The band who beat the Beatles to a record deal
THEY had a string of hits including two No 1 singles. But The Tremeloes are also known as the band who were originally considered better than The Beatles.
In 1962, Decca Records auditioned both groups and rejected the Fab Four in favour of a quintet from Dagenham, East London, then known as Brian Poole and the Tremeloes.
The decision was later described as the ‘worst mistake in music history’ but while The Tremeloes did not enjoy the world domination achieved by The Beatles, they still had a string of hits and made regular appearances on TV shows such as Top Of The Pops.
The band, formed in 1958 by lead singer Poole and guitarist Rick West (Westwood), first charted in July 1963 with a version of Twist And Shout, an Isley Brothers song that had already been covered by The Beatles. It was the first of 11 top ten hits. Later that year they had their first No 1 with Do You Love Me.
Further hits followed with Candy Man, Someone Someone and Here Comes My Baby.
In 1967, after Poole left the band and Westwood took over as lead vocalist, they had their bestknown hit, Silence Is Golden, which topped the charts for three weeks.
Subsequent hits included Suddenly You Love Me and (Call Me) Number One.
Chip Hawkes, who joined the band in 1966, left in 1988 to concentrate on managing his son Chesney, who topped the charts in 1991 with The One And Only.
He said: ‘I knew Chesney would get a rough time from jealous people, but talent won out.
‘Chesney has a lot more going for him than I ever had. He can act as well as sing.’ Hawkes lives in Chertsey, Surrey, with wife Carol and still performs in his own band, Class Of ’64.
Westwood, who lives in Crowthorne, Berkshire, with his wife Lynn, continued to perform with The Tremeloes until retiring in 2012.
The band is still going, although only drummer Dave Munden remains from the original Tremeloes line-up.