Brian Poole & The Tremeloes

Few listeners who encounter their recordings can avoid appreciating—or even cherishing—the Tremeloes. Among the most gifted British pop and rock ensembles of the 1960s, they channeled their abilities into irresistibly melodic and meticulously arranged singles that dominated airplay and sales charts across the Atlantic from 1966 to 1970.

Paradoxically, the Tremeloes remain among the most overlooked and underappreciated English groups of that decade. Their limited esteem may stem from unfortunate timing; they rarely composed their own songs and achieved their strongest chart entries well after the British Invasion and its attendant aura had subsided. Even so, they stand as one of the longest-enduring English rock-and-roll acts, maintaining a regular performance schedule more than four decades after their formation.

The group assembled in 1958 while its founding members were still teenagers. Sharing closer affinities with early British beat outfits such as the Shadows than with the Invasion-era bands they later joined, the initial roster—Brian Poole on vocals and guitar, Alan Blakley on drums, Alan Howard on saxophone, and Graham Scott on guitar—drew inspiration from Buddy Holly’s Crickets. This configuration proved short-lived: Blakley soon moved to guitar once Dave Munden joined as drummer. Munden’s dual prowess as a skilled percussionist and capable vocalist supplied a vital third singing voice that later proved indispensable. Alan Howard likewise shifted to bass shortly after Munden’s arrival.

Initially misspelled “the Tremilos,” the band cultivated local audiences at dances and clubs before entering the U.S. air-base circuit, where extended sets compelled them to master an extensive repertoire. By 1961 they had turned fully professional. Graham Scott departed around this period and was succeeded by Rick West (born Rick Westwood), formerly of Tony Rivers & the Castaways.

West’s classically trained guitar work proved pivotal to sustained success. Manager Peter Walsh, already guiding the Brook Brothers and the Kestrels, secured their first major opportunity when BBC producer Jimmy Grant of Saturday Club arranged an audition that led to regular radio appearances. This exposure prompted a Decca Records audition on New Year’s Day 1962, pitting them against an unknown Liverpool quartet, the Beatles. Executives Dick Rowe and Mike Smith selected the Tremeloes, citing their London proximity.

Decca therefore signed them as Brian Poole & the Tremeloes. In this period the group backed the Vernons Girls on “The Locomotion” and DJ Jimmy Savile on “Ahab the Arab,” appeared in the film Just for Fun, and issued unsuccessful singles such as “Twist Little Sister” and “Keep on Dancing.” As 1963 progressed and Beatle-led acts dominated, the band refreshed its image, emphasized rhythm guitar, and turned toward R&B sources. Their cover of “Twist and Shout” reached number four in Britain despite competing with the Beatles’ EP version. “Do You Love Me,” originally by the Contours, topped the UK chart once “She Loves You” relinquished the summit and outsold a rival rendition by the Dave Clark Five. Subsequent releases included a UK Top Ten take on Roy Orbison’s “Candy Man” and a vigorous reading of the Strangeloves’ “I Want Candy.”

Further film and television work followed, encompassing performance segments in Go Go, Big Beat and A Touch of Blarney. By late 1965, however, stagnation set in: the quintet retained matching stage suits and pounding covers while newer acts such as the Yardbirds, Kinks, evolving Beatles, and Rolling Stones raised expectations. Brian Poole’s growing solo ambitions, modeled on figures like Tom Jones, coincided with the chart failure of “Good Lovin’.” The resulting split left the band inactive in the studio for nearly six months. Press commentary predicted stardom for Poole and obscurity for the Tremeloes. Poole’s subsequent solo attempts faltered; bassist Alan Howard exited, succeeded first by Mike Clark (a former associate of West) and then by Len “Chip” Hawkes. A cover of Paul Simon’s “Blessed” went nowhere, prompting Decca to drop the group.

Rescue arrived through Mike Smith, who had left Decca in 1966 for the fledgling CBS Records. Smith signed the Tremeloes to the label, which sought domestic talent. Updating their presentation, they revisited Beatles material with “Good Day Sunshine,” which, though it failed to chart, earned strong reviews and television exposure. Their next single, Cat Stevens’ “Here Comes My Baby,” climbed to number four in Britain and number 13 in the United States. Bookings alongside the Hollies, Paul Jones, and the Spencer Davis Group showcased their revitalized sound. “Silence Is Golden,” a longtime concert favorite, became their first UK number-one since “Do You Love Me,” reached number 11 in America, and earned their second U.S. gold record.

Beneath their pop exterior lay progressive touches: Rick West’s fuzz-tone guitar on B-sides such as “Let Your Hair Hang Down,” “What a State I’m In,” and “Suddenly Winter” matched or preceded the innovations of Jeff Beck and Davy O’List; historian Roger Dopson notes West as the first English guitarist to master onstage fuzz-tone. The band’s harmonies rivaled those of the Beatles, while Hawkes delivered melodic bass lines. Tracks including “Even the Bad Times Are Good,” “Be Mine,” “Suddenly You Love Me,” “Helule Helule,” “My Little Lady,” “All the World to Me,” and “I’m Gonna Try” delivered memorable hooks and harmonies. During the Summer of Love they toured America, charting the album Here Comes the Tremeloes stateside while its UK edition reached number 15. Over the following three years they secured three additional UK Top Ten singles and two further Top 40 entries, touring three continents.

Their polished pop/rock filled the void left when the Beatles and Hollies grew introspective and earlier acts faded, paralleling the work of the Monkees, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and bubblegum outfits such as the Ohio Express and the 1910 Fruitgum Company. West earned peer respect as a virtuoso guitarist, ranking just behind George Harrison in British rock annals. Hawkes emerged as the band’s teen idol, akin to Mark Lindsay of the Raiders. A 1969 cover of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released,” arranged with the Keith Mansfield Strings, barely grazed the UK Top 30.

By 1970 the members sought greater seriousness, publicly denigrating past hits and dismissing their audience as “morons.” The resulting album Master alienated former supporters and attracted no new listeners, though “Me and My Life” still reached number four in Britain with the strong B-side “Try Me.” Subsequent experiments—“Right Wheel, Left Hammer, Sham,” “Hello Buddy,” “Blue Suede Tie”—and a brief name change to the Trems proved unsuccessful. By the mid-1970s they performed cabaret while intermittently recording for DJM, Pye, Polydor, and briefly returning to CBS in the early 1980s.

Into the late 1990s the lineup of Dave Munden, Rick West, keyboardist and engineer Joe Gillingham, and bassist-guitarist Davey Freyer continued regular engagements across Britain and Europe. Decca-era recordings with Poole (occasionally reissued as “Brian Poole of the Tremeloes”) remain scarce, whereas post-1965 collections appear on Rhino, Sequel, and Repertoire. An active website sustains their visibility as they approach a golden anniversary in rock and roll.