The Hollies :: View topic - 50 years ago today

Today marks a special anniversary for me as it was exactly 50 years ago to the day that I first saw the Hollies ‘Out On The Road’ – 11th March 1967.

I was a 15 year old schoolboy at the time living near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire and a friend and I decided to invest 10 shillings (pre-decimal currency – equivalent to 50p!) of our pocket money and go to our local theatre – the Mansfield Granada – and see the latest ‘package tour’ starring, amongst others, The Tremeloes, Spencer Davis Group, Paul Jones and The Hollies.

The compere was Dave Butler (who later appeared on the TV show The Comedians in the 1970s) and first on the bill was The Young Idea who had recorded their version of Peculiar Situation from The Hollies ‘For Certain Because’ album. There was a band called The Richard Kent Style who I’m afraid I can’t remember much about, The Tremeloes – riding high in the charts with Here Comes My Baby – were on next followed by The Spencer Davis Group who closed the first half. Gimme Some Lovin’ is a favourite of mine. By this time, the Granada was rocking!

The second half opened with the Richard Kent Style and they also backed Paul Jones who had left Manfred Mann some 6 months earlier to pursue a solo career. He had big hits with High Time and I’ve Been A Bad Bad Boy.

Finally, it was the top of the bill – The Hollies. The line up then was Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks, Bernie Calvert and …..Tony Mansfield. Unfortunately, Bobby Elliott was hospitalised with appendicitis which developed into peritonitis, I believe. Tony Mansfield (an appropriate name for the venue!) was previously the drummer with The Dakotas, I think, and was deputising for Bobby during this tour.

Some things stick in my mind. I remember that Allan was wearing a red velvet suit and I recall Graham asking the audience if anyone wanted to marry Tony! Cue loads of screaming girls! I can’t remember the set list but they included their current hit single On A Carousel and some of their previous hits. I do remember they did a version of Bob Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone. They only had about 30 minutes on stage because of all the other artists on the bill but those 30 minutes had me hooked and I’ve been following the band ever since. I’ve lost count of the number of Hollies concerts I’ve been to in the last 50 years.

I kept the ticket (which for some reason had Spencer Davis highlighted on it) and the programme. By the way, The Hollies have lasted a lot longer than the Mansfield Granada. It was demolished in the 1970s to make was for a shopping centre!

It was the best 10 shillings I have ever spent!

great memories

Bass Guitar Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 85 Location: USA

What a great memory, John. Thanks for sharing.

Bass Guitar Joined: 07 Mar 2012 Posts: 62 Location: kent

What a wonderful memory. I'm sure there are lots of others from concerts over the years, but that first Hollies gig is so important as it's the start of a magical journey