The Chosen Few

Newcastle outfit The Chosen Few proved a strong ensemble that never quite broke through, even though several exceptionally gifted players would later achieve greater recognition with acts such as Lindisfarne and Ian Dury & the Blockheads. The group coalesced from the remnants of two prior Newcastle combos, the Unknowns and the Cresters, emerging alongside the formation of what became the Animals by Eric Burdon, Alan Price, and their associates. In many ways the quintet mirrored that band, delivering American-style R&B anchored by organ-and-guitar leads plus a magnetic frontman; keyboardist Mickey Gallagher even stood in for Alan Price after the latter left the Animals. Yet the Chosen Few diverged by incorporating original songs penned by lead guitarist Alan Hull alongside covers drawn from Tamla-Motown and additional American R&B sources.

The band cut two singles for Pye and was selected for a Hohner organs promotional push, yet neither release gained traction. After the label dropped them following the commercial disappointment of their second single, “Today Tonight and Tomorrow,” the group began to splinter in 1966. Written by Hull, that track stood out as a graceful, melodic piece leaning toward pop, enhanced by attractive yet straightforward guitar and organ embellishments from the composer and Gallagher, and it featured memorable hooks together with outstanding vocals—distinct from the Animals or other recognizable groups and instead sounding solely like the Chosen Few.

Hull and bassist Alan Brown both departed near the close of 1965, with Brown leaving music entirely while Hull shifted toward folk and entered Downtown Faction (subsequently renamed the Brethren), the unit that evolved into Lindisfarne—one of Newcastle’s most prosperous rock exports and, for a period, among England’s most prominent acts. Guitarist John Turnbull and bassist Colin Gibson stepped in as replacements. After vocalist Rod Hood left, Turnbull, Gibson, Gallagher, and drummer Tommy Jackman recast the lineup as Skip Bifferty, a pop-psychedelic ensemble that recorded for RCA. Gallagher and Turnbull subsequently established Arc and Bell & Arc, contributed to Dana Gillespie’s third album, and moved through Loving Awareness, the band whose drummer Charlie Charles and bassist Norman Watt-Roy became the foundation of Ian Dury & the Blockheads; Gallagher and Turnbull joined that group for its second and third albums. Turnbull also guested as a solo guitarist alongside ex-Chosen Few colleague Alan Hull on one of the latter’s solo projects during the ’70s, amid his periodic returns to Lindisfarne.