Allan Clarke (singer)

Infobox musical artist

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Name = Allan Clarke
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Harold Clarke
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Born = Birth date and age|1942|4|5|df=y
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Origin = Salford, Lancashire, England
Instrument = Lead Vocals, Guitar, vocal harmonies
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Genre = Pop music
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Years_active = 1950s- 2000
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Associated_acts = The Hollies
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Allan Clarke (born Harold Allan Clarke, 5 April 1942, in Salford, Lancashire, England) was one of the founding members of The Hollies. He has lived in Ashton, Northamptonshire since 1977.

Career

He and his childhood friend, Graham Nash, began singing together in Manchester while still at school, recruiting John Butch Mepham (bass), Joe Abrams (drums), Derek Quinn (Guitar), and Peter Bocking (Guitar) to become the Fourtones in 1960 and then the Deltas in 1962. In 1963, they added Tony Hicks (guitar), and became the Hollies. Clarke was their lead vocalist, but also played occasional guitar and harmonica. In the UK they enjoyed 29 chart singles, 17 of which made the Top 10, with two - "I'm Alive" (1965) and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (re-issue) - reaching No. 1, the latter on re-release; it had originally been a top three hit in 1969.

In the US charts they achieved 23 chart singles six of which hit the Top 10. Many of the group’s songs were co-written by Clarke, usually with Hicks and Nash, until the latter’s departure at the end of 1968.

Keen to launch a solo career, Clarke left the group in 1971, and was replaced by the Swedish singer Mikael Rickfors formerly with Bamboo. Clarke made three albums on his own - "My Real Name Is 'arold" (1972), "Headroom" (1973), and "Allan Clarke" (1974). Ironically, after leaving the Hollies, "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress", a song from their 1970 album "Distant Light", which he had co-written with songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, and played lead guitar on, became an international hit, reaching #2 in the U.S. (their most successful single ever there) and #32 in the UK Singles Chart.

Rickfors left the group and Clarke rejoined them in July 1973. Their first single with him back in the fold was another of his songs, "The Day that Crazy Billy Shot Down Curly Sam McGee", a Top 40 hit that autumn. This song was one of several including "Perfect Lady Housewife", which was included on The Hollies 1970 album, "Confessions of the Mind", which were originally written by the Hollies for a musical. The drama of which was written by Clarke's brother in law John Bowstead, whose painting was used as part of the album artwork for Clarke's solo album "reasons to believe" (1990).

Clarke continued to record and release solo albums, the next being "I've Got Time" (1976), but never enjoyed any chart success with albums or singles. He also performed guest vocals on the 1977 album "I Robot" by The Alan Parsons Project (most notably, lead vocals on the FM-hit "Breakdown"). He left the Hollies for the second time in March 1978 and made "I Wasn't Born Yesterday" (1978), but returned in August. Subsequent solo albums included "Legendary Heroes" (1979) and "The Only One" (1980).

By this time the Hollies' chart career was almost over, their run of hit singles culminated with "The Air That I Breathe", No. 2 in 1974, and followed by a long run of commercial failures. Nevertheless Clarke continued to front them through several more years of much-acclaimed concert tours throughout the world. The success of their live shows was captured in their album "Live Hits" recorded at a concert in Christchurch, New Zealand.

One of the first acts in Britain to champion the work of Bruce Springsteen, Clarke recorded a cover version of "Born to Run" and "Blinded by the Light", though the majority of his solo performances were his own compositions. Clarke recorded "Born to Run" a few months before Bruce Springsteen, but due to delays with the record company it was not released until after Springsteen's version. Ultimately, Clarke's cover did not generate much attention. The Hollies also recorded "Sandy", a minor hit written by Springsteen on their "Another Night" album.

He retired from the music industry in 1999, and was initially replaced in the group by Carl Wayne, former vocalist with The Move.