The Hollies

The Hollies were an English rock and pop band formed in Salford in 1962 by singer Allan Clarke and rhythm guitarist/singer Graham Nash. One of the most successful British bands of the 1960s and 1970s, their first stable line-up consisted of Clarke, Nash, lead guitarist Tony Hicks, bassist Eric Haydock, and drummer Don Rathbone. Rathbone was replaced by Bobby Elliott in late 1963, while Haydock was replaced by Bernie Calvert in mid-1966. During the Hollies' early years, most of their original songs were written by the trio of Clarke/Hicks/Nash, until Nash left the group in late 1968 to co-form Crosby, Stills & Nash, and was replaced by Terry Sylvester. Apart from a short time during late 1971 to early 1973 (during which Clarke was replaced by Mikael Rickfors), the Clarke/Hicks/Elliott/Calvert/Sylvester line-up remained in place until Calvert and Sylvester both departed in 1981. Over the next 23 years, the band underwent several more personnel changes, including a brief return of Nash during the 1980s and the final departure of Clarke in 2000, before stabilising in 2004 with their last line-up of Hicks, Elliott, singer Peter Howarth, rhythm guitarist Steve Lauri, bassist Ray Stiles, and keyboardist Ian Parker.The Hollies enjoyed considerable popularity in the UK and Europe during the mid-1960s with a string of hits that included "Searchin'", "Stay" (both 1963), "Just One Look", "Here I Go Again", "We're Through" (all 1964), "Yes I Will", their first UK number one "I'm Alive", "Look Through Any Window", "If I Needed Someone" (all 1965) and "I Can't Let Go" (1966), although they did not achieve US chart success until "Bus Stop" was released in 1966. The group went on to have periodic success on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean over the next decade, with further UK and/or US hits including "Stop Stop Stop" (1966), "On a Carousel", "Pay You Back with Interest", "Carrie Anne", "King Midas in Reverse" (all 1967), "Dear Eloise", "Jennifer Eccles", "Listen to Me" (all 1968), "Sorry Suzanne", "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (both 1969), "I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top", "Gasoline Alley Bred" (both 1970), "Hey Willy" (1971), "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress", "Long Dark Road" (both 1972), "The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee" (1973) and "The Air That I Breathe" (1974). "He Ain't Heavy" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart following a 1988 re-release. Overall, the Hollies had over 30 charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, and 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100.The Hollies disbanded following Hicks and Elliott's retirement from touring in 2026. At the time, they were one of the few UK groups of the early 1960s, along with the Rolling Stones, who had never disbanded. In recognition of their achievements, the Hollies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.The Hollies originated as a duo formed by Allan Clarke and Graham Nash, who were best friends from primary school and began performing together during the skiffle craze of the late 1950s. Eventually Clarke and Nash became a vocal-and-guitar duo modelled on American duo the Everly Brothers, working as "Ricky and Dane Young"; under this name they teamed up with a local band, the Fourtones, consisting of Pete Bocking on guitar, John 'Butch' Mepham on bass, Keith Bates on drums, and Derek Quinn on guitar. When Quinn quit to join Freddie and the Dreamers in 1962, Clarke and Nash also quit and joined another Manchester band, the Deltas, consisting of Vic Steele on lead guitar, Eric Haydock on bass guitar, and Don Rathbone on drums, which had just lost two members including Eric Stewart, who left to join a "professional" band, the Mindbenders and guitarist and vocalist, Rhys Watson. During these periods the group were managed and promoted by Michael Cohen, a music enthusiast and clothing retailer from Oldham.The Deltas first called themselves the Hollies for a December 1962 gig at the Oasis Club in Manchester. It has been suggested that Eric Haydock named the group in relation to a Christmas holly garland, though in a 2009 interview Graham Nash said that the group decided just prior to a performance to call themselves the Hollies because of their admiration for Buddy Holly. In 2009, Nash wrote, "We called ourselves The Hollies, after Buddy and Christmas."

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.