The Fortunes are an archetypal
English
beat
group. Formed in Birmingham, The Fortunes first came to
prominence and international acclaim in 1965,
when "You've Got Your Troubles"
broke into the American and British
Top
Tens.
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Contents
- 1 Classic
band line-up
- 2 Biography
- 3 Present
day history
- 4 UK
chart hit singles
- 5 U.S.
chart hit singles
- 6 Reference
- 7 External
links
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Classic band line-up
- Rod Allen - born Rodney Bainbridge, 31 March 1944, Leicester -
lead vocalist
and bassist
- Glen Dale - born Richard Garforth, 24 April 1943, Deal, Kent - guitarist
- Shel Macrae - born Andrew Raeburn
Semple, 8
March 1943, Burnbank, Scotland -
co-lead vocalist,
guitarist
- Barry Pritchard - born 3 April 1944, Birmingham –
died 11
January 1999
- guitarist
- Andy Brown - born Andrew Brown, 7 January 1946, Birmingham - drummer
- David Carr - born 4 August 1943, Leyton, Essex - keyboards
Biography
Following in the wake of Merseybeat, and the R&B
of The Rolling Stones, The
Fortunes added another dimension to the sound of pop, with their
sophisticated orchestration, dual lead vocals and well worked
counter-melodies.
The result was a succession of distinctive hits including
"You've Got Your Troubles", "Here It Comes Again" (both 1965), and
"Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again"; even continuing into the
1970s with more globally successful releases such as "Storm in a
Teacup" and "Freedom Come, Freedom Go".
Originally a trio called The Cliftones, their first single
"Summertime Summertime" went unnoticed, but the follow-up in 1964,
"Caroline", was used as the signature tune for the influential Pirate
Radio station Radio Caroline. The Fortunes had a
steady succession of world-wide hits culminating in 1972, with the
release of "Storm in a Teacup". During this period, The Fortunes were
also the voices for American Coca-Cola advertisements. Their first
recording in 1967
was a version of the theme Things Go better With Coke
but their most remembered for introducing 1969 new slogan recording used as the main
theme on Coke radio and TV commercials It's The Real Thing.
Present day history
Founding member, and lead vocalist, Allen has continued
fronting an ever changing version of The Fortunes since 1963.
The Fortunes were awarded a gold disc in
1987, for over 100,000 sales of their All The Hits and More
album.
In March 1995 vocalist/keyboard/guitar player Bob Jackson was
added to The Fortunes' ranks. Jackson, who was a former member of the
group Badfinger,
now leads the band through a tribute to his former group, including a
version of the Badfinger-penned classic "Without
You", made famous by Harry Nilsson, and more recently Mariah
Carey. A more recent addition to The Fortunes present day personnel is
Geoff Turton. He was originally a member of the Birmingham
based band, The Rockin' Berries who had hits
with "He's In Town" and "Poor Man's Son". He also had a certain amount
of success under the 'nom de plume' Jefferson both at home and in
the U.S.
The Fortunes continue to tour to this day, appearing on the
nostalgia circuit. The UK line-up features those who appeared on their
popular 60s recordings; but
there is also a touring U.S. group that features none of the original
hit-makers.
UK chart hit singles
- "You've Got Your Troubles" -
1965 - Number 2.
- "Here It Comes
Again " - 1965 - Number 4.
- "This Golden Ring" - 1966 - Number 15.
- "Freedom Come, Freedom Go" - 1971 - Number 6.
- "Storm In A Teacup" - 1972 - Number 7 (written by Lynsey
de Paul and Ron Roker).
U.S. chart hit singles
- "You've Got Your Troubles" -
1965 - Number 7.
- "Here It Comes
Again" - 1965 - Number 27.
- "This Golden Ring" - 1966 - Number 82.
- "That Same Old Feeling" - 1970 - Number 62 (competing with
the original version by Pickettywitch).
- "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again" - 1971 - Number
15.
- "Freedom Come, Freedom Go" - 1971 - Number 72.
Reference
- Guinness Book
of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN
0-85112-190-X
External links
