The Walker Brothers

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Walker Brothers
Background = group_or_band


Img_capt = Cover of Images (1967)
Origin = Los Angeles, USA
Genre = Rock, pop
Years_active = 1964 to 1968 1976 to 1978
Label = Philips Records GTO Records
Associated_acts = Scott Walker Gary Walker John Walker

The Walker Brothers were a 1960s and 1970s pop group, originally a rock band, founded by three Californians, who became most successful in the UK. They were not related, and adopted the "Walker Brothers" name as a show business touch.

Band members

* Scott Walker - born Noel Scott Engel, 9 January 1943, Hamilton, Ohio - lead vocalist, bassist
* Gary Walker - born Gary Leeds, 3 September 1942, Glendale, California - drummer, vocalist.
* John Walker - born John Maus, 12 November 1943, New York - guitarist, vocalist.

Biography

The Walker Brothers formed in Los Angeles in 1964. John Maus’ band, in which Scott Engel played bass, had a residency at Gazzari’s Club, and were seen one night by local drummer Gary Leeds. All three had played in other bands – Engel had played, for example, with the Routers, and Leeds with the Standells. Leeds had recently returned from touring the UK as a member of P. J. Proby’s backing band and – along with club regular Brian Jones [http://www.gary-walker.net/bio.html] - thought that the band’s rock'n'roll and blues style would go down well in “swinging London”, where Proby had already succeeded. Before leaving, they appeared in a film, "Beach Ball", and they sent demo recordings to record companies in England.

With Leeds’ stepfather as sponsor, the three moved to London in February 1965. When they landed, producer Johnny Franz was keen to sign them up. In a short time they had played several prestigious venues around Britain and secured a recording contract with Philips Records. Their first single, "Pretty Girls Everywhere", with Maus as lead singer, had little success, but radio stations picked up on the follow up "Love Her" , with Engel’s baritone vocals, and it made the UK Top 20 in June 1965.

Philips then quickly recorded and rush-released the group's version of "Make It Easy on Yourself", a Bacharach and David ballad previously recorded by Jerry Butler. The record was sung by Engel (by now called Scott Walker), arranged by Ivor Raymonde and produced by Johnny Franz, with a full orchestra augmented by session musicians, very much in the style of Phil Spector’s productions. Session musicians on the record included Alan Parker and Big Jim Sullivan - some later Walker Brothers’ records may also have involved Jimmy Page. By August 1965, "Make It Easy on Yourself" had entered the British Top 10 eventually reaching the Number One spot. Later in the year it also made #16 in the US charts.

The # 3 UK hit "My Ship Is Coming In" followed, and then in March 1966, The Walker Brothers hit #1 for the second time in six months with "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore". At that point, the Walker Brothers’ popularity in Britain – particularly that of Scott – reached a new high, especially among teenage girls, and their fan club in the country was said to have been larger than The Beatles’. Although "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" also made the US top twenty, they had much less success in their home country.

The Walker Brothers continued to have chart hits in the UK in 1966 and 1967, with Scott taking a more prominent role in their song choices and arrangements, but with diminishing commercial success. As pop music moved on, the Walker Brothers began to sound dated. By the end of 1967, the pressures of stardom, internal tensions, and “artistic differences” began to diminish the group. After a tour in Japan in 1968, the group officially disbanded.

All three continued to release solo records, with Scott being by far the most successful. In 1976 the group unexpectedly reunited, scoring another UK top ten hit with Tom Rush's "No Regrets". However, the three albums that followed sold poorly. Scott's tracks on the final album, "Nite Flights", laid the stylistic groundwork for Scott's later solo career.

UK chart discography

tudio albums

Extended Plays

ee also

*List of performers on Top of the Pops
*List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
*UK No.1 Hits of 1965
*UK No.1 Hits of 1966
*Philips Records
*List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)
*British Invasion

References

* Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
* Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
* The Great Rock Discography - 5th Edition - ISBN 1-84195-017-3
* Guinness Rockopedia - ISBN 0-85112-072-5
* The Book of Golden Discs - 2nd Edition - ISBN 0-214-20512-6
* "Everything Under the Sun" (box set) Universal Records Cat. no. 983 984-4
* [http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=1781 www.chartstats.com - UK Singles and Album Chart listing]
* [http://www.charts-surfer.de/index2.htm www.charts-surfer.de - German chart listing]
* [http://www.irishcharts.ie/ www.irishcharts.ie - Irish Singles chart]
* [http://www.everyhit.com/ www.everyhit.com - UK EP Chart Listings]

External links

* [http://www.tsimon.com/walker.htm Further information]
* [http://www.anthonyreynolds.net/pages/ii_news.htm Chapter from forthcoming biography of group]
* [http://scottwalker.oyla7.de Scott Walker-Fanpage & Walker Brothers Message Board Germany]
* [http://www.photofeatures.com/scottwalker/index.html Photo archive of Scott Walker and The Walker Brothers by photographer Chris Walter]