May it be your light in the darkness, when all other lights go out

Great article on The Hollies [MOJO 334] – and long overdue. I only recently discovered their 1966 album

For Certain Because…, which for me deserves to be up there in the best pop albums of the ’60s. The Hollies were starting to stretch out and take risks, undoubtedly swept up in the quest for new sounds and new approaches to pop. Graham Nash has to be credited with pushing The Hollies out of their comfort zone, but I’m sure all the band were involved in trying to keep up with the rapid changes in pop at the time. Their first psychedelic album, Evolution, is an interesting period piece, but apart from a few tracks, it’s a bit of a folly. They never really suited that marmalade skies and elephant’s eyes phase in music. The album Butterfly, which again has some good tracks, only confirms that The Hollies were right to abandon this direction. Finally, can I just say that Allan Clarke is a great singer; underrated and very versatile. He could sing anything convincingly. Wilfred Appleseed, via e-mail …Thank you for a great article on The Hollies in MOJO 334. A fabulous group who perhaps don’t always get the plaudits they deserve. They recorded a wonderful song Wings, just before Graham left, which was included on the charity LP No One’s Gonna Change Our World. Sean Connolly, via e-mail