Introduction to the Tremeloes
The Tremeloes are an English beat group who met the peak of their career during the 60s music era. After achieving their first big UK hit with a cover of the Contours’ “Do You Love Me,” the Tremeloes continued their considerable successes at home by churning out cover versions of mostly American hits. As the band was making waves, Poole eventually left to go solo, and a few of the other members also departed. But even so, the Tremeloes continued to make charting singles that did well: Their cover of Cat Steven’s “Here Comes My Baby,” as well as “Even The Bad Times Are Good,” “Suddenly You Love Me,” “My Little Lady,” and their only other UK #1 hit “Silence Is Golden,” a Four Seasons B-side original. Their first attempts at writing their own material emerged quite successfully, as their own song “(Call Me) Number One” charted at #2 on the UK Top 10. Seeing of the enormous success of the band’s original songs on the charts, it prompted them to become more musically ambitious. But that very high ambition, unfortunately, made them arrogant even to their fans who bought their earlier records. Such behavior resulted into the failure of their next LP Master.
Their later years were spent on playing as a live cabaret/pop-revival act whose gigs were received well. Poole, who has since returned to the group, became their leader again. The Tremeloes are still active up to this day, with new members into the fold.
The Tremeloes’ early days
Formerly known as Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, The Tremeloes enjoyed musical success with their transatlantic hits in the 1960’s “Here Comes My Baby” and “Silence is Golden.” “The English beat/rock n’ roll group was initially a five-piece act, comprising of lead vocalist Brian Poole (born on November 2, 1941, London), rhythm guitarist Alan Blakley (born on April 1, 1942, Bromley, Kent – died on July 1, 1996), lead guitarist Rick West (born Richard Westwood on May 7, 1943, Dagenham, Essex), bassist Alan Howard (born on October 17, 1941, Dagenham, Essex) and drummer Dave Munden (born on December 2, 1943, Dagenham, Essex).”
In 1962, The Tremeloes auditioned for Decca Records along with the The Beatles. Eventually they successfully made it through and signed a record contract. Apparently, some say that they passed the audition just because of their more accessible location to London-based Decca compared to the Beatles, who hailed farther away from Liverpool.
The Tremeloes’ hit releases
The song written by Bert Berns “Twist and Shout” was first popularized in the US by the American group The Isley Brothers in 1962. In the following year The Beatles released their own version of the song which became a bigger hit (and even more popular than the original). The Tremeloes’ subsequent version would become the group’s first UK chart entry, peaking at #4. Later that year, they topped the UK chart with their cover version of the Contours’ original “Do You Love Me.” The Tremeloes’ first appearance on the US chart came in 1964 with their cover of the Crickets’ “Someone, Someone” which reached the bottom spot at #92, while it reached #2 at home. Their hit tunes are surely well-remembered by the oldies music music lovers up to this day.
Switching to Epic Records in the mid-1960’s, they eventually scored a bigger hit with Cat Steven’s “Here Comes My Baby” that peaked at #13 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Months later, they finally broke through with “Silence is Golden,” a Four Seasons’ B-side original. Sung by their guitarist Westwood, the song almost entered the Top 10 pop chart at #11 while it topped the UK chart. The song became an “easy listening” favorite popular amongst younger kids and parents. It was followed by “Even the Bad Times Are Good” which entered the US Top 40 at #36 later that year, and #4 in the UK. In 1968, “Suddenly You Love Me,” became a minor hit and was to be their last US Hot 100 item.
The Tremeloes’ first LP Master was issued in 1970. The album failed to sell well. However, it gave them their last major UK hit with “Me and My Life” which peaked at #4. Although they were not gaining attention as before, they issued two more LP’s during the 1970’s, Shiner (1974) and Don’t Let The Music Die (1975).
Recent years
After The Tremeloes’ breakup, each of the members went on their separate ways and pursued their own musical interests. Hawkes went solo and went on to produce albums for RCA label located in Nashville, Tennessee. He reunited with The Tremeloes in 1979 and left the band in 1988. Blakley also produced albums for several artists such as Mungo Jerry, Bilbo Baggins and the Rubettes. In June 1996, Blakley succumbed to cancer. Poole became a solo artist as well, and his career in the cabaret circuit was quite successful. Poole’s daughters Karen and Shelley gained popularity during the 1990s as a duo called Alisha’s Attic.
Most of The Tremeloes’ initial members are no longer in the current lineup, and only Munden has remained in the group for the longest time. Several personnel changes occurred through the years, however the classic rock band have continued to perform up to this day. In 2006, Poole and Hawkes embarked on a tour, celebrating the group’s 40th anniversary. Hawkes is still active with his band Class of 1964.