For lovers of Sixties music, this is the ultimate, and probably never to be repeated, line-up. Don’t miss your chance to celebrate the 50th anniversary of when it all began with Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Searchers, P. J. Proby, The Fortunes and, bringing the best of The Tremeloes, Chip Hawkes. The show will be hosted by Ally Bally, from Bauer Radio
In the early sixties, Gerry and the Pacemakers worked the same Liverpool/Hamburg circuit as the Beatles and many other groups before being signed in 1962 by manager Brian Epstein, as his second group after the Beatles. The following year, under the direction of producer George Martin, they burst on the scene with three consecutive No.1 hits –“How Do You Do It”, “I Like It” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” – proving themselves serious competitors to the Beatles.
Over the next few years, most of the Pacemakers subsequent hits were actually written by Gerry Marsden, including “It’s All Right”, “I’m the One”, “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Cryin” and “Ferry Cross the Mersey”. The group disbanded in 1966 but was reformed by Gerry in 1974.
Also from Liverpool and tipped to be as big as The Beatles, The Searchers’ first single “Sweets for My Sweet” in July 1963 got off to a slow start, but reached the top of what was then called the Hit Parade in October, knocking the Beatles off the No 1 spot. Their second single “Sugar and Spice” – written by Tony Hatch under the pseudonym Fred Nightingale – reached No 2, and then in January 1964 came another No 1, their most famous song, “Needles and Pins” followed very quickly by more hits such as “Don’t Throw Your Love Away” and “Some Day We’re Gonna Love Again”.
Joining the line-up is controversial, ponytailed P.J. Proby, whose trouser splitting shocked the nation back in the 60’s. He explained to the frantic press that the ripped clothing was an accident due to the weak velvet material, but when two days later the same thing again happened, the audiences were wild with excitement, as they had never witnessed such body movement onstage or such provocative mood and they loved him. However the British systems that govern the music scene were less enthusiastic. P.J. was banned from all theatres in Great Britain and not allowed to perform his recordings on the B.B.C. or A.T.V. television stations.
The Fortunes stormed the Top 10 with “You’ve Got Your Troubles”, “Here It Comes Again”, “Freedom Come Freedom Go” and “Storm in a Teacup”. The song “You’ve Got Your Troubles” suited the band’s image perfectly with the record almost reaching the top spot in the British charts and also climbing to No. 7 in the U.S. charts. With a hit formula now established, a follow-up “Here It Comes Again” was released soon after and gained a No. 4 chart placing. A change of direction, although promising, did not achieve chart results but the group soon found new success in recording advertising jingles, most notably “It’s The Real Thing” for Coca-Cola. This, along with regular bookings on the northern club circuit, sustained the band throughout the later 1960s.
And finally Chip Hawkes, on stage together with Brian Poole, bringing you the best of The Tremeloes. Chip Hawkes joined The Tremeloes in 1965 as singer/bassist. In 1974 he was signed by RCA & pursued a solo career. In 1979 he reformed The Tremeloes & toured with them until 1988. In the early 90’s, Chip formed his own group, The Chip Hawkes Band. They toured all over Europe in the 90’s. In 2003, Chip formed ‘The Class Of ’64’. Over the years Chip has earned the reputation for being one of the most charismatic & exciting solo artists on the 60’s & 70’s circuit.
The 60’s Gold tour plays two local dates with tickets for the show at the Theatre Royal Brighton on Sunday October 27th at 7.30pm and for both the 5.00pm and 8.00pm shows on Saturday November 9th at The Hawth, Crawley still available.
