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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZPOOLE, Brian, and the TremeloesBeat group formed '59 in Dagenham, Essex by vocalist Brian Poole, with Ricky West (b Richard Westwood, '43), lead guitar; Alan Blakely (b '42, rhythm guitar; Dave Munden (b '43), drums; Allan Howard, bass. Poole modelled himself on Buddy Holly incl. spectacles; they appeared on BBC radio's Saturday Club '61, Decca signed them '62 (in preference to Beatles, it was rumoured); first LP Big Hits Of '62 was budget album of covers, first hit single (no. 4) was cover of Isley Bros 'Twist And Shout' mid-'63, forever best known as a track on Please Please Me. Next cover (of Contours' 'Do You Love Me?) went to no. 1: Poole's gravelly vocal made it a dance classic; by then he'd abandoned specs for contact lenses for a better image; hits through '65 incl. no. 2 with Crickets' 'Someone, Someone': also cracked Hot 100 in USA. But the beat mania was subsiding; Poole and Tremeloes split '66; basically a shy man, he could not get another hit, retired to the family butcher shop. Tremeloes moved to CBS, replacing Howard with new front man in bassist/vocalist Len 'Chips' Hawkes (b '46) and had 13 top 40 hits '67--71, covers incl. 'Silence Is Golden' (no. 1 UK '67; no. 11 USA on Epic). They publicly renounced goodtime pop for more 'progressive' stance on LP Masters '70; this lost them old fans and gained no new ones. Westwood left for two years, came back when Hawkes quit '74 and went to Nashville; Blakely left '75; Westwood, Munden, Aaron Woolley and Bob Benham carried on in cabaret. |