Информация о SMOKIE [2]

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Smokie (Version 1).

Part 1 - 1972 - 1982

It started early in the 70's, as Terry Uttley, Alan Silson and Chris Norman, friends from the St. Bedes Grammar School in Bradford, set up a Band, named "The Yen", and later "The Sphynx". They were tingling through the Bars - without great success. They changed their name in "The Elizabethans" and later in "Kindness". Meanwhile they had a little bit more practice, and the girls from North England liked the sweet Boys. Especially Chris, with his smoky voice. Lots of gigs were following. In 1974 they met a man, named Bill Hurley. It was his thank to get Pete Spencer for the drums and to contact the songwriter-Team Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapmann. So they changed their name again into Smokey. And now, with an excellent songwriter -Team, a clever Manager and Mickie Mosts Rak Label - the way to the Top was conditioned. Their first album "Pass it around", didn't get the hit they thought, but the people became attentive to Smokey. Their next single "If you think you know how to love me" was just like a bomb. It went on to sell millions around the world. Bill Hurley organised the first England-Tournee and this time Smokey were profis on stage, because their long practice had paid. The gigs became infernos. During Smokey are on tournee, Chinn and Chapmann wrote the next hit . "Don't play your rock'n'roll to me" and "Something's been making me blue" - with the same success like before. Following the LP "Changing all the time". Smokie, consisting of Chris, Terry, Alan and Pete, spent the next 5 years touring the globe. They earned silver, gold and platinum disc.

Part 2 - 1982 - 1995

And then ....
Break!! Nobody knows what happened.

Chris went off to pursue a solo-career and Terry played with several bands. 4 years long. 1986 - what a long time - Smokie are back. They were on the road again, just successful, as they had done before. They were touring in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. But the solo-career from Chris was successful too. It was more important for him than Smokie .And so he left Smokie. Terry and Alan didn't know, how they could continue. Chris introduced a friend of him, called Alan Barton (a lead-singer). And some weeks later, at Terry's house, a jam session broke out and Alan Barton was one of the guests. At this evening Terry and Alan knew, that he's the right man. So the new Smokie was born with Alan Barton, Terry Uttley, Alan Silson, Martin Bullard and Steve Pinell.

1989 the album "Boulevard of broken dreams" earned the success, like before. They were touring to Germany, Austria, Eire, Scandinavia, Australia and the UK. 1990 "Whose are the boots", 1992"Chasing shadows" and 1993 "Burnin' ambition" echoing the classic Smokie style. 1994 "Celebration" is following .Smokie were booked across Europe. 1995 - and then? On their way to Dьsseldorf airport a tragedy accident happened. The tour bus with Alan Silson, Terry Uttley and Alan Barton was carried off the road. I heard the bad news from the radio, and I couldn't believe them. Alan Silson and Terry had luck. They suffered bad cuts and bruises. But Alan Bartons injuries were critical. 5 days long - he lost his fight for life and died.......(23.03.1995). We will never forget you !!!

Part 3 - 1996 - ......

Now , it's the end !!!! The end of Smokie !! I never believed that they would continue. But they do !!! They were looking for a new front man, cause they knew, if they didn't continue that time, they would never go on. Mike Craft - a friend of the band - became the new singer. It was a very hard job to replace Alan Barton. But Mike had the strength and sensitivity to take Smokie into the next chapter.

The following CD's "The world and elsewhere" and "Light a candle" speak for itself.
The next change of the band-members was 1996. Alan Silson left the band. He thought it was time to stop touring with the band and to spend more time on new material for Smokie and possibly other projects in the future.

Thank you very much, Alan B. and Alan S., for your time with Smokie!! Mick McConnell is the following man at the lead-guitar. He had a job as Stage manager and guitar technician by Smokie. He left his job to pursue his career in a more musical role as guitar player. As he get the call from Smokie, asking him to step in and play lead guitar as Alan was to ill to travel. He guessed it would be only for one or two gigs. But now - he's the lead guitar player of Smokie.

1998 - and the story continues.

Smokie (Version 2).

To be rock'n'roll survivors is an achievement. To be Europe's top live band twenty years after its inception is trully fantastic but to still be enthusiastic, fresh, totally committed and in love with the music is a positive miracle.
In some ways miraculous is art adjective which suits "SMOKIE" down to the ground. The origonal members, Terry Uttley, Alan Silson and Chris Norman shared the playground together at St. Bedes Grammar School in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Their first musical incarnation being "The Yen" followed more swiftly by "The Sphynx".
Terry remembers his contribution to both bands consisting of manual dexterity on a regular guitar minus two strings which served as his first bass, only to find that on the day he bought his first real guitar, the band fired him on schoolboy whim.
Whilst Alan and Chris furthered their musical education, Terry became an apprentice printer but was finally lured into their newly named rock'n'roll vehicle, "The Elizabethans". This particular band's major claims to fame include being sacked from Butlin's Holliday Camp after completing just one week of a summer season and being the first band to allow Radio One the dubious opportunity of running a competition to change their name to "Kindness". Equipped with their newly found radio sponsors, they quickly signed a recording deal with RCA and released a single Light of Love.
This was followed by a period of recording with Dacca Records, incidentally signed up by the man who turned down the Beatles. All of his activity mounted to absolutely nothing. Late in 1973, bewildered by their lack of success, they eventually successfully auditioned as the backing band for the illustrious Peter Noone whose "Hermits" had apparently hidden themselves away.
A year's touring with Peter in the UK followed and it was then back to gigging around the North of England as they had done before.
Whilst working at a gig in Cheshire one night, they met a man called Bill Hurley, who liked what he had heard and offered to work with the band with a view to securing gigs for them a little further south than the Manchester Ship Canal. The work started to flow in at this point and one day Bill heard that the hot production team, Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn were actively looking for a new band to sign to their Production Company. Bill pestered them to the death, he also organized the best "cheapo, cheapo" demos they could comminally afford and presented them to the great men. The great men were singularly unimpressed and turned the band down flat.
In those days of supposed overnight successes the young musicians were full of enthusiasm and fervour but along the way they learnt that surviving in a world of one-hit wonders and everchanging musical fashion meant taking the knocks and battling on in pursuit of their musical goals and the only way to do that was by sheer hard work.
Mr. Hurley is not a man to take "you must be joking" for an answer, so with an awful lot of further persuasion and several live auditions, they eventually caved in and signed the band in 1974.
Once production had started, Mick and Nicky signed a deal with Mickey Most for his RAK label.
The first public offering by the newly named band "SMOKIE" was promptly banned by Radio One as the felt "Pass It Around" conjured up visions of extremely nasty drugs. It took quite a long period of time for the "SMOKIE" hit machine to slip into gear. In fact the band were actually recording their second album for Chinn and Chapman in Paris when the news came through that their single "If You Think You Know How To Love Me" had started to sell well in the UK. It eventually peaked at No.3 and went on to sell millions around the world. "SMOKIE" consisting of Chris, Terry, Alan and Pete Spencer on drums spent the next 5 years touring the globe collecting Silver, Gold and Platinum discs almost everywhere they ventured.
The decision to finally call it a day happened typically for "SMOKIE" at 35,000 feet on a flight to Sweden to record with on of the luscious ladies from Abba. No one could really remember the real reason for the decision "It just seemed to be the right thing to do at the time". Chris also went off to pursue a solo career. Terry played with several bands including Peter Goalby (ex. Trapeze), John Coughlan (ex. Status Quo) and John Verity. Pete went back to song-writing and Alan returned to Ilkley in West Yorkshire to await the phone call to summon him back to the band. Four years later, the call finally came, Alan is quoted as saying "That was a nice long break". He is reputed for not having done too much in the period.
It was in fact the local Yorkshire Musician, John Verity who was responsible for the re-birth of "SMOKIE" back in 1986. The Bradford City Football Club had just suffered one of the worst disasters in sporting history when the clubs' main stand caught fire during a match day with considerable loss of life. A relief fund for relatives was set up in Bradford and because of their local connections. John Verity invited "SMOKIE" to reform for a one-off benefit concert. The concert was a huge success not only for the relief fund but also for "SMOKIE" personally.
Three days after the concert, Chris Norman rang his old mates to ask the inevitable question "Shall we put Smokie together again?". An affirmative answer saw our heroes back on the road, touring Germany, Austria and Switzerland, just as successfully as they had done before. They even ventured down under "Hogan" country. On the way back from "Oz", once again, at 35,000 feet, Chris Norman dropped the bombshell that his solo career was now so successful, particularly in West Germany that he could no longer sustain his commitment to the band. Terry and Alan knew the new "SMOKIE" could succeed, but how could it be done without Chris?
Mr. Norman offered the solution, he had a friend called Alan Barton, who he rated highly as a lead singer. Terry and Alan were not so sure - Alan Barton's musical background was very different to that of "SMOKIE" and in the end they said no.
However, a few week later at Terry's house, Alan Barton was enjoying a small glass of Vimto when a jam session broke out and Mr.Barton was called upon to duet with Chris Norman who happened also to be in attendance. What Alan and Terry saw that night instantly convinced them that Mr. Barton was precisely the man for the job and on the spot they offered him the role of "lead singer". The line up that we know today are:

Alan Barton -- Lead Vocals/Guitar
Terry Uttley -- Vocals/Bass Guitar
Alan Silson -- Vocal/Lead Guitar
Martin Bullard -- Keyboards
Steve Pinnell -- Drums/Percussion

So the new "SMOKIE" was born and after several irregular sidemen, now has the line-up we know today. The 1989 hit album, Boulevard Of Broken Dreams went on to firmly establish the line-up which has taken "SMOKIE" from strength to strength. In Norway alone the album spent the majority of the year in the top ten album charts, staying at number 1 for a record of 10 weeks.
The band toured continuously throughout the year working in Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, Eire and Australia, culminating in a sell-out tour of the UK, their first in their hometerritory for ten years.
1990 saw the band celebrating with a brand new album "Whose Are These Boots" a reference to Alan Silson's rather colourful and eccentric choice of footwear.
"Boots" takes the band through yet another musical dimension combining the very latest rock technology in the studio with ten highly original songs comprising the writing talents of every band member, resulting in a piece of work that sounds modern, progressive and fresh, yet retaining the musical tree for many many years.
Since the "Boots" album the band have thrilled us with "18 Carat Gold", "Chasing Shadows", echoing the classic "SMOKIE" style, which has kept them firmly in the forefront of Europe and Worldwide. Having successfully completed touring Europe, Scandinavia and South Africa and a brand new live video, "SMOKIE" were well and truly back. 1993 brought the release of the album "Burnin' Ambition"; it had huge success in Germany.
1994 brought us the ultimate album "Celebration", a superb album blessed with their old and latest hits, with "Can't Cry Hard Enough", their newest song, and a favourite with all of the band.
1995, "SMOKIE" were in the stronger position ever. With headlining tours booked across Europe. Tragically on their way to Dusseldorf airport, the tour bus was carried off the road in a freak hail-storm. There were three band members on the bus, Alan Silson, Terry Uttley and Alan Barton. Alan Silson and Terry Uttley suffered bad cuts and bruises. But Alan Barton's injuries were critical and after 5 days in intensive care, he lost his fight for life.
The band had now to face the biggest crisis they had ever been through. Not only had they lost a great front man, but a very dear friend.
They knew that if they didn't start work almost immediately, they never would. That meant the end of Smokie. With the help and support of fans and the media it was decided that they continue.
Auditions were soon to take place. Everyone knew that it take a very special person to follow Alan Barton. Nevertheless there was a need to continue.
Mike Craft - a friend of the band, was invited to audition and after just playing one song, the band knew that Mike was to be their new front man. It was felt that he had the strength and sensitivity to take the band into their next chapter.
And the story continues...

Taken from the booklet of "The Complete Smokie Collection" 4 CD Box Set (Flair Records, 1995).

It's not just a name - it's a sound. The Smokie sound is so distinctive that it has set the band apart from the rest, allowing them to remain at the top for over two decades and to still continue making new music. It's original, it's timeless and it's made Smokie one of the worldwide best selling bands with a career few could better.
The sound is gritty vocals, driving guitars and most of all it's spine tingling harmonies and this sound has become the hallmark of one of the most consistently successful bands, in terms of both the live circuit and album sales, since music earned the name popular'. Add amazing keyboards and solid rock drums and you've got the blueprint for the musical institution that is Smokie.
The Smokie sound is such an essential and central concept that it has remained constant over the years, across different territories and even through changes in line-up. One of the most notable contributions being from Alan Barton who took the band from strength to strength and whose untimely death in an accident while on tour in Germany shook the very foundations of Smokie. So much so that Alan Silson, who was also involved in the accident, no longer tours with the band. He nevertheless still has strong links with the band as a songwriter and will remain a close friend.
After more than twenty years Smokie had almost come to an abrupt halt. It was due in no small part to the incredible support of the fans and the media, that the Smokie phenomena was to continue. The band needed to find someone extra special to be able to move on. As we all know, they found that person in Mike Craft. Previously lead singer with many top bands, Mike has an incredible strong yet sensitive voice and has proven time and again, on stage and on record that he has what it takes to move the band into yet another dimension. Combine Mike's voice with the original, high-pitched sound of Terry Uttley and the dulcit tones of newcomer Mick McConnell and add the music of band veterans Martin Bullard and Steve Pinnell and you have the definitive Smokie lineup, a simply exceptional writing and performing team. Smokie have recently conquered many new territories including Russia and South Africa and have even seen some recent success in their home country. They continue to sell out all tours in Ireland, Scandinavia, Germany - the list is endless. In 1995 alone, Smokie played to over one and a half million people, headlining over classic artists such as Fleetwood Mac and current top bands like Wet Wet Wet. Over the years Smokie have sold over twenty million albums, including double and triple platinum discs and it just gets better!

Smokie have taken us to "The World And Elsewhere" and continue to grow. The album is reaching platinum sales and has topped the charts in seven countries. The newest Smokie album, which will be available in late 1996 is entitled "Light A Candle". it is a collection of traditional seasonal tunes but with the classic Smokie edge. Although not a permanent change of direction, this album is a moody and mellow creation which was conceived and realised in Smokie's homeland of West Yorkshire - a heavenly combination of warmth and nostalgia, perfect for Christmas.

Smokie continue to tour throughout 1996 and 97 with tours lined up for Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and South Africa, to name but a few. But they will also be taking some quality time out in order to write material for their next album, due for release in 97.
This band has proven time and again that it's got exactly what it t akes to reach the top and to stay there. And so the Smokie story still continues.......

Taken from the "The World And Elsewhere" booklet.

What you didn't know..... about Smokie...

Mick is a qualified plumber.
Terry started work at 16 as a printer.
Steve used to deliver bread for a living.
Mike used to sell cars!
Martin used to work in the music shop where Mike and Smokie bought their equipment! - 18 years ago!!
Steve always carries a kettle in his suitcase!
Terry is addicted to salad and croutons.
Mick was one arrested by Norwegian Police as part of a practical joke by the band.
Martin's daughter Stephanie makes a brief appearance on the new Christmas video.
On tour, Mike always has a mini TV and video player to catch up on Coronation Street on the long bus and plane journeys!
All the band and management carry Psion computers on the road, except Mike - he doesn't know how to work one!
Martin is a qualified accountant.
Steve is an excellent golfer and keeps winning big pro-celebrity competitions.
The rest of the band all play golf, but not as well as Steve.
Terry is a director of the Bradford Bulls Rugby League Team.
Mike, Mick and Steve all love football and go to their clubs matches when they are at
home. Steve watches Middlesborough, Mick watches Leeds United and Mike supports Bradford City.
Mike has a qualification in Public Administration, Local Government and Politics!!