The Fourmost | |
|---|---|
 Sensational 60s Experience Tour 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Liverpool, England |
| Genres | Beat, pop |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Members | Kevin Clarkson Des Thurlby Lee Clarkson Matt Johnson [1] |
| Past members | Brian O'Hara Mike Millward Billy Hatton Dave Lovelady Joey Bower George Peckham |
| Website | thefourmost.co.uk |
The Fourmost are an English Merseybeat band that recorded in the 1960s. [2] [3] Their biggest UK hit single was "A Little Loving" in 1964. [4]
Guitarist/vocalist Brian O'Hara and best friend guitarist/vocalist Joey Bower (born Joseph Bower, 17 November 1939, Dingle, Liverpool, Lancashire) formed the Two Jays in 1957. The group changed its name to the Four Jays in September 1959 when bass guitarist/singer Billy Hatton and drummer Brian Redman (born 21 June 1941, Huyton, Liverpool, Lancashire) joined the group. The Four Jays played at the Cavern Club on 1 March 1961. Rhythm guitarist/singer Mike Millward (ex-the Undertakers) joined the Four Jays in November 1961, followed by drummer/singer Dave Lovelady in September 1962. The band changed its name to the Fourmost in October 1962. On 30 June 1963, the group signed a management contract with Brian Epstein. [5] This led to their being auditioned by George Martin and signed to EMI's Parlophone record label. [6]
With Epstein as their manager, the Fourmost had access to early Lennon–McCartney compositions. The Fourmost's first two singles were written by John Lennon. "Hello Little Girl", one of the earliest Lennon songs, was released on 30 August 1963 and reached No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart. Their follow-up single, "I'm in Love" (Lennon–McCartney), was released on 15 November 1963 and reached No. 17 in the UK. It was also notable as one of the earliest Beatles-penned songs to be released in the United States but, as with the Fourmost's other singles, it failed to chart there.
Their biggest hit followed. "A Little Loving", written by Russ Alquist, reached No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart in mid-1964. From then on, none of the group's singles cracked the Top 20 in the UK. "How Can I Tell Her" was followed by a cover version of the Four Tops' "Baby I Need Your Loving", sung by Millward, while Hatton took lead vocal on "Everything in the Garden" and "Girls Girls Girls" (first recorded by the Coasters and a hit for Elvis Presley). O'Hara composed most of their songs, which were used as B-sides including "Waitin' for You", [7] "That's Only What They Say", [8] "He Could Never", [9] and "You Got That Way". [10]
On the group's only 1960s album, First and Fourmost, [11] from September 1965, they covered Jackie DeShannon's, "Till You Say You'll Be Mine". [12] Other tracks included "My Block" sung by Hatton [11] and written by Jimmy Radcliffe, Carl Spencer and Bert Berns (originally a hit for the Chiffons in 1963), Millward sang a re-make of "The In Crowd", [12] which featured the brass section from Sounds Incorporated, and Hatton sang cover versions of Little Richard's "The Girl Can't Help It" and "Heebie-Jeebies". [11] The band appeared in the 1965 film Ferry Cross the Mersey and on the soundtrack album of the same name singing "I Love You Too" (which appeared in two differing versions from mono to stereo).
In early 1966, the band was rocked by the sudden death of rhythm guitarist/vocalist Mike Millward from leukaemia. [13] They recruited George Peckham as replacement. In August 1966, the Fourmost covered another Beatles song, "Here, There and Everywhere", [5] followed by a cover of George Formby's "Auntie Maggie's Remedy" in November 1966. The latter song was representative of a comedic element to some of the group's recordings. Peckham wrote and sang the country-influenced "Turn the Lights Down Low" (the B-side of "Auntie Maggie's Remedy"), a short-lived effort to branch out to less pop-oriented fare.
In 1968, now on the CBS record label, they recorded "Apples, Peaches And Pumpkin Pie", an R&B hit by Jay & the Techniques, followed by "Rosetta" (suggested by Paul McCartney, who played piano on it), and "Easy Squeezy". The group soon stopped recording, and became popular on the cabaret circuit. Peckham left the band in 1969 to run a recording studio. Joey Bower returned to the band as replacement. A later private pressing album, The Fourmost – featuring O'Hara, Hatton, Lovelady and Bower – included covers such as "Without You", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Rag Doll" and "Save the Last Dance for Me"; it was sold at their shows in 1975.
Hatton, Lovelady and Bower all left in 1980 while O'Hara continued the group with new members, although a version of the band featuring O'Hara with Hatton and Lovelady did once perform at the new Cavern Club. O'Hara eventually dropped out, selling the band's name. A later line-up featuring longtime bassist/singer Bill Haisman (who had been in the later group alongside O'Hara) plus John Richards (lead guitar, vocals), Gary Pearson (guitar, vocals) and Kevin Clarkson (drums, vocals) released a DVD and CD titled The Fourmost Live at The Club Tropicana, featuring a recording of a show in Skegness on 7 April 2007. [14] They performed both "Hello Little Girl" and "A Little Loving" among other covers of 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s hit songs. Charley Records later issued a 20-track compilation album also titled First and Fourmost, while EMI Records later released a CD stereo/mono version of the original 1965 album in 1999. Brian O'Hara took his own life the same year. [15] In 2005, they also released a 33-track CD compilation The Best of The Fourmost, which included the stereo version of "I Love You Too", and four previously unreleased songs with booklet notes written by Hatton. [16]
In 2008, Hatton and Lovelady lost a court case to own the trademark on "The Fourmost" name, to the iteration of the band dating back to when they both left in 1978. [17] [18] In the following years afterwards, the two toured as "The Original Fourmost".[ citation needed ]
Hatton died in 2017. [19]
In 2018, the Fourmost completed a 59-date theatre tour on the Sensational 60s Experience Tour along with other acts from that period. [20]
| Year | Album | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [21] [22] | AU | US | ||
| 1965 | First and Fourmost | - | - | - |
| 1975 | The Fourmost | - | - | - |
| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [21] [22] | AU | US | ||
| 1963 | "Hello Little Girl" | 9 | - | - |
| "I'm in Love" | 17 | - | - | |
| 1964 | "A Little Loving" | 6 | 98 | - |
| "If You Cry" (US Only) | - | - | - | |
| "How Can I Tell Her" | 33 | - | - | |
| "Baby I Need Your Loving" | 24 | 63 | - | |
| 1965 | "Everything in the Garden" | - | - | - |
| "Girls Girls Girls" | 33 | 21 | - | |
| 1966 | "Here, There and Everywhere" | - | - | - |
| "Auntie Maggie's Remedy" | - | 43 | - | |
| 1968 | "Apples, Peaches And Pumpkin Pie" | - | - | - |
| "Rosetta" | - | - | - | |
| 1969 | "Easy Squeezy" | - | - | - |
Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongside the Beatles were instrumental in popularizing the Merseybeat sound and launching the wider British beat boom of the mid-1960s.
William Howard Ashton, known professionally as Billy J. Kramer, is an English pop singer. With The Dakotas, Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein during the 1960s and scored hits with several Lennon–McCartney compositions never recorded by the Beatles, among them the UK number one "Bad to Me" (1963). Kramer and the Dakotas had a further UK chart-topper in 1964 with "Little Children" and achieved U.S. success as part of the British Invasion. Since the end of the beat boom, Kramer has continued to record and perform. His autobiography, Do You Want to Know a Secret, was published in 2016.
The Merseybeats are an English band that emerged from the Liverpool Merseybeat scene in the early 1960s, performing at the Cavern Club along with the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and other similar artists.
William Ellis Kinsley is an English musician, who was lead vocalist and bassist with The Merseybeats until 1966. The group disbanded in January 1966 to resurface as a duo called The Merseys. They recorded The McCoys' song "Sorrow" with the band before embarking on a solo career, where he recorded "Bye Bye Baby", a typical Merseybeat tune, followed by the singles "Annabella", and "You Make My Day".
Gerard Marsden MBE was an English singer-songwriter, musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He was the younger brother of fellow band member Freddie Marsden.
The Searchers are an English Merseybeat group who emerged during the British Invasion of the 1960s. The band's hits include a remake of the Drifters' 1961 hit, "Sweets for My Sweet"; "Sugar and Spice" ; remakes of Jackie DeShannon's "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk in the Room"; a cover of the Orlons' "Don't Throw Your Love Away"; and a cover of the Clovers' "Love Potion No. 9". With the Swinging Blue Jeans, the Searchers tied for being the second group from Liverpool, after the Beatles, to have a hit in the US when their "Needles and Pins" and the Swinging Blue Jeans' "Hippy Hippy Shake" both reached the Hot 100 on 7 March 1964.
Rory Storm was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contemporaries of The Beatles in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Ringo Starr was the drummer for the Hurricanes before joining the Beatles in August 1962.
The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me".
The Undertakers are a British beat group, contemporaries of the Beatles and a leading group in the Merseybeat music scene of the early 1960s.
Daniel Boone was an English pop musician who became a one-hit wonder in the United States with the single "Beautiful Sunday" in 1972. The song was written by Boone and Rod McQueen and sold over 2,000,000 copies worldwide. It peaked at number 15 on The Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at the end of the summer of 1972, having already reached number 21 on the UK Singles Chart earlier during that same year. In 1972, Boone was the recipient of the "Most Likeable Singer" award from Rolling Stone magazine.
"Hello Little Girl" is one of the first songs written by John Lennon, credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. Written in 1957, it was used as one of the songs at the Beatles unsuccessful Decca audition in 1962, included on the 1995 compilation album Anthology 1. A 1960 home demo recording has never been officially released.
"I'm in Love" is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney and possibly written by John Lennon. In 1963 the English Merseybeat band the Fourmost made a recording of the song at the EMI Studios, produced by George Martin.
Leslie Charles Maguire was an English musician who was a principal member of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers from 1961 to 1966.
The Liverbirds were an English all-female rock band from Liverpool, active between 1963 and 1968. The group consisted of vocalist and guitarist Valerie Gell, guitarist and vocalist Pamela Birch, bassist and vocalist Mary McGlory, and drummer Sylvia Saunders. They were one of the very few female bands on the Merseybeat scene, as well as one of the first all-female rock and roll bands in the world. They took their name from the fictional liver bird, which is the symbol of their native Liverpool. They were mostly a cover band, except for three of their songs being written by Pamela Birch.
The Real Thing are a British soul group formed in the 1970s. The band charted internationally with their song "You to Me Are Everything", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. They also had successes with a string of British hits such as "Can't Get By Without You" and "Can You Feel the Force?". They returned to mainstream success in 1986 with the Decade Remix of "You to Me Are Everything". By number of sales, they were the most successful black rock/soul act in England during the 1970s. The journalist, author and founder of Mojo magazine Paul Du Noyer credits them alongside Deaf School with restoring "Liverpool's musical reputation in the 1970s" with their success.
Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes were a British rock and roll band, formed in Liverpool in the late 1950s by Ted "Kingsize" Taylor. One of the first beat groups in the Merseyside area, they were a locally popular and influential group who were contemporaries and rivals of The Beatles, and featured Cilla Black as a guest singer before her solo career, but had little commercial success except in West Germany.
The Dennisons were an English Merseybeat band, that emerged from the Liverpool scene in the early 1960s. Despite their background, and a couple of minor hit singles, they failed to achieve more than a local following and were unable to find a footing on the British Invasion. However, in 1963, Bob Wooler stated that "The Dennisons have created the biggest impact in Liverpool since the Beatles." The band's drummer, Clive Hornby, later became the actor best known for portraying Jack Sugden in British soap opera Emmerdale.
Freddie Ryder (born Self) (3 April 1942 – 22 January 2021) was a British singer and rhythm guitarist from Liverpool. He was part of the 'Beat Movement' that spawned a raft of British bands who conquered the charts in the early 1960s.
"One and One Is Two" is a song by the musical group The Strangers with Mike Shannon, released as their debut single in 1964. It was composed by Paul McCartney and published under the author's credit Lennon/McCartney.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
