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THE HOLLIES a "group" - more, they say, a gathering of friends who will come together to sing and play from time to time. Their music is magnificent, their hopes are high, and they know what they're up against, their ideals are ideal, I wish them luckand when they happen (as they will) I trust these rebels with a musical clause will continue to be as individual as they are. "What's happening," says Graham, "is that there have been an awful lot of musicians who have been obvious 'individuals' within groups, wanting to go a different way than the major body of the group. It's been true in my case, it's true in Stephen'scase, in Sebastian ofThe Lovin' Spoonful's case, Mama Cass, the Cream -you know, with Clapton, etcetera- Buddy Miles. You name 'em...Traffic broke up... all of them trying to 'make music' without having hang-ups about the business side." "What we've done, Steve and Dave and I, is sung together from time to timeover the last year. Twicewhen I was with The Hollies, and four times on myown since. I've crossed theAtlantic four times just to sing with these two people. The affinity between us is a strongone. But we don't want to be a group, just individuals, no collective name or anything. That would brand us. The first thing is that wecan all perform together if we wish, because there are no contractual hang-ups... although there are in the recording side. We havea situation inAmerica where Stephen is onAtlantic, lam on CBS, and David -wise old David -is completely free." Wise old David smiled and plucked his guitar and said it had taken him a whole year to get that way, deliberately degrading himself by telling people he was not worth it and was not going TheHolliosinI968: to make records any more anyway. Graham added that since (1-r)AllanClarke, BobbyElliott,Graham leavingThe Hollies he had found his faith in two people Nash,BarnardCalvart particularly fortified. and Tony Hicks "One of them is Ron Richards, The Hollies' producer. He kept hisword in that when I decided to leave The Hollies, !decided to The Hollies we've sorted a lot of things out in the past few months. We leave my publishing firm, too, because I no longer wanted to be tied up in know each other even better than weever did. We still irritate each other, business with Allan and Tony. Ron said fine and checked with Dick James, a lot, of course. But no, ourarguments have nevercome to physical who was also just great and said, 'Fine, go your way,' and wished me luck. violence. Never. It couldn't, because we're too good with words, all of us. As far as songwriting is concerned, I'm just going to sit around at the Another thing is that if I'm havingan argument with Bern and I'm wrong, moment. It's the others will back him up.And then I realise in the end." a bit hazy but I envisage that what I'll do in the future is to be part of a I mentioned that when I was in Sweden with The Hollies last year I mother company with the others, but still with ourown individual noticed that Allan was living hard -up late, out of bed early. Was he st ill companies inside it. flogging himself?Answer:"Ah, well that was onlyonce. Usually Sweden "If everyone has theirown company," he alleged, "then you don't get is very easy. You do two folk parks a night. You finish the last one by the hang-up that I went through, which waswhen we had a three-way midnight and you usuallystay in the town where you finish. So you get partnership and a lot of the time only onewrote and the other two were to bed by one, and you don't have to start again till three o'clock the next copping two-thirds of the bread. Now the progression of business afternoon. So what with the fabulous weather in the summer, it's great, freedom is utter mental freedom." beautiful. I'd go there anytime. Good money, good everything." The three of them argued mildly for a moment about the where and As The Hollies are now aiming themselves more at the cabaret scene, when of their first public appearance, then realised t hey were sounding I drewAllan's attention to that "cabaret is the graveyard of failed pop "just like a group" and said, "Say, would you like to hear our music?" groups" remark from The Moody Blues. He thought about it, and then he I said I would and I'm glad I did, because they were sensitive things like said, "I agreewith it to a certain extent. You see, when groups have "Lady OfThe Islands" and urgent -yet -gentle songs like the Nash original finished getting hit records, right, they never get booked for tours. So the "Marrakesh Express". next thing they can go to is to play the clubs. Right?So theycan go to the God help me from sounding clubs, and theycan playa thousand clubs in England and still earn bread. pretentious, but the Nash, "That's where The Moody Blues have got the thought from. But what he Crosby, Stills coming-toget her doesn't realise is that there's nowhere for a name group to play in England brings forth music to care for. except the good clubs. The pop tours are dying, so where else in England They have a beautiful and utterly are you going to play? In the ballrooms... are you going to get satisfaction distinctive sound. out of ballrooms? Right nowthis group which "The thing is to go to a club, get five grand a week, and whyargue with is not a group is feeling its way, that?And you're going to do what you want to do, and you're going to not too sure about its plans but educateand entertain them. So where's the rub? only too happy to make music. "And what about some of those cabaret places. Talk OfTheTown? Whisky I watched them as they sang- A Go Go in the States, the BatleyVarietyClub? So they're graveyards? Not elated in the act, consumed by likely," concluded Allan, thinkingofThe Hollies' mighty successat Batley, the rhythms and in the words. where t hey topped Louis Armstrong's business! Alan Smith Upstairs I was shown a magnificent recording studio in which they tryout their work NME before going elsewhere. The To THE MOSCOW Road, London W2, where Mr Graham Nash facilities are superb. Everything had news and views and also the company of Mr David Crosby is right and going for Nash, GrahamNash:singing wither-ByrdDavidCrosby and Mr Stephen Stills, who sat in the light of a gas fire and joined Crosby and Stills, and now andenBuffaloSpringfield hi in in new songs they love to sing. The ex -Holly and the ex -Byrd and I stand back and wait in hope. StephenStills-twicewhern the ex -Buffalo Springfield have formed a group which is not Alan Smith lwaswithTheHollis- 4' - HS*TO)h 1 r.

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