About Smokie
Smokie are an English rock band from Bradford, Yorkshire. The band found success at home and abroad after teaming up with Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. They have had a number of lineup changes and were still actively touring in 2024. Their most popular hit single, "Living Next Door to Alice", peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and, in March 1977, reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as going to No. 1 on the Australian singles chart. Other hit singles include "If You Think You Know How to Love Me", "Oh Carol", "Lay Back in the Arms of Someone", and "I'll Meet You at Midnight".
The band was formed as The Yen after a chance meeting between Ron Kelly and Alan Silson in Moore's Music Shop, North Parade, Bradford, in October 1963. Two days after that meeting they were joined by Chris Norman for rehearsals, but without finding a suitable bass player, just practised together for a year. The addition of Terry Uttley on bass guitar at the beginning of 1965 completed the lineup and The Yen's first gig was at Birkenshaw School in February 1965. It was composed of Chris Norman , Terry Uttley , Alan Silson , and Ron Kelly . They were renamed The Sphynx, and later Essence. As Essence, they toured small clubs in Bradford and the surrounding communities before they split in 1966. The Black Cats were already a working band when Ron Kelly joined them at Dewsbury College in September 1966. The Black Cats at this time were Peter Eastwood on guitar/vocals and Arthur Higgins on bass. Kelly replaced the drummer they had at the time. Alan Silson and Pete Eastwood joined the band, but the latter soon left and was replaced by Chris Norman. In November 1967 the band changed their name to The Four Corners.
In April 1968, the group found a manager in Mark Jordan, who advised them to rename themselves The Elizabethans. The group now became fully professional, and the members garnered higher salaries. In June 1968, Terry Uttley joined the group as a replacement for Arthur Higgins, who had left the band in order to carry on his education. On 9 December 1968 the group had their first TV appearance, on Yorkshire Television's news and magazine show Calendar. In August 1969, the four performed two songs for the BBC show High Jinx. Enthused by this successful performance, Jordan had them record their first demo tape. In January 1970, RCA Records showed an interest in the band and suggested a name change to Kindness. The double A-side "Light of Love"/"Lindy Lou" was released on 3 April 1970.
An arrangement was made with Ronnie Storm to back him on the single release "My Desire", and it was released under the pseudonym Fuzzy and The Barnets, due to contractual difficulties encountered by Storm. At the same time Steve Rowland, of Family Dogg, heard the band playing live on Radio One Club and offered to sign them to his production company. He arranged for Albert Hammond, who was also in Family Dogg, to write a number for the band, entitled "It Never Rains in Southern California". However, before it could be released, Hammond decided to record it himself, for which Kelly was recruited by Steve Rowland to play drums. Hammond wrote other songs for the band, and a single "You Ring a Bell"/"Have You Met Angela" was recorded, but due to various problems in Rowland's organisation, it was not released. In late 1971, the band's management was taken over by Dave Eager, the BBC Radio One DJ, at the same time that Norman suffered a serious infection that affected his vocal cords. After his recovery, his voice sounded much rougher, which the other group members considered an interesting addition to their sound. Eager introduced them to Decca, which resulted in recordings in February 1972, their first single being "Oh Julie"/"I Love You Carolina". Shortly thereafter, their next single was released. "Let the Good Times Roll" was liked by the media and was selected as the opening theme for Emperor Rosko's BBC Radio One Saturday show, but this popularity did not translate into record sales. The last Decca single was "Make it Better"/"Lonely Long Lady", which flopped, and their Decca contract was cancelled.
During the band's Decca contract, Eager used his contacts with the Manchester-based agency Kennedy Street Enterprises, to gain the band an audition to be Peter Noone's backing band. The band were asked to become his permanent band after their audition at Noone's House in Denham, Buckinghamshire, and soon they embarked on a nationwide tour with him. Noone did not bring the boys any luck, but during the tour Bill Hurley offered to manage them. Hurley convinced Eager to release the boys from the contract with him. Ron Kelly left Kindness on 8 August 1973 and the band recruited an old school friend, Pete Spencer , who had played in various groups , to drum for them. This lineup performed on a sightseeing boat in Frankfurt, Germany. Hurley introduced the band to composers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, who also wrote songs for glam rock contemporaries Sweet, Mud, and Suzi Quatro. At first "Chinnichap" turned them down, but Hurley's tenacity eventually convinced the composers/producers to give the young group a chance. Hurley and Chinnichap started working with the band, and suggested yet another name change, to "Smokey".
They purchased new instruments and in late 1974 began recording their debut album Pass It Around which was released 14 February 1975. The album spawned the title track as a single but failed to gain significant attention. In April Smokey opened for Pilot on tour.
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