composition, "You're the Reason Why". Gerry Shury and the band out-voted him. The version with no vocal backing has been available as a bootleg recording in certain parts of Europe. In 1979, Thorpe and the band separated over musical differences. Thorpe can be heard on lead vocals on the last Still Unwinding track, "Does It Gotta Be Rock 'N' Roll". His guitar parts and backing vocals remained.[14] After Thorpe's departure, the group's success began to dwindle.[2] The band replaced Thorpe with Bob Benham, but he departed shortly thereafter and the band dissolved in 1980.[15]
Reformation (1982–1999)
The band reformed in 1982, with a line-up consisting of Williams, Clark, Hurd, and drummer Alex Bines to exploit the German market for 1970s nostalgia.[2] This line-up remained relatively stable until 1999, with the only line-up changes being the departure of Clark in 1987, to be replaced first by Steve Kinch and then by Trevor Holliday, before he returned to the fold in 1993.
Separate projects (2000–present)
John Richardson, under the name Jayadev, has recorded as a session percussionist, and played on Tight Fit's version of The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
In 2000, Williams and Hurd both formed their own versions of the Rubettes, which at the time both also included two members of the Rubettes in each group (Clarke and Richardson in Williams', Da Vinci and Bines in Hurd's). Due to legal issues, both versions of the band have to specify that their version is only led by them, by having the phrase "featuring __" after "The Rubettes".
In March 2012, Thorpe digitally released the No Hits, No Jazz Collection and performed at Darwen Library Theatre with a live eight-piece band for his '50th Anniversary 1-Gig-Tour'. It featured session musicians Iain Reddy, Liam Barber, Justin Randall and Greg Harper.[16][17] "You're the Reason Why" was played.[16]
Original personnel
The Rubettes (1973-1980, 1982-1999)
Former
Timeline
The Rubettes featuring Alan Williams
2000-present
Alan Williams
Mark Haley
Laurie Haley
Glyn Davies
Spencer Lingwood
John Richardson
Mick Clarke
Steve Etherington
Mark Haley
2000-present
Bill Hurd
Damian Fisher
Dave Harding
Chris Staines
Alex Bines
Rufus Ruffell
Ian Pearce
Paul Da Vinci
George Bird
Paul Callaby
Ray Frost
John Sorrell
Yvan Silva
Mike Steed
Billy Hill
Martin Clapson
Kenny Butler
John Summerton
2019-present
John Richardson
Mick Clarke
Steve Etherington