Biography
One of the lesser-known acts swept up in the first wave of the 1960s British Invasion, the Montanas are remembered chiefly for the solitary success “You’ve Got to Be Loved.” Formed in Birmingham during 1964, the original lineup featured lead guitarist Bill Hayward—previously a member of the Crossfires and the Connoisseurs—drummer Graham Crewe, bassist Ralph Oakley, and frontman John Jones. Their stage shows blended music with comic interludes, creating a distinctly theatrical atmosphere. Under the guidance of manager Roger Allen, the quartet secured a Pye Records deal that placed them in the orbit of songwriters Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent. Hatch, who also produced Petula Clark and the Searchers, supplied material that kept Clark at the summit of the British charts, and this connection initially appeared advantageous for the Montanas as well. Their instrumental palette expanded in 1966 when Terry Rowley, lead guitarist of the Mountain Kings, came aboard; he moved to keyboards but contributed sophisticated arrangements and original compositions, functioning within the group much as Paul Samwell-Smith had in the Yardbirds.
Three tracks—“Ciao Baby,” “You’ve Got to Be Loved,” and “Let’s Get a Little Sentimental”—earned strong critical notices and extensive airplay, yet none registered significant British chart impact. Against expectations, “You’ve Got to Be Loved” climbed into the American Top 50, though the band lacked funds to tour the United States and could only watch the single peak and decline without promotional support. Bassist Jake Elcock, late of the Strangers and Finders Keepers, and drummer Graham Hollis both joined in 1967. Local audiences and fellow musicians alike regarded the Montanas as among Birmingham’s finest live acts, praising their technical command and forceful stage presence, and many felt they merited wider recognition. Band members themselves later acknowledged, however, that their excellence was undercut by structural weaknesses: dependence on external songwriters—commonplace in 1965—had grown problematic by 1967, and the polished singles failed to capture the harder-edged sound the group delivered onstage. By 1968 their predicament echoed that of the Tremeloes, another pop-oriented outfit whose deeper catalog of hits had not spared them similar constraints.
That year Rowley and Jones departed to form Finders Keepers, which quickly evolved into Trapeze. Ian Lees, nicknamed “Sludge,” and George Davies entered the lineup in time to record “Let’s Get a Little Sentimental,” with Lees handling bass while supplying the between-song humor that had become a trademark. Rowley and Jones remained with Trapeze only for its debut album before rejoining the Montanas in 1970. The revised configuration persisted until the mid-1970s and finally dissolved in 1978. Their original recordings went out of print with the arrival of the compact-disc era, until a 26-track anthology titled after their signature hit appeared in 1998. Lees subsequently enjoyed success as a Midlands comedian, while Elcock moved into artist management.
Three tracks—“Ciao Baby,” “You’ve Got to Be Loved,” and “Let’s Get a Little Sentimental”—earned strong critical notices and extensive airplay, yet none registered significant British chart impact. Against expectations, “You’ve Got to Be Loved” climbed into the American Top 50, though the band lacked funds to tour the United States and could only watch the single peak and decline without promotional support. Bassist Jake Elcock, late of the Strangers and Finders Keepers, and drummer Graham Hollis both joined in 1967. Local audiences and fellow musicians alike regarded the Montanas as among Birmingham’s finest live acts, praising their technical command and forceful stage presence, and many felt they merited wider recognition. Band members themselves later acknowledged, however, that their excellence was undercut by structural weaknesses: dependence on external songwriters—commonplace in 1965—had grown problematic by 1967, and the polished singles failed to capture the harder-edged sound the group delivered onstage. By 1968 their predicament echoed that of the Tremeloes, another pop-oriented outfit whose deeper catalog of hits had not spared them similar constraints.
That year Rowley and Jones departed to form Finders Keepers, which quickly evolved into Trapeze. Ian Lees, nicknamed “Sludge,” and George Davies entered the lineup in time to record “Let’s Get a Little Sentimental,” with Lees handling bass while supplying the between-song humor that had become a trademark. Rowley and Jones remained with Trapeze only for its debut album before rejoining the Montanas in 1970. The revised configuration persisted until the mid-1970s and finally dissolved in 1978. Their original recordings went out of print with the arrival of the compact-disc era, until a 26-track anthology titled after their signature hit appeared in 1998. Lees subsequently enjoyed success as a Midlands comedian, while Elcock moved into artist management.
Albums
Singles
