Chatterbox, when the stars talk, they talk to
Nick and Sue. Welcome back to the Chatterbox
Redux podcast with Sue and Nick. In this edition,
our special guest is Alan Clark of the Hollies.
And now on Chatterbox UK, we're just lucky enough
to welcome Alan Clark. Alan, welcome. How are
you, sir? I'm fine, thanks, Nick. Yeah, great.
It's nice to actually speak to people from Hastings,
where you are, right? Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
I love Hastings, yeah. As I was saying before
we started recording, I've had the pleasure of
seeing the White Rock Theatre, Hastings, twice,
with you as lead singer, with you as a band.
even better one of those times of course as he
ain't heavy he's my brother just being the number
one actually you know we've got around second
time around so absolutely great Alan um okay
it's a great career you've had of course but
um we've got this new release um now it's also
you've teamed up with graham again which is fantastic
so how did that come about he's written the song
so tell us a bit about the song and how you got
involved Well, I thought that it was about time
that we did something together because we're
getting on, you know, and that shows you along,
you know, when you get to a certain age. No,
but, you know, when I started with Graham, you
know, a lot of those years ago when the two of
us got together as kids and then, you know, teenagers
and then into, you know, being into rock and
roll and getting in a band and becoming... famous
you know and and then he divorced me in 1968
went to join two other I can't remember the names
now but I think they had a couple of hits uh
joke um so anyway no uh since since graham left
um i've always wondered uh would there be a time
that we'd be able to get together and and sing
as as a couple rather than with the band the
hollies and that you know But we did do something
with the Hollies in 1984. We recorded an album
over there in America with them and toured. And
I think that was 1984. So all in all. That'd
be about 30 or 40 years since the last time we
ever sang together. Oh, apart from the Albert
Hall, which was in 2010, where he sort of got
me going down there to get a guitar, my Buddy
Holly guitar, which I play virtually every day
and write most of my songs on. He was going to
present me with that. And when they're in the
halfway in the dressing rooms, he said, you're
going to sing bust up, aren't you? And I said,
am I? And all of a sudden I'm still on the stage,
you know, at the Albert Hall with David Crosby's
Teeth and Stills and his whole band singing Bus
Stop, which was to me, it was one of the most
fearful things I've ever done. you know, when
the ovation that came from the audience, it really
made me feel, you know, special. You know, I
was really glad that Grant did that at that particular
time, because I thought it gave me a little bit
of hope. But that was 2010. You know, I think
it was anyway, just either before the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame. I mean, it gets crazier and
crazier, you know. And in the 20 years that I've
been retired, I've sung with Graham twice. I've
sung with him twice. What's happened is we've
come round full circle. I said to him when we
met not too long ago, I presented him with a
Lifetimes Achievement Award. He was very surprised
by it. He didn't know it was going to be me.
He was very emotional. We saw each other quite
a lot after that. And he did say, you know, is
there going to be a time? And he said, you never
know. You know, other things have happened. Why
not? And then I got an album out called Resurgers.
By surprise, here I was quite happy, just sitting
here in my nice home with all my children around,
et cetera. And all of a sudden out of the thin
air came this will to go along and try and write
some songs, which I did, not thinking of going
to get anywhere, you know, but all of a sudden
I've got a contract with BMG and I've got an
album out called Researchers. And I did pay that
to Graham. I played it to him and he went hmm
that sounds really good maybe there will be a
time well that was three years ago I reminded
him you know and I sent him a song which I'd
written for me and him thinking that we might
get together and we might not and it's the name
of the album which is called I'll Never Forget
and you know that takes two ways you know if
we did get together is something that I'd never
forget But if it didn't get together, I'll think,
oh well, we've got a great life and I'll never
forget that. So that's what the whole thing is
about. But there you are, we're doing it. That's
fantastic. So we've got this single Buddy's back,
which obviously I've heard and it's going to
go on the hit and miss show that we do on a Sunday
on Radio North Sea International. And I like
the sound of it. You guys still sound great together.
Now, so reading between the lines anyway, sort
of taking you back to sort of Buddy Holidays,
Heavenly Brothers, et cetera, et cetera. So that's
what Graham had in mind. And obviously it relates
to you. as well I guess? Well you know it took
us a while to do the album because you know we're
just I think we were in the middle of Covid again
you know it was impossible to get over to New
York and you know it couldn't have come over
here like for a month and sit in a house writing
songs and things like that so you know actually
doing it online was pretty good. Because I said
to Graham before we started it, I want the songs
to feel in the kind of, that when we used to
sing together in the very early days, when, you
know, when me and Graham got together and that
sound came out and the sound became very, very
famous as the voices of the Hollies. And I want
you to recapture that. And so, you know, Graham
said to me halfway through, well, don't you think
that you should make this your solo album? And
I said, well, if you really want to, you said,
well, I'll sing harmony on everything. And I
said, well, you know, you've got to write something.
And he said, OK, give me three weeks, more or
less. And he came back with the song Buddy Holly.
And he's nailed it. You know, that's the type
of song that we would have recorded in the old
days. but bringing it up today now the two of
us singing this about our youth you know when
we first heard Buddy Holly and we pretended just
to be him looking in the bedroom you know mirror
and things like that and uh Well, he caught our
imagination to enable us to carry on, you know,
as in several groups at that particular time.
I mean, we called ourselves Ricky and Dane Young.
We called ourselves the Gaetones. We called ourselves
the Levins, you know, and all that sort of thing.
So, you know, this thing that Graham's done is
in remembrance of Buddy Holly, but also the story
of how we actually heard him and carried his
legend on. I think it's a great name because
uh unfortunately when uh I say unfortunately
I don't wish my life away but uh yeah he ain't
heavy he's my brother was a hit first time around
was a year I was born so I was always left wondering
was the Holly's named after Buddy Holly I assumed
he inspired you guys and that's how it all happened
but unfortunately I came along to uh listen to
the Holly sort of like uh from the towards the
end backwards. Now the first single that I remember
buying with my WH Smith record voucher was The
Air That I Breathe when it came out. Amazing
and you were robbed of a number one spot. How
sad. But that is the first one that I and then
I discovered the Hoddies in reverse as it were
because of my age basically. Thanks to Mother's
Record Collection of course. But yeah and now
everyone knows the stuff. Oh what's funny about
the air that I breathe is that it was um it was
phil everly that did that first I've heard it
I've heard it and the version is is so him you
know and when I heard that for the first time
I thought we should do that song it was it was
our um Ron Richard our producer was his secretary
who came with Phil's album and said, I know you
love Phil Adderley, but listen to this song on
here. I think you should do it with the boys.
I was so bad that I did because, you know, it
was a beautiful, beautiful song and a really
big hit all around the world, you know. It was
a great song to sing. Absolutely. It's amazing.
It is amazing. And of course, all your songs
are amazing, to be honest with you, but it was
a great one for me to get to know the group.
Right. Five coming on six. But yeah, that was
one of the first records I bought. And yeah,
very amazing song. And I played it. I must have
played it hundreds and hundreds of times a day.
This was great. I'm so proud to have it. Anyway,
so yeah, great. This great album. Now, you probably
get asked this all the time. Now, we've got Graham
and you together. Is there any part, and we've
already sort of like just trickled past the 60th
or such. Is there any possibility of the Hollies
with you and Graham doing it again? No, you've
already got together once, sort of thing. Could
it happen, do you think? Never say never, you
know. I never thought I'd be singing again. Thank
goodness. Yeah, thank God. It was unexpected.
It was not something that I planned. And I don't
know, I get this house quite a lot. I have to
be quite honest that, you know, I'm in no fit
state to ever sing the air that I breathe the
way that I did when I was 26, 27. I don't remember
how old I was, but, you know, going on stage
for 40 years, singing all those numbers with
really, really high notes. It was a time, you
know, that all of a sudden your vocal cords said,
please don't do that again and then you know
that the one of them actually gave up but um
i mean it was a shame because i enjoyed being
a part of the hollies at that particular time
but you know you can't change yourself when you
you know when you know that you're not hitting
the right right notes and you want the expressions
of people in the audience that are looking at
each other to say there seems to be a change
i i didn't want to end my career being somebody
who was going to go on stage and letting the
audiences down as well as letting the boys down.
I understand what you're saying there but I mean
you sound absolutely great on this new material,
absolutely great, but I appreciate being in a
recording studio that can be a little bit different
and I get exhausted, my vocal cords go just singing
watching Brighton over Albion play, so Lord knows
what it's like when we're doing something as
high as air that I breathe, and so on, and Carrie
Anne and some of the other stuff. But I've got
some, you coming on Chatterbox UK has... prompted,
well it's great to have people emailing in. I've
selected, I think it's three I shall throw at
you very quickly, Dave McGurty who you may remember
from chapter five. His band chapter five supported
the Hollies at the Nelson Imperial Ballroom in
1965 and he says you shared a dressing room and
you had a good chat and a laugh together, smashing
lads. So great memory from all those years ago
from Dave McGurty. Yeah, well, I swear, Tony,
Tony Hicks lived in Nelson, you know, and I think
we only ever did that workplace once and never
went back again. I think it was a good show,
but, you know, in the 60s, you know, we'd only
just go in as famous people. So, you know, we
were still only two amps drunk on stage and it
was pretty live music all the time. But, yeah,
I do remember I smiled when I read that. That
was a lovely, another great one. Norman Peacock
from Stockport. He's asked me to ask you about
a gentleman's clothing shop, I think it is, based
in Stockport, where Graham worked before he was
famous. And the guy who owned it was your manager.
Am I reading this right? He was in Stockport.
And yeah, it was I don't know whether Graham
worked there or not. He could have done. But
they used to make our clothes. And, you know,
he did actually become our manager, but he wasn't
for real, if you know what I mean. He was like
a pretend manager because he was, well, I think
he was trying to be a Brian Epstein or something,
you know, but it didn't work with that guy at
all. I'm not going to go into a deep, deep story,
but people do let you down. you know, but it
was one of those occasions where we had to move
on from Mr Cohen, that was his name, and we did.
So yeah, I look at, you know, Stoppole was our,
you know, we used to live there, you know, in
the Togury and things like that. Stoppole wasn't
too far from Manchester. That was a part of the
history of us. We didn't really know what we
were doing. We were just going everywhere and
doing what we were told by certain people. But
we soon got wary of that much later. Quite, quite.
One last one from former child actor Paul McCarthy.
Now he played Tommy Watson in Grange Hill and
he says you don't know each other but he says
do send Alan my regards. I've been a fan since
I was a kid. Carrie Anne I just loved it. I think
I would have been about five years old in 1968
and he just loved it, just wanted to say hi to
you. Yeah, Carrie Anne, you know, I mean, there
were a lot of women in our songs, you know, Carrie
Anne, Dear Eloise, Jennifer Eklund, Tari Sikker.
Brilliant. Okay, so let's do some social media,
Alan. It's been great chatting, but I know you've
got your own website and so on, so let's get
people one to find out more about you, website,
Facebook. Throw it at them now, please, sir.
It's on everything. I have got an Instagram.
I do Instagram. I mean, but you can open that
and you can think, where's that last three hours
gone? I don't use it that much, I've got other
things to do. But yeah, I'm on the Instagram,
I have Facebook, I have Twitter, I have all these
media platforms which are done by other people.
So I just bring them up and say what's happening,
they tell me and I go in and have a look and
then I leave it alone and come up into my room
here and write some songs. But yeah, I'm on everything.
That's brilliant. So yes, we've got Alan Clark
featuring Graham Nash and Buddy's back. That's
already available and it's taken from the forthcoming
album which is due for release on April the 7th
by BMG and that is called I'll Never Forget.
That's it. Yeah, that's the one. So let's see
people buying that and let's see them downloading
it, buying it and everything else. That'd be
wonderful. If they like it, please do, if they
like it, you know, but I mean, it was a joy to
do it with Graham, even though we never met while
we were doing it. It's amazing, isn't it, what
you can do now? Yeah, well, you know, I mean,
I don't know whether there's going to be anything
else after this. I mean, I've written songs for
another album, you know, but whether that's going
to happen in any shape or form, I have no idea.
As you say, sorry, sorry, as you say, never say
never. No album worth the material and what I've
heard sounds amazing. Oh good. You two sound
great together. Yeah I know but you know I wrote
11 songs for it and there's 10 on the album and
I think the one that Graham wrote is a good introduction
of Here We Are Back Again with this wonderful
sound praising the guy that we loved so many
years ago but you know You have to listen to
the rest of the album because it moves on from
that commerciality into what I think are really,
really good songs. Even though I'm saying that
I wrote them, I can't understand how I did it.
You know, but all of a sudden you get something
coming into your mind and you have to put it
down on paper and put it into music. And then
you have songs that mean something, you know.
And it means a lot to me, this album, it really
does. And it's something that I... to get to
the kind of age that I am, it's amazing. It's
just amazing. I can't believe it. I really can't.
Thank God that you had some very serious health
problems and I think I was about 15 years back
or more. But thank God and it's great that you
produce this. And yeah, as you say, never say
never. Let's hope health keeps... on your side
now. Let's just hope you can do something together
but this is amazing and I didn't see this coming
in advance so you've done something great that
I'm going to enjoy playing to the listeners so
there we go. I hope we do get to chat sometime
in the future but it's been a great privilege
to have a chance to chat with you and thank you
for coming on Chatterbox UK. One way or another
I'll see that you get to hear the final thing.
Okay, well, my son lives in Hirsmonsu, which
is very close. We go down your way to eat quite
a lot in the Old Town. You know, lovely restaurants
there in the Old Town. And so he goes to the
alley for the skateboarding, the underground
one. So next time I'm going to be in Hastings,
I'll give you a blow. Lovely. We would love that.
Thank you very much. We look forward to it. We
love the old town restaurants and that as well.
And the country ones, yeah. Anyway, Alan, thank
you so much, cheers. Thank you, cheers. Bye bye.
This edition of the Chatterbox Redux podcast
was presented by Nick and Sue. We thank our special
guest who is Alan Clark of the Hollies. Inquiries
please to nickelbum at myyahoo .com Alternatively,
you could write to us, send press releases, CDs,
vinyl, merch or even serve libraries to us at
P .O. Box 26, the old Observer Building, Telford
Road. St. Leonard's -on -Sea, East Sussex, England,
TN38, 9LZ. We thank you for your company and
look forward to welcoming you again next time
when our special guest is Jeff Wayne of the War
of the Worlds. See you then. Bye bye.