‘The road is long, with many a winding turn, that leads us to who knows where? Who knows where?’
Everyone loved The Hollies. They were the ‘group’s group’. Never confrontational or rebellious, always smartly suited, always smiling. The band had an unbroken run of immaculate pop singles which, while they seldom had that must-buy factor of the latest Rolling Stones or Beatles record, were hallmarked by tight harmonies and an almost unfailing chart sensibility. Throughout the sixties and well into the seventies, everyone had at least one or two Hollies singles in their collection and nobody begrudged The Hollies their hits.
When ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ and ‘Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress’ became global million-sellers, The Hollies were inducted into The Rock ‘n‘ Roll Hall Of Fame. Graham Nash — by then deep into his second career as part of Crosby, Stills and Nash — was reunited with other members of the outfit on stage together in the March 2010 ceremony.
This book tells the full story of the band’s music, from the band’s origins in Manchester, through the full arc of hits, and the albums — track-by-track, into the twenty-first century, then… now… always.
Andrew Darlington watched the very first episode of ‘Dr Who’, he also watched the most recent episode. Whatever academic potential he may once have possessed was wrecked by an addiction to loud rock ‘n’ roll and cheap science fiction, which remain the twin poles of what he laughingly refers to as his writing career. He is most proud of his parallel universe collection A Saucerful Of Secrets. His latest book is a biography of the Beatles spin-doctor Derek Taylor: For Your Radioactive Children (Sonicbond, 2020). His writing can be found at ‘Eight Miles Higher’: andrewdarlington.blogspot.co.uk/
