So, farewell then … The Hollies
News that The Hollies have finally retired as a live band after 63 years might come as a surprise to those who thought they disbanded several decades ago.
In the early Sixties few bands - not even The Beatles - expected to be around for more than two or three years. The Hollies, who were from Manchester, never achieved the heights of The Beatles (who did?) but they enjoyed plenty of chart success in the Sixties and early Seventies on both sides of the Atlantic, and even after the hits dried up they kept going as a live band, playing to audiences who grew up with them.
Inevitably there have been numerous line-up changes over the years but two constant members since 1963 have been guitarist Tony Hicks and drummer Bobby Elliott, and it was Hicks’ decision to retire from touring on health grounds that prompted last week’s announcement.
Funnily enough, when The Hollies were inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in America in 2010, Hicks and Elliott were absent because (much to their credit) neither wanted to cancel a gig at the London Palladium which was on the same day. The point about Hicks, though, is that he was always the baby-faced member of the band and to think he is now 80 makes me feel old too!
Today the most famous member of The Hollies is arguably Graham Nash who left the band in 1968 following a visit to California where he famously hooked up with Joni Mitchell and met the likes of Steven Stills with whom he went on to form Crosby, Stills and Nash (with David Crosby) and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (with the addition of Neil Young).
If you’re interested, Nash’s excellent autobiography Wild Tales: A Rock and Roll Life, published in 2013, explains how Nash effectively outgrew The Hollies having failed to persuade the band to move on from their early pop hits.
Arguably one of the best singles in 1967 was ‘King Midas In Reverse’, which Nash wrote, but commercially it was a relative disappointment (#18 in the UK) and for their next single (‘Jennifer Eccles’) the band reverted to their comfort zone (ie ‘I love Jennifer Eccles/I know that she loves me‘) which reached #7.
In 1968 Nash also wrote ‘Marrakesh Express’ but it was rejected by The Hollies, precipitating Nash’s departure, and subsequently became a huge hit for Crosby, Stills and Nash.
To be fair, though, there is no denying that many of the band’s singles were a cut above the average, but what has always kept me interested (even though I don’t possess a single Hollies record) is the back story - in particular Nash’s long friendship with Alan Clarke who for many years was the voice of The Hollies. Clarke left, briefly, for a solo career in the early Seventies but returned within a couple of years and stayed with the band until 1999 when he retired from touring due to ‘ongoing problems with his vocal chords’.
What makes The Hollies’ story quite poignant is the fact that Clarke and Nash were best friends at primary school and their friendship survived Nash’s departure to the States and his subsequent global success. In 2011 Clarke even made a guest appearance at a Crosby and Nash concert at the Royal Albert Hall where he sang ‘Bus Stop’, an early Hollies hit. More recently, according to his Wikipedia page, Clarke released his ninth solo album in 2023. ‘Graham Nash sings harmony on seven of the eleven songs.’
So, farewell then, The Hollies. To the best of my knowledge, and prior to this week’s announcement, there was only one other pop/rock band from the early Sixties still performing with two of the original line-up and that band is the Rolling Stones. For fans of The Hollies, however, this week was the end of an era.
See: The Hollies Officially Call It Quits, as Last Two Members of Classic 1960s Lineup Retire After Being in Band for 63 Years (Variety)
PS. If you have a moment do watch this video of The Hollies recording ‘On A Carousel’ at Abbey Road in January 1967.
Home page photo credit: iStock / josefephotography
