Biography
Few predicted that when Brian Poole And The Tremeloes disbanded in 1966 the instrumentalists would eclipse their former frontman and even surpass the original band’s achievements. The re-formed quartet that year consisted of Rick West (born Richard Westwood on 7 May 1943 in Dagenham, Essex, England; guitar), Alan Blakley (born 1 April 1942 in Dagenham, Essex, England; died 1995; rhythm guitar), Dave Munden (born 2 December 1943 in Dagenham, Essex, England; drums) and Alan Howard (born 17 October 1941 in Dagenham, Essex, England; bass). Mike Clark stepped in for Howard during May 1966, yet three months later Len ‘Chip’ Hawkes (born 2 November 1946 in London, England) assumed the bass chair; his lead vocals and youthful appearance supplied a sharper visual focus. To reflect changing tastes the musicians swapped tailored suits for Carnaby Street styles and grew their hair.
Their first Decca single, a version of Paul Simon’s ‘Blessed’, made no impact. Switching to CBS, they tried the Beatles’ ‘Good Day Sunshine’ from Revolver; despite airplay it also stalled. Their third outing, Cat Stevens’ ‘Here Comes My Baby’, however, climbed into the Top 20 on both sides of the Atlantic. The shrewd choice of ‘Silence Is Golden’—originally the B-side of the Four Seasons’ ‘Rag Doll’—suited the group’s gentle vocal blend and delivered their sole UK number 1 along with their best American placing at number 11. A string of further successes followed through the late sixties: ‘Even The Bad Times Are Good’, ‘Suddenly You Love Me’, ‘Helule Helule’ and ‘My Little Lady’.
Tiring of pop conventions, the Tremeloes abandoned Tin Pan Alley writers at decade’s end and supplied their own songs. Their debut effort, ‘(Call Me) Number One’, reached number 2 and struck them as stronger than anything they had cut since 1967. Buoyed by this start, they declared they were “going heavy,” a move that drove away their existing audience when they labelled earlier fans “morons.” The resulting album Master failed to attract new listeners yet yielded a last Top 20 single, ‘Me And My Life’. Thereafter cabaret work sustained them, where their stage energy found a receptive crowd.
In 1974 Chip Hawkes relocated to Nashville seeking a solo career that never materialised; his son Chesney Hawkes would briefly surface in the late eighties. Blakley departed the following January and was replaced by Aaron Woolley and Bob Benham. Sporadic recordings continued on DJM and their former CBS imprint. Into the new millennium the band remained active, with Munden and West augmented by Joe Gillingham (keyboards/vocals) and Davey Freyer (bass/vocals). September 2006 brought a forty-year reunion tour of Britain alongside Poole. The most recent line-up comprised Munden, Hawkes, West, Gillingham and Jeff Brown.
Their first Decca single, a version of Paul Simon’s ‘Blessed’, made no impact. Switching to CBS, they tried the Beatles’ ‘Good Day Sunshine’ from Revolver; despite airplay it also stalled. Their third outing, Cat Stevens’ ‘Here Comes My Baby’, however, climbed into the Top 20 on both sides of the Atlantic. The shrewd choice of ‘Silence Is Golden’—originally the B-side of the Four Seasons’ ‘Rag Doll’—suited the group’s gentle vocal blend and delivered their sole UK number 1 along with their best American placing at number 11. A string of further successes followed through the late sixties: ‘Even The Bad Times Are Good’, ‘Suddenly You Love Me’, ‘Helule Helule’ and ‘My Little Lady’.
Tiring of pop conventions, the Tremeloes abandoned Tin Pan Alley writers at decade’s end and supplied their own songs. Their debut effort, ‘(Call Me) Number One’, reached number 2 and struck them as stronger than anything they had cut since 1967. Buoyed by this start, they declared they were “going heavy,” a move that drove away their existing audience when they labelled earlier fans “morons.” The resulting album Master failed to attract new listeners yet yielded a last Top 20 single, ‘Me And My Life’. Thereafter cabaret work sustained them, where their stage energy found a receptive crowd.
In 1974 Chip Hawkes relocated to Nashville seeking a solo career that never materialised; his son Chesney Hawkes would briefly surface in the late eighties. Blakley departed the following January and was replaced by Aaron Woolley and Bob Benham. Sporadic recordings continued on DJM and their former CBS imprint. Into the new millennium the band remained active, with Munden and West augmented by Joe Gillingham (keyboards/vocals) and Davey Freyer (bass/vocals). September 2006 brought a forty-year reunion tour of Britain alongside Poole. The most recent line-up comprised Munden, Hawkes, West, Gillingham and Jeff Brown.
Albums
