The Tremeloes

Infobox musical artist
Background = group_or_band
Name = The Tremeloes


Img_capt =
Years_active = 1958 – 1975
Origin = Essex, England
Genre = Beat
Label = CBS
Past_members = Brian Poole Alan Blakely
Len 'Chip' Hawkes
Dave Munden
Rick West
URL =

The Tremeloes are a British rock and roll band founded in the late 1950s in Dagenham, Essex. They are still active today.

Career

The group formed in 1958 as Brian Poole and the Tremoloes (the name soon being changed thanks to the spelling mistake of a local newspaper), and started out as Buddy Holly and the Crickets imitators. On New Years Day, 1962, Decca, looking for a "Beat" group, auditioned two promising young bands: Brian Poole and the Tremeloes and a somewhat similar combo (also heavily influenced by Buddy Holly) from Liverpool called The Beatles.

In what is now considered one of the notorious blunders of all time, Decca chose the Tremeloes over The Beatles. However, the move was a blunder only in light of The Beatles' subsequent greatness. The Tremeloes proved to be a very talented band in their own right who had a successful career. Like the Beatles, every member of the Tremeloes was a strong singer and the band seamlessly combined rock and roll with a variety of other genres.

The original quintet consisted of vocalist Brian Poole (born November 2nd 1941, Barking), guitarist Ricky West (born Richard Westwood, May 7th 1943, Dagenham), guitarist/keyboardist Alan Blakely (born April 1st 1942, Bromley), bassist Alan Howard (born October 17th 1941, Dagenham) and drummer Dave Munden (born December 12th 1943, Dagenham) [http://www.geocities.com/fabgear6366/poole.htm]

Brian Poole and the Tremeloes first charted with a version of "Twist and Shout" (1963), a song ironically also recorded by the Beatles. This was followed by a chart topping cover of The Contours' U.S. million-seller "Do You Love Me" in the same year. Before they parted company with Brian Poole in 1966, their covers of Roy Orbison's B-side, "Candy Man" and The Crickets' B-side ballad, "Someone Someone" (both 1964) entered the UK Singles Chart Top Ten, with the latter peaking at number two. When Poole and Howard left the band in 1966, Alan Blakely took over leadership of the group, and Len "Chip" Hawkes, father of 1990s hitmaker Chesney Hawkes, replaced Howard. Poole pursued a career as a solo artist, with little success, and soon left the music business.

After switching from Decca to CBS Records, the Tremeloes started an even more successful hit run from 1967 onwards with Cat Stevens' "Here Comes My Baby"; " Hello World " and two Italian hits translated into English, "Suddenly You Love Me" (which is Riccardo Del Turco's "Uno tranquillo " ("One quiet man ")and "My Little Lady" (based on Orietta Berti's "Non illuderti mai " (" Never deceive yourself"), and their Number one recording of an old Four Seasons' B-side "Silence is Golden". Both this last single and "Here Comes My Baby" also entered the Top Twenty of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on CBS' co-owned Epic Records.

All members shared vocals, though most of the songs featured either Hawkes or drummer Dave Munden as the lead singer. Guitarist Rick West sang lead vocal on "Silence is Golden". Their regular hits were accompanied by frequent appearances on BBC's Top of the Pops television programme. Their songs were popular with younger music fans and parents rather than rock music fans. Altogether, without Poole the group had nine UK Top Twenty hits.

"Me and My Life" was a hit in 1970, but the group did themselves no favours while it was in the charts when an interview in the weekly paper Melody Maker quoted them as calling the fans who had bought their earlier singles "silly suckers". Their album "Master" which they released a few weeks later failed to sell well, and they had no British hits after "Hello Buddy" in 1971. Nevertheless they recorded several more singles throughout the decade, including "Blue Suede Tie", "Ride On", "It's OK (Say Ole If You Love Me)", and "Do I Love You", some of which received heavy airplay, particularly on Radio Luxembourg. They also released another three albums of original material, "Shiner" (1974), "Don't Let The Music Die" (1975), with some copies being credited to a group Space although the Tremeloes' pictures were on the sleeve, and "All For One and One For All" (1992).

The Tremeloes are still together today: West and Munden perform their old material in concert throughout Europe with musicians from other 1960s and 1970s bands. Chip Hawkes is also still an active performer, and leads his own band "Class of '64." Blakely sadly died in 1996.

Hit singles

After the hits

Their music is still available on CD, and they quite often play concerts and are part of the pop-revival shows that constantly tour the UK. Their line-up changed several times from 1972 onwards, the first new entrants being Bob Benham and Aaron Woolley, effectively a merger with a Tremeloes-managed group called Jumbo. Munden remained the only constant member. Hawkes pursued a solo career for a while producing two albums for RCA Records in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1979 he returned to England and rejoined the Tremeloes where he remained until 1988. Chip left the Tremeloes to focus on managing his son, Chesney, who had a hit record entitled "The One and Only". By 1992 Hawkes was touring once again as a solo artist. Blakely produced records for other acts, including the Rubettes, Bilbo and Mungo Jerry. In 1983 the original quartet reformed and made the lower reaches of the UK Top 100 with their cover version of the Europop hit "Words", losing out to a reactivation of the original by F. R. David.

As a soloist, Poole failed to chart with subsequent records, but pursued a successful cabaret career. His daughters, Karen and Shellie, hit the charts in 1996 as Alisha's Attic. Blakely died from cancer in June 1996, leaving Munden and West to continue in concert with newer recruits Dave Fryar (bass) and Joe Gillingham (keyboards). Jeff Brown, former bass player and lead vocals for Andy Scott's Sweet, replaced Fryar in 2005.

Brian Poole, Chip Hawkes and The Tremeloes toured the UK as part of their 40th anniversary reunion in September 2006.

The Class of 64

In April 2004, at the request of The Animals who were about to do their 40th anniversary tour, Hawkes was asked to form a band to tour with The Animals. This he did, bringing together a true supergroup also including Mick Avory (ex-The Kinks), Eric Haydock (ex-The Hollies), who have teamed up to perform as The Class of 64, also featuring guitarists, Telecaster Ted Tomlin and Graham Pollock. The band have toured around the world, recorded an album of past band hits and a new single called "She's Not My Child".

In 2007 Haydock, Tomlin, Pollock and Avory left 64 to form a new band called Legends of the Sixties before changing the name to The Hitmen.

Original band member details

* Brian Poole — born 3 November 1941, in Barking, Essex — Vocalist (up to 1966).
* Alan Blakely — born Alan David Blakely, 1 April 1942, in Bromley, Kent. Died on 10 June 1996 — Rhythm Guitarist / Keyboards / Vocalist.
* Ricky West - born Richard Charles Westwood, on 7 May 1943, in Dagenham, Essex — Lead Guitarist / Vocalist.
* Alan Howard — born 17 October 1941, in Dagenham, Essex — Bassist / Vocalist (up to 1966).
* Chip Hawkes — born Leonard Donald Hawkes, 2 November 1945, in Shepherd's Bush, West London — Bassist / Vocalist (from 1965).
* Dave Munden — born David Charles Munden, 2 December 1943, in Dagenham, Essex — Drummer / Vocalist.

References

* Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, 16th Edition — ISBN 0-85112-190-X
* The Guinness Book Of British Hit Albums, 7th Edition — ISBN 0-85112-619-7
* The Book Of Golden Discs, 2nd Edition — ISBN 0-214-20512-6
* The Guinness Book Of 500 Number One Hits — ISBN 0-85112-250-7

External links

* [http://www.tremeloes.oldiemusic.de/ The Tremeloes Official Site]
* [http://www.freewebs.com/chiphawkesclassof64 The Official Chip Hawkes & The Class of '64 Website]
* [http://www.geocities.com/fabgear6366/poole.htm Brian Poole & The Tremeloes fansite]
* [http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dirb/brianp.htm Tremeloes biography and discography] at the 45rpm website