Smokie

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Smokie is an English rock band from Bradford, Yorkshire who found success in Europe in the 1970s.

History

Early years

Originally called The Yen, then The Sphynx and later Essence, the band was formed in 1965 at St. Bede's Grammar School in Heaton, Bradford. It was composed of Chris Norman (lead vocals/rhythm guitar/piano) (born Christopher Ward Norman, 25 October 1950, in Redcar, North Yorkshire), Terry Uttley (born Terence David Uttley, 9 June 1951, in Bradford, West Yorkshire) (bass/vocals), Alan Silson (lead guitar/vocals) (born 21 June 1951, in Bradford, West Yorkshire) and Ron Kelly (drums) (born Ronald Bruce Kelly, 10 February 1950, in Winchester, Hampshire). As Essence, they toured small clubs in Bradford and the surrounding communities. The band became The Black Cats in 1966 and in Nov 1967 the band changed their name to The Four Corners.

In April 1968, the group found a manager in Mark Jordan, who advised them to rename themselves The Elizabethans. The group now became fully professional, and the members garnered higher salaries. In June 1968 Terry Uttley joined the group. December saw the group having a first TV appearance on Yorkshire Television's news and magazine show "Calendar". In August 1969, the four performed two songs for the BBC show "High Jinx". Enthused with this successful performance Jordan had them record a first demo tape. In January 1970 RCA showed an interest in the band and suggested a name change to Kindness. A single was recorded, but due to a strike, the double A-side, "Light Of Love" / "Lindy Lou", was not released for a few months. 300 copies of that were sold and it was followed by a second single "Oh Julie" / "I Love You Carolina".

In late 1970, Dave Eager approached the group and offered to manage them. Subsequently, an arrangement was made with Rory Storm - formerly of the influential band and early Beatle contemporaries Rory Storm and the Hurricanes - the band to which Ringo Starr had originally belonged. Kindness backed Storm performing as 'Rory Storm and the Failures'. In late 1971, Norman suffered a serious infection which affected his vocal cords. After getting over the sickness his voice sounded much rougher, which the other group members considered an interesting addition to their sound. Eager introduced them to Decca, which resulted in recordings in February 1972 . Shortly thereafter their next single was released: "Let The Good Times Roll" / "Oh Yeah!"

Rise to fame

Around this time the band was offered to accompany Peter Noone, formerly lead vocalist of Herman's Hermits, on tour. Noone was also helpful in recording their next single for Decca, "Make It Better" / "Lonely Long Lady". Noone didn't bring the boys any luck, but during the tour Bill Hurley offered to manage them. Hurley convinced Eager to release the boys from the contract with him. They recruited an old school friend, Pete Spencer (born Peter David Spencer, 13 October 1948, in Leeds, West Yorkshire) (drums/vocals), who had played in various groups, to drum for them. This line-up performed on a sightseeing boat in Frankfurt, Germany. Hurley introduced the band to composers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman (aka Chinnichap), who also wrote songs for glam rock contemporaries Sweet, Mud and Suzi Quatro, and also for Hot Chocolate. At first "Chinnichap" turned them down, but Hurley's tenacity eventually convinced the composers/producers to give the young group a chance. Hurley and Chinnichap started working intensely with the band, and suggested yet another name change to Smokey. Reluctantly, the band agreed. An attempt to dress the band up in leather clothes (similar to Suzi Quatro) was dropped, and the four won acceptance for their jeans outfit.

New instruments were bought and in late 1974 recordings sessions for their debut album commenced. On 14 February 1975, Pass It Around was released. The album spawned the title song as a single but failed to gain significant attention from the British audience. In April that year Smokey opened for Pilot on tour.

Height of popularity

On September 22, 1975, Smokey released their second album Changing All the Time. This LP sounded much softer than the debut, contained string arrangements on some songs, and heavily leaned toward acoustic guitar arrangements with close harmony vocals, which became their signature sound. The first single from the new album, "If You Think You Know How to Love Me", quickly became a big hit in many European countries, peaking at No. 3 in Britain, and won Smokey a wider audience. It was followed by "Don't Play Your Rock'n'Roll to Me".

Around this time the American soul legend Smokey Robinson threatened to file a law suit, alleging that the band's name would confuse the audience. In order to avoid legal action it was decided to drop the "ey" and undergo another name change to Smokie. Shortly after the release of the second album, their first tour as headline act commenced.

The next album was partly produced in America, where Nicky Chinn had moved for various reasons (the tax situation being just one of them). Midnight Café built on the popularity of Changing All the Time and established the group as a new pop phenomenon. The following years yielded a string of successful singles: "Something's Been Making Me Blue", "Wild Wild Angels" and "I'll Meet You at Midnight" gained a faithful following among younger listeners. When their single "Living Next Door to Alice" was released in November 1976, it quickly became the group's biggest hit, followed by the equally successful "Lay Back in the Arms of Someone". Smokie now found themselves European superstars with sold-out tours and million-selling albums. The next two albums were to emphasize their stature: Bright Lights & Back Alleys (1977) and The Montreux Album (1978) were both chart successes.

At the peak of Smokie's success in 1978 Chris Norman teamed up with Suzi Quatro (who had just decided to return to Chinnichap after looking at separation from them) and released a duet single, "Stumblin' In"/ "A Stranger With You" - another Chinnichap composition. Norman and Quatro were on top of the European charts for some time, and it reached the US Top 10, though disappointingly no higher than No. 41 in Britain. Smokie's subsequent 45 was "Mexican Girl" / "You Took Me By Surprise". Composed by Norman and Spencer, the record saw the group actively distance itself from Chinnichap. Smokie's next act was to produce British football star Kevin Keegan's first single, "Head Over Heels In Love". It charted in many European countries.

In 1979, the album The Other Side Of The Road was released, entirely recorded in Australia. It spawned two more hits for the band, "Do To Me"/"Cryin'" and "Babe It's Up To You" / "Did She Have To Go Away", but it became clear that their sales were declining. Only a subsequent non-album single release, the melancholic "Run To Me"/"Look What You're Doin'" became another hit.

Smokie met with a hiatus before Solid Ground was released in 1981 . The advance single was neither a Chinnichap composition nor penned by any Smokie member, but a cover of "Little Town Flirt"/"I'm In Love With You", the last Smokie single to chart.

Decline and Norman's departure

In early 1982 the last album for EMI/BMG was released, Strangers In Paradise, which was almost a complete failure. The departure from Chinnichap became notable, and the four members of Smokie appeared unable to recreate their success using their own material. Shortly after the release of Strangers In Paradise work began on two parallel albums, one released as Smokie - Midnight Delight, the other Chris Norman's solo debut, Rock Away Your Teardrops. Neither release sold well.

Though Smokie had begun work on a comeback, in 1986, Norman - enthused with the relative success of his second solo album Some Hearts are Diamonds - announced that he was to leave the band. He was replaced by Alan Barton, formerly of Black Lace, a friend of the band who had a vocal style similar to Norman's. Smokie also recruited keyboard player Martin Bullard. Spencer quit and was replaced on drums by Steve Pinnell. The new line-up released All Fired Up! in 1988, which brought some attention and contained a new version of "Rock Away Your Tear Drops", the song which was initially the title track to Norman's debut album.

Comeback

Several releases followed over the next years including Boulevard Of Broken Dreams (by Dieter Bohlen), Chasing Shadows and the 1994 album Celebration, which contained old hits in new arrangements accompanied by an orchestra. None had any real success. However, Smokie made a surprise return to the UK singles chart in 1995, with one of the most unlikely hits of the year - a duet with controversial northern comedian Roy Chubby Brown on a re-release of their biggest hit "Living Next Door To Alice" which reached #3. The band had noticed that, whilst touring in Ireland, whenever they sang the main line "For 24 years/I've been living next door to Alice" the audience would shout "Who the fuck is Alice?". The resident DJ in Dutch café Gompie first came up with this phrase and, after a local record producer had noted its popularity and organised a recording, had a number 17-hit with Alice? Who the Fuck is Alice?! in the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands reaching #1. Smokie decided to cover the Gompie-version of their own song and thought that Brown was the ideal man for the job, with Barton singing the song vocals and Brown providing the additional sworn response.

They now hold the record as the first group to get a record in the Top Ten with the word "fuck" in it, and also the first to have it played on BBC1's "Top of the Pops", although with the offending word replaced due to the show being broadcast before the watershed. The word was not edited out, but Roy shouted the word "bleep" at the appropriate point.

Unfortunately shortly after the song was recorded Smokie's tour bus careened off of the road during a hailstorm in Germany. Barton, badly injured, died after five days in intensive care. The rest of the band and Brown agreed to donate their royalties from the song to Barton's first wife.^{[citation needed]}

1990s-Present

The remaining members decided to continue with the band and went about finding their third lead singer. Friend of the band Mike Craft was chosen - allegedly, it only took one song to come to a decision. The World And Elsewhere was released later that year, followed by Light A Candle - The Christmas Album.

In 1996, Silson terminated his membership, saying he intended to pursue a solo career and to work with other acts as well, joining Mickey Finn's T. Rex; he also no longer wanted to be on the road all the time. Mick McConnell became the group's new lead guitarist. This formation produced the next album Wild Horses - The Nashville Album (1998), precisely in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.. In February 2001, the group released two albums, Uncovered and Uncovered Too, which consist entirely of cover versions, with no original new songs added.

In 2004 Smokie released a studio album with their own material. The album, On The Wire, marked the beginning of a new strong period for the band that, despite almost 30 years in the business, refuse to sit back and stop their development. Eleven of the 14 songs on the new album were written by the band themselves.

In 2006 Smokie released the album From the Heart. Although mainly a compilation album, it contained three brand new tracks.

Personnel

Discography

Albums^[1]

Title	Album cover	Year of release	Track listing	Members info
Pass It Around		1975	Pass It Around Daydreamin' Oh Well Oh Well My Woman It Makes Me Money Headspin Goin' Tomorrow I Do Declare Don't Turn Out Your Light Will You Love Me A Day at the Mother-In_law's The Coldest Night Shy Guy"	With Chris Norman
Changing All the Time		1975	Don't Play Your Rock 'n' Roll To Me If You Think You Know How to Love Me It's Natural Give It to Me We're Flyin' High Changing All the Time Julia Take Me In Umbrella Day Back to Bradford Talking Her 'Round	With Chris Norman
Midnight Cafe		1976	Something's Making Me Blue Wild Wild Angles Poor Lady (Midnight Baby) When My Back Was Against the Wall Make Ya Boogie Stranger What Can I Do Little Lucy Going Home	With Chris Norman
Smokie	No cover	1976	Lay Back in the Arms of Someone Something's Been Making Me Blue If You Think You Know How to Love Me Pass It Around I'll Meet You at Midnight Living Next Door to Alice Changing All the Time Don't Play Your Rock 'n' Roll to Me Back to Bradford (Smokie song) Wild Wild Angels	with Chris Norman
Bright Lights & Back Alleys	No cover	1977	It's Your Life I Can't Stay Here Tonight Sunshine Avenue Think of Me (The Lonely One) In the Heat of the Night Needles and Pins No-one Could Ever Love You More The Dancer Baby It's You Walk Right Back Now You Think You Know Lay Back in the Arms of Someone Here Lies a Man	With Chris Norman
The Montreux Album		1978	The Girl Can't Help It Power of Love No More Letters Mexican Girl You Took Me By Surprise Oh Carol Liverpool Docks Light Up My Life Petesey's Song For a Few Dollars More Stumblin' In (Smokie & Suzi Quatro) A Stranger with You (Smokie & Suzi Quatro)	With Chris Norman
Live: The Concert		1978	intro I'll Meet You at Midnight Lay Back in the Arms of Someone What Can I Do If You Think You Know How to Love Me In the Heat of the Night It's Your Life Baby It's You Needles & Pins Think of Me (The Lonely One) For a Few Dollars More Wild Wild Angels Don't Play Your Rock'n'Roll to Me Living Next Door to Alice Going Tomorrow Oh Carol The Girl Can't Help It	Chris Norman Terry Uttley Pete Spencer Alan Silson
The Other Side of the Road		1979	The Other Side of the Road Do to Me Belinda Big Fat Momma Don't Take You Love Away This Time London Is Burning Babe It's Up to You You Don't Care All Alone I Can't Stop Loving You Too Many Pennies In Hell Samantha Elizabeth San Francisco Bay	With Chris Norman
Solid Ground		1981	Jet Lagged I'm in Love With You Everything a Man Could Need My Woman Don't Like Rock 'n' Roll Take Good Care of My Baby Rock 'n' Roll Woman Your Love Is So Good For Me Long Time Coming Melody Goes On/Songs	With Chris Norman
Strangers In Paradise		1982	Introduction Love Remains a Stranger Falling for You Yesterday's Dreams Come on Home Can You Feel My Heartbeat Two Strangers Falling You'll Be Lonely Tonight Mirror, Mirror Now It's Too Late Long Way From Home Strangers in Paradise	Chris Norman Pete Spencer Alan Silson Terry Uttley
Midnight Delight	No cover	1982	Don't Throw It Away You're a Lady Winter's Day Time of Your Life Number on My Wall Midnight Delight Time Keeps Turning One More For the Road Hiding from the Night Warm Nights with You	With Chris Norman
All Fired Up	No cover	1987	My Heart Is True Cry in the Night Hold on For the Night Never Fight Again Rock Away Your Teardrops Second Choice Hold on Tight Only Love Hurts Looking Daggers Hot Girls and Summer Nights If You Think You Know How to Love Me	With Alan Barton
Boulevard of Broken Dreams	No cover	1989	Boulevard of Broken Dreams Falling Apart Think About the Night Sometimes You Cry Love Take Me Away Moving Mountains Young Hearts Stop Rewind Angelina Northern Soul Hears Need Company	With Alan Barton
Whose Are These Boots?	No cover	1990	In the Middle of a Lonely Dream Heartbreak Angel I Feel Love Romeo And Juliet Every Little Kiss Fistful Of Dollars This Side Of Paradise Hurting Never Made In Heaven In the Heat of the Night	with Alan Barton
Chasing Shadows		1992	Don't Play That Game with Me You're So Different Tonight Respect Lyin' in the Arms of the One You Love Don't Stop This Love The Rain Came Down Chasing Shadows One Night in Vienna All My Life I'd Die For You Remember the Days Scream Your Guitar	with Alan Barton
Burnin' Ambition	No cover	1993	Bang Bang Naked Love (Baby Love Me) Never Turn Your Back On Your Friends Love Sometimes Takes Time Listen to Your Radio Love Is Out of the Question One More Dance Relying on You Surfin' Can't This Be Love Derry Girl Mariah Naked Love (Disco Fox Version) Destiny	with Alan Barton
Celebration	Sorry, no cover available	1994	If You Think You Know How to Love Me Wild Wild Angels Living Next Door to Alice Lay Back in the Arms of Someone Don`t Play Your Rock`n Roll to Me Oh Carol It's Your Life You're So Different Tonight Don`t Play That Game with Me Bang Bang Think About the Night Naked Love (Baby Love Me...) Never Turn Your Back on Your Friends I`ll Meet You at Midnight Needles and Pins Like An Eagle	With Alan Barton New versions.
The World and Elsewhere	No cover	1996	Rock 'n' Roll Rodeo Have You Ever Seen the Rain Till Hell Frizes Over Rose-A-Lee Love Like a Rocket Can Be A Heartbreaker Too Coming Home Tonight Love Can Change Your Heart Till You Follow Me Last Train When The Lightning Strikes Steppin' On Seashells Where Sorry 's Not Enough Tell Me Why Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow	Mike Craft Terry Uttley Steve Pinnel Alan Silson Martin Bullard
Light a Candle	No cover	1996	It Won't Be Christmas Mary's Boyfriend Light A Candle Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas A Spaceman Comes Travelling Silent Night A Winter's Tale When a Child is Born O' Little Town of Bethlehem O' Holy Noght White Christmas Away In A Manger O' Christmas Tree Christmas Isn't Just For Children	Mike Craft Terry Uttley Steve Pinnell Mick McConnell Martin Bullard
Wild Horses		1998	Desperate Measures Wrong Reasons And The Night Stood Still She Rides Wild Horses When It's The Right Time Looking For You Ain't It Funny How It Works All She Ever Really Wanted No Rest For The Wounded Heart When The Walls Come Down Goodbye Yesterday's Heartache If You Think You Know How To Love Me	with Mike Craft
Uncovered		2000	It Never Rains In Southern California When You Walk In The Room Arms Of Mary I Swear Darlin' Just When I Needed You Most Still The One Can't Fight This Feeling Whisky In The Jar Runaway Train I Don't Wanna Talk About It Who'll Stop The Rain Drift Away Love Hurts	with Mike Craft
Uncovered Too		2001	Be My Baby Everytime You Go Away Hungry Heart Garden Party (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight Only You Hungry Eyes Lodi You're So Vain Sailing I Won't Back Down What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted No Matter What Miss You Nights	with Mike Craft
On the Wire		2004	Over You Ain't Gonna Rain Love On A Wire Why Tomorrow Mistral Wind Endless Way Midnight Train Hot Lovin' A Million Conversations African Nights Broken Hearts Home Is Anywhere You Are Josephine	with Mike Craft
From the Heart	No cover	2006	Don't Give Me That Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow If You Think You Know How To Love Me Romeo And Juliet Back To You I Swear I Don't Wanna Talk About It Arms Of Mary Just When I Needed You Most I Feel Love No Matter What Love Hurts When The Night Falls Can't Cry Hard Enough Ain't It Funny How It Works Home Is Anywhere You Are Living Next Door To Alice Naked Love	With Mike Craft
Eclipse	Sorry no cover	2008	I'll Meet You at Midnight Desperate Measures Changing All the Time Don't Play Your Rock and Roll to Me Lay Back in the Arms of Someone The Rides Wild Horses Love Reminds a Stranger If You Think You Know How to Love Me Bouldevard of Broken Dreams For a Few Dollars More Why	with Mike Craft

Collections

• The Collection (1992)
• Their Hits (1995)
• With Love from Smokie (The Best of the Ballads) (2002)
• Best of (2003)

Videography

DVDs^[2]

• Smokie Bratislavská Lýra '83 (1983)
• Bad Segeberg 1996 (1996)
• Smokie Live at Circus Stockholm (2006)
• Live at Rival (2008)

References

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7

External links

• Smokie biography at AMG website
• Smokie.co.uk
• Smokie Discography 1975-1982
• Smokie fanclub
• Smokie fanclub
• alansilson.com