The Fortunes

The Fortunes took shape as a quintet cast in the familiar mold of the British Invasion, channeling the lively vocal-harmony style associated with Merseybeat and attaining their chief American visibility through the perennial oldies-radio staple "You've Got Your Troubles."

Birmingham, England, served as the birthplace for the ensemble in 1963, when it debuted under the name the Cliftones as a vocal trio anchored by Rod Allen on bass and lead vocals, Glen Dale supplying guitar and vocals, and Barry Pritchard also handling guitar and vocals.

The Beatles-driven explosion of Merseybeat prompted an abrupt pivot: keyboardist David Carr and drummer Andy Brown were brought aboard, the name became the Fortunes, and their debut single "Summertime, Summertime" carried an unusual dual credit to both lineups.

Melancholy, string-laden ballads in the vein of Peter & Gordon, the Moody Blues, or the Zombies became their specialty, and they even shared stages with the first two of those acts.

Early 1964 brought their second Decca release, "Caroline," which Radio Caroline adopted as its signature theme despite never entering the charts amid heavy rotation.

Two additional non-charting singles preceded the 1965 breakthrough "You've Got Your Troubles," a track that reached the U.S. Top Ten and climbed to number two in Britain.

Their self-titled debut album appeared that year; the immediate follow-up, "Here It Comes Again," replicated the prior single's British success without matching it stateside.

"This Golden Ring," issued next, secured a solid U.K. showing short of the Top Ten, after which difficulties mounted.

Glen Dale exited in summer 1966 to launch a solo career and was replaced by Scottish guitarist Shel MaCrae.

Psychedelia's rise as the dominant British pop sound left the impeccably polished group ill-equipped to adapt.

A pair of 1966 singles failed, and Decca dropped the band the following year.

United Artists became their new home, where they sustained single releases while supplementing income by voicing an American Coca-Cola jingle.

David Carr departed in summer 1968, yet the quartet carried on.

Unexpectedly, their 1970 cover of Pickettywitch's "That Same Old Feeling" registered on the lower U.S. charts.

A move to Capitol paired them with producers and songwriters Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook.

The 1971 single "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again" delivered a U.S. Top 20 comeback.

Its successor "Freedom Come, Freedom Go" missed in America yet restored the group to the British Top Ten, a placement matched by the next release, "Storm in a Teacup."

George McAllister's arrival restored the five-piece format, though further singles-chart action proved elusive and the members settled into steady work on the British club circuit.

Rod Allen continues to front a nostalgia-focused edition of the Fortunes that features guitarist Michael Smitham, drummer Paul Hooper, and ex-Badfinger keyboardist Bob Jackson.

Barry Pritchard died on January 11, 1999. Shel MaCrae died on November 23, 2022 at the age of 77.