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Tony Hicks- The Hollies

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RedlesterRedlester Frets: 1080
in Music
I was giving '20 Golden Greats' a play recently, and alongside all the fabulous songs, Tony Hick's playing really stood out. 

I listen to all sorts of music, and I was not around in the 60s, but I can say with benefit of hindsight that TH is a seriously intelligent and technically accomplished guitar player, and aside from what he achieved with his head and his hands, his playing had so much heart, lifting those recordings to another level.

Machester's greatest sideman-guitarist?  
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  • Caffeine_VampireCaffeine_Vampire Frets: 3494
    A great player. Good call.
    'Vot eva happened to the Transylvanian Tvist?'
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  • scrumhalfscrumhalf Frets: 11683
    Hicks on guitar and Bobby Elliott on drums have both been overlooked and underrated.

    There's a 2+ hours documentary about The Hollies that gets played on Sky Arts every so often that shows that they were far more than the band that Graham Nash played in before CSNY. 
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  • tweedphantweedphan Frets: 53
    Always admired Tony Hicks when I was a young lad watching Top of the Pops. Thought highly of Bobby Elliott too. However when I’ve watched the Hollies documentary I always switch to another channel after Graham Nash leaves. Not that I’m a fan of his - just preferred them with him in the band. 
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  • blobbblobb Frets: 3276
    My mum saw all the big bands in the sixties and she says The Hollies were by far the best. So there you go, if my Mum says that then you must be on to something.
    Feelin' Reelin' & Squeelin'
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  • koneguitaristkoneguitarist Frets: 4245
    Met Tony Hicks waiting in line to get in a guitar show at Earl’s Court or Olympia back in Late 80s, really nice down to earth guy. No airs or graces, and a very underrated player. 
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  • prowlaprowla Frets: 5119
    tweedphan said:
    Always admired Tony Hicks when I was a young lad watching Top of the Pops. Thought highly of Bobby Elliott too. However when I’ve watched the Hollies documentary I always switch to another channel after Graham Nash leaves. Not that I’m a fan of his - just preferred them with him in the band. 

    I think of them as a continuum, with my favourite songs being the hits "He ain't heavy" and "Air that I breathe", which were after Nash left; it was amusing in one of the documentaries where he says in mock outrage how dare they have hits without him?

    On the flipside, CSNY's 4-Way Street is one of my favourite albums.
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  • digitalkettledigitalkettle Frets: 3596
    I'm not over-keen on those big tunes...but they are indisputable belters! I always got the feeling that The Hollies were a cut above their contemporaries (with the exception of The Beatles).

    I have fond memories of wearing out my mum's 'Best of The Hollies'...this thread just got me geeking out on Wikipedia:

    It seems like the usual start of cover versions (Stay, Just One Look, If I Needed Someone) and 3rd-party songwriting* (Here I Go Again, Yes I Will, I'm Alive, I Can't Let Go, Look Through Any Window, Bus Stop) before they really get hold of things as a band (Stop Stop Stop, On A Carousel, Carrie Anne)...then Nash leaves.

    If you don't know any of these tunes, the least you can do is dig out a best of ;)

    * notably the prolific Graham Gouldman
    SoundCloud - Transcriptions - Trading Feedback
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