IN THE SPOTLIGHT !!!

Some rare articles, pics and songs featuring our spotlight artist Tony Hicks !

"One of my most interesting memories is when I had Dale Gregory & the Shouters open for the Hollies. Graham Nash and company were literally fresh off the boat, so to speak. I think this was their third stop in the United States. All our American customs, music, etc.. were new and exciting to them. I recall playing the record 'California Dreamin', by the Mamas & the Papas, repeatedly for Nash and he loved it". Ken Mills

Tony Hicks of The Hollies and Ken Mills ( concert promoter)
After concert pool party, February 1966

"Their really big night came when they were booked at the NME Poll Winners show at the massive Empire Pool Wembley alongside the likes of the Rolling Stones, Freddie and the Dreamers, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Swinging Blue Jeans, Billy J Kramer, the Hollies and many more big names that caused nonstop screaming from the fans throughout the night! This backstage photo shows them with Tony Hicks (Hollies) and a couple of the Swinging Blue Jeans - I hope to clarify the names soon"

From Call Up The Groups - The Kinsmen's Big Break David St John

Any fan of The Hollies and Tony will most probably be aware of this article, but I think it's nice to have it in the montage !

Fingers of fate pointed the way for young Tony

THE story of Les Skifflettes, with their wash boards and tea chest bass, proved a big hit with Looking Back readers.

We've now identified the seven young men, with their quiffs and neck ties, thanks to Harold Russell, also known as Russ D'Lacy or Russ Lee, who originally set up the group in the late 1950s.

He's on the left and, moving to the right, he has identified David Shanahan, Pat Belshaw, Frank Lord, on the bass, who's now running a chip shop in Lytham, Tony Hicks on lead guitar, Paul Shanahan, who's now in Ireland and finally Keith Shackleton, still living in Nelson.

Now living in Burnley, Russ has told us the story of the skiffle group he formed.

He recounted: "A couple of weeks before Christmas, in the winter of '57 a few mates went out carol singing. That's what young teenagers did, but what was different, was that Paul Shanahan, Keith and I carried guitars.

"Some weeks earlier I had imparted my knowledge of the three chord trick to Paul and Keith, so by the time Yuletide was approaching it seemed like a good idea to expose our newly found skills to an audience, and carol singing was the perfect vehicle.

"The response was amazing. I remember us standing in the driveways of the large detatched houses on Halifax Road, Nelson, singing and playing our hearts out. People would come to their doors. They had never heard anything like it.

"Can you play any Lonnie Donegan?' some would say. Are you kidding? We would do Lonny, a touch of Chas McDevitt, and even a small piece of Buddy Holly! What a buzz we got.

"Anyway the result of all this was that Les Skifflettes came into being."

There were several different members in the early days, including Alan Buck, who was later to join the Four Pennies as a drummer. They even tried out a girl vocalist, but it didn't work because she was classically trained, and sang everything in soprano!

Their audiences at that time were to be found in church youth clubs and the group performed on dance nights at St Bede's, St Paul's and St Phillp's, Nelson, and St Luke's, Brierfield.

Added Russ: "Unknown to me, my mother had sent off a letter, to the Carol Levis show, and before we knew it, we were off to auditions at the Ardwick Hippodrome, Manchester.

"We were joined on that bus by a young Elvis look-alike carrying a bright red guitar wrapped in a plastic bag. His name was Ronald Wicherley and he became Billy Fury.

"Also on the same audition were two guitar vocalists singing a Buddy Holly song - Messrs Lennon and McCartney!"

He went on: "I can't remember who brought Tony to us. But we realised at once that this polite, well brought up 12-year-old with a nice guitar and deft little fingers would be an asset to the Skifflettes.

"So it was as a seven-piece skiffle group that we went on to come second in an all-Lancashire group competition held at the Empire Theatre, Burnley, appeared on BBC radio and ITV television and performed at the Palace Theatre, Nelson, along with the King Brothers. We now had a manager, Lew Askew. He used to manage the Imperial ballroom and also the Savoy and Hippodrome Cinemas in Colne where he had us playing on stage between the feature films, much to the delight of the young audiences out front - apart from the jealous types who took to firing slug guns at us from the darkness of the circle!

"At this time there was only one venue in the area approaching what we now would call a disco, Vernon Street Bop Club. Dances, run by a West Indian called Vince and featuring the hottest music of the period, were captured on Vince's trusty Reel to Reel and pumped out at volume to a lively crowd of late teens and early twenties.

"In between, the Skifflettes were featured and we had to learn to deal with older, less than enthusiastic crowds. Quite a learning curve, and boy were we learning.

"By late 1959, though, the Skifflettes had fizzled out, but Tony Hicks and Pat Belshaw went on to form the Dolphins and I was lucky enough to catch their act at the Chez Nous Club, Colne.

"I thought that the Dolphins with their smart suits, Selmer Truvoice amps, Watkins Copycat echo, Futurama guitars were brilliant; and with Tony and his nimble fingers playing Shadows classics, and Pat Belshaw, now known as Ricky Shaw, up front and Bernie Calvert on bass, they were the best group in the area.

"A short while later when Bobbie Elliot joined them on drums they became unbeatable."

He concludes: "The last time I saw Tony Hicks was in Bankhouse Road, Nelson, where he lived, in 1963.

"What are you up to at the moment? he asked. I'm off to Butlins on summer season I told him. You lucky beggar, I wish I was going to Butlins,' he said.

"I went off to Butlins, Tony joined the Hollies ..." Gill Johnson, Lancashire Telegraph !

STARTING OUT: Left, Les Skifflettes (left to right) Harold Russell, David Shanahan, Pat Belshaw, Frank Lord, Tony Hicks, Paul Shanahan and Keith Shackleton.

Some great pics of Tony with Ricky Shaw and The Dolphins