Paul asked me to join Wings but my heart was with The Hollies
BOBBY ELLIOTT has been the beating heart of the Hollies since the Swingin’ Sixties and has never been tempted to leave the iconic band.
He remembers recording at Abbey Road when former Beatle Sir Paul Mccartney was in the neighbouring studio with his then new band Wings.
“He was in the number three studio and we were in number two,” he recalls.
“He would come in a few times and he asked me, ‘Do you fancy doing a bit of jamming?’
“I said, ‘sure’. I thought he just wanted get together in the pub.
“That night he poured me a glass of wine and said ‘Bobby I’d like you to join our band, to join Wings’.
“I had to tell him, ‘Well, all my heart is with The Hollies. I’m sorry Paul, but no thanks,’ and that was that really. It was all done in a friendly way.”
Bobby recently went back to Abbey Road to work with Paul’s photographer daughter Mary on the documentary If These Walls Could Sing about the famous recording studio.
“I took along the drum kit I used for The Air That I Breathe,” says Bobby, “and I had a look around the old cupboards that used to be filled with special effects records.
“They are empty now, but they used to be filled with sirens, thunder claps, whistles and chimes.
“Before the Beatles, it was known as the EMI studio and did classical recordings of Elgar and Stravinsky as well as Cliff Richard.”
The Hollies recorded most of their music at Abbey Road Studios and would stroll into central London after finishing for the day and enjoy a drink with Keith Richards or Eric Burdon of The Animals.
Self-taught drummer Bobby began playing along to music on the radio in his bedroom above his mother’s grocery shop as a boy.
“I had paint brush handles for sticks and a Cadbury’s Roses tin and a biscuit tin for drums and got quite a nice sound,” he chuckles.
“Later I managed to scrape in Stockport in June 1965 after their single I’m Alive the UK Singles Chart together some drum parts with help from my dad. I’d get a bit carried away banging up there. My mum one time said a customer came in with a shopping list and just left because it was so loud. I had visions of the ceiling flaking down, but it was not quite as drastic as that.”
When Burnley-born Bobby and Eric Haydock at the Alpha Studios in Birmingham before recording TV show Thank Your Lucky Stars in May 1964 joined The Hollies it was the start of a life-long commitment. Emerging from Salford in 1962, the group were inspired by the Everly Brothers and the skiffle craze sweeping Britain.
A successful show at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool won the group a pivotal audition with the Parlophone record label.
With tracks such as The Air That I Breathe, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother and Bus Stop, their threepart vocal harmonies became instantly recognisable.
Celebrated as one of the most influential bands from the 1960s British Invasion era alongside the likes of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, the Hollies have had more than 20 world-wide hits, including number one singles in the US and UK. They have also spent an astonishing 263 weeks in the UK top 40 official singles chart and have been the past: Bobby at
Road Studios performing continuously since their formation in 1962.
Sir Elton John, Burt Bacharach and John Paul Jones
Want to get a head? British actress Nanette Newman modelled a fringed cagoule as part of fashion designer Christian Dior’s new autumn and winter hat collection.
You wear it well. Rock star Rod Stewart made quite a style statement in a flat cap and furry coat when he turned up at Tannadice to watch Celtic take on Dundee United.
Princess Margaret donned her favourite winter coat when she was greeted by Viscount Allendale as she stepped from the train at the Central Station in Newcastle. She wore the number throughout her visit and it became popularly known as the “Newcastle” coat.
Dairy foods such as yoghurt are important sources of calcium and other nutrients.
A portion from an individual pot of yoghurt or four tablespoons is about 120g and, for plain low-fat versions, provides about 68 calories.
Sara says: “It’s best to go for dairy foods that are green or amber (low or medium) for fat on food labels, as these provide the important nutrients for fewer calories and less saturated fat.”
For plant-based alternatives to dairy foods, look for items fortified with calcium and ideally other vitamins and minerals too.
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We may be in the midst of a ‘Great Resignation’ but shifting up your career can be stressful. ABI JACKSON seeks some advice Perhaps you’ve seen the headlines things are going to happen’. and noticed it amongst your friends “You are going to worry about and colleagues – people are quitting money, it is going to feel scary, you their jobs. are going to worry that it’s all going
While the early pandemic saw to fail. We can’t just banish these devastating losses and contracts thoughts. It’s so easy to think you cut short, now we’re witnessing need to spend all your time trying what’s been dubbed ‘The Great to get over imposter syndrome – Resignation’. but no, it’s always going to exist!”
It’s a trend with many layers, from workers being fed up with unfair conditions and low pay, to those seeking a healthier work-life balance, or realising life is short and it’s time for something new.
If you’ve been thinking about switching things up – whether retraining, setting up as freelance, launching a business or sidestepping into a new field – but the whole thing leaves you lost, you are not alone. And good news: those feelings are very normal.
“Making the leap is one of the steps, and possibly the biggest and most exciting one,” says Jenny. “But you’re then starting to walk a different path – you’re not just leaping and landing and that’s that. You’re leaping to another step.”
The steps that come before the ‘leap’ are important too, and doing things quickly may not be wise for everyone, especially if you have big financial considerations and aren’t in a position – or don’t want to – compromise your stability.
“Instead of beating yourself up for these things, consider how they may actually be useful to you,” says Laura. “[These feelings] are there to protect you from the unknown waters ahead. This big decision doesn’t have to be a giant, scary leap and you absolutely can go at your own pace.”