Paul Hooper,
Glen Dale,
John Trickett,
Rod Allen,
Bob Jackson,
Andy Brown,
George McAllister,
Michael Smitham,
John Davey,
Shel MacRae,
Barry Pritchard,
David Carr
Representative Albums: "Best of the Fortunes", "World of the Fortunes: You've Got Your Troubles", "The Very Best of the Fortunes (1967-1972)
Representative Songs: "You've Got Your Troubles", "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again", "Here It Comes Again
Biography
A fairly typical British Invasion quintet inspired by the bouncy, harmony-driven sound of Merseybeat, the Fortunes are probably best-known in the U.S. for their oldies-radio staple "You've Got Your Troubles." Formed in Birmingham, England, in 1963 as the Cliftones, the group was originally a vocal trio consisting of Rod Allen (bass, lead vocals), Glen Dale (guitar, vocals), and Barry Pritchard (guitar, vocals) (born April 3, 1944). However, with the explosion of the Beatles and the Merseybeat sound, the group quickly rethought its direction, adding keyboardist David Carr and drummer Andy Brown, and changing their name to the Fortunes (though their first single, "Summertime, Summertime," was oddly credited to both groups). The group found its niche crafting melancholy, orchestrated ballads similar to Peter & Gordon, the Moody Blues, or the Zombies (and in fact toured with the former two). Their second single for Decca, "Caroline," was adopted as theme music by the famed U.K. pirate station Radio Caroline upon its release in early 1964, yet never charted despite all the heavy airplay. Two more non-charting singles followed, but the group hit its stride in 1965 with "You've Got Your Troubles," which hit the U.S. Top Ten and went all the way to number two in the U.K. Their self-titled debut album was released that year, and the follow-up single "Here It Comes Again" duplicated its predecessor's success in Britain, though not in the States. "This Golden Ring," the follow-up to "Here It Comes Again," was a decent-sized hit in the U.K. (though it didn't reach the Top Ten), but problems set in after that. Glen Dale left the band in the summer of 1966 seeking a solo career, and was replaced by Scottish guitarist Shel McCrae. Unfortunately for the reconstituted band, psychedelia was becoming the dominant sound of British pop music and the squeaky-clean Fortunes were unable to make the transition. A pair of 1966 singles flopped, and the group lost their contract with Decca the following year. They switched over to United Artists and continued recording singles, paying the bills by singing an American Coca-Cola jingle. David Carr elected to leave the band in summer 1968, which continued undeterred as a four-piece. Surprisingly, the group's 1970 single "That Same Old Feeling" (a cover of a Pickettywitch number) hit the lower reaches of the charts in America. The Fortunes switched labels again, this time to Capitol, where they hooked up with producers/songwriters Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook. The Fortunes staged an unexpected comeback in 1971 with the single "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again," which hit the U.S. Top 20. The follow-up "Freedom Come, Freedom Go" flopped stateside, but returned the group to the British Top Ten, a feat repeated by its follow-up, "Storm in a Teacup." George McAllister made the Fortunes a quintet once again, but no further singles-chart success was upcoming, and the group eventually contented themselves with simply playing the British club circuit. Rod Allen continues to lead a nostalgia-oriented version of the Fortunes featuring guitarist Michael Smitham, drummer Paul Hooper, and ex-Badfinger keyboardist Bob Jackson. Barry Pritchard passed away on January 11, 1999. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Michael Smitham Bob Jackson
Paul Hooper Eddie Mooney
Former members
Rod Allen (deceased)
Glen Dale
Shel Macrae
Barry Pritchard (deceased)
Andy Brown
David Carr
Ricky Persell
John Davy
John Trickett Geoff Turton
The Fortunes are an archetypalEnglishbeat group. Formed in Birmingham, The Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US and UKTop 10s. Afterwards was a succession of hits including "Here It Comes Again" and "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again"; continuing into the 1970s with more globally successful releases such as "Storm in a Teacup" and "Freedom Come, Freedom Go".
Ricky Persell - born 19 October 1954, Ruislip, London - guitarist and vocalist - 1977-1980
John Davy - born 13 September 1955, Watford - vocalist - 1977-1982
John Trickett - born Birmingham - drummer - 1977-1980
Michael Smitham - born 29 July 1951, Nuneaton - guitarist/vocalist - 1983-Present
Paul Hooper - born 20 August 1948 Wolverhampton - drummer - 1984-Present
Bob Jackson - born 6 January 1949, Coventry - keyboardist/vocalist - 1995-Present
Eddie Mooney - born 6 August 1957, Stoke-on-Trent - lead vocalist/bassist - 2007-Present
Biography
Originally formed as a vocal trio backed by an instrumental group known as The Cliftones, the aggregation placed an instrumental track on a compilation album, Brumbeat, issued by the local Dial record label. "Cygnet Twitch" (similar to "Saturday Nite at the Duck-Pond" by The Cougars, was a working of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake") and they subsequently signed to British Decca in 1963. Their first single "Summertime, Summertime" was credited to the Fortunes and the Cliftones. however the vocalists picked up guitars, jettisoned the Cliftones, and added Andy Brown on drums and Dave Carr on keyboards.[2] The follow-up disc co-written by the singer-songwriter and future Ivy League member Perry Ford, "Caroline", was used as the signature tune for the pirate radiostation, Radio Caroline.[2]
The group's next two singles, Gordon Mills' co-composition "I Like The Look Of You" and a revival of The Four Esquires/Johnnie Ray's "Look Homeward Angel" - like the initial brace of releases overseen by the Americanrecord producerShel Talmy - also failed to chart. Their fifth release, the Roger Greenaway-Roger Cook number, "You've Got Your Troubles" (1965) reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart[3] and was a worldwide hit, including reaching #1 in Canada and the American Top 10. Their next two singles "Here It Comes Again" and "This Golden Ring" sold well, but each less than the previous release. Glen Dale left the band in the summer of 1966 seeking a solo career, and was replaced by the Scottish guitarist, Shel McCrae.[2] Three more singles ("You Gave Me Somebody To Love", "Is It Really Worth Your While?" and "Our Love Has Gone") all failed to chart.
At this point in 1967 The Fortunes left Decca for United Artists. They reunited with Talmy for their next release, "The Idol", a song they had written themselves, and although it did get some airplay in the UK, it did not become a hit. Minor controversy arose when they admitted they did not play on their classic hits.
In 1968 they tried coveringThe Move's hit "Fire Brigade" for the US market, but with little airplay or sales. In 1970, they recorded an album for the US World Pacific record label, and then signed with Capitol in both the UK and US in 1971.
They had a steady succession of singles, some of which were hits outside of the UK and US, culminating in 1972 with the release of "Storm in a Teacup".[2] During this period, they had another worldwide hit "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling" (1971).[2] The Fortunes were also the voices for the AmericanCoca-Colaadvertisements.[4] Their first recording in 1967 was a version of the theme tune, "Things Go Better With Coke", but they are most remembered for introducing the 1969 new slogan recording, used as the main theme for Coca-Cola on both radio and televisioncommercials; "It's The Real Thing".
Later work
Founding member, and lead vocalist, Allen continued fronting an ever changing version of The Fortunes from 1963 up to his death.[2]
In 1983 and 1984 respectively, Michael Smitham and Paul Hooper joined Barry Pritchard and Rod Allen in The Fortunes. This line up of The Fortunes were awarded a gold disc in 1987, for over 100,000 sales of their All The Hits and More album.[4]
In March 1995 vocalist/keyboard/guitar player Bob Jackson was added to The Fortunes' ranks, after founder member Barry Pritchard left through illness. Jackson was a former member of the group Badfinger, to whom he pays homage onstage, with a version of the Badfinger penned song "Without You". Jackson left for a year to follow other obligations and Geoff Turton, who was originally a member of the Birmingham based band, The Rockin' Berries, stood in Jackson's place. Turton also had a certain amount of success under the nom de plume Jefferson both at home and in the US.
On 10 January 2008, the last remaining member of the original group, Rod Allen, died after suffering for two months from liver cancer.[1] The remaining members of the band said they would continue touring and recruited The Dakotas lead singer Eddie Mooney.[5] During 2008, the band have regrouped, recording a new album Play On and appeared in Las Vegas, Netherlands and Belgium as well as the UK. They successfully toured Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden, in addition to the UK during 2009.
The keyboard player in the original line-up, David Carr, has for many years now lived and worked in Hollywood, California, doing session work, frequently working with producer Kim Fowley (for example Carr played keyboards on the last album by Fowley's The Runaways, entitled Young and Fast).
