''Hollies Live Hits'' (stylized as ''Hollies. Live Hits.'') is the first live album by

the Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...

, released in 1977. It reached number four on the

UK Album Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

Overview and recording

The Hollies had already planned to release a live album with

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...

in 1968, but the idea was not realised at the time. The recording of the show for the ''Hollies Live Hits'' album was made during a number of shows in New Zealand in January 1976. In addition to many of the band's hits from the 1960s (" Just One Look", "

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", "

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...

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Carrie Anne "Carrie Anne" is a song written by Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Tony Hicks and released by British pop rock group The Hollies. The song was recorded on 1 May 1967 and was released as a single in the same month by Parlop ...

" and "

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" is a ballad written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. Originally recorded by Kelly Gordon in 1969, the song became a worldwide hit for the Hollies later that year and also a hit for Neil Diamond in 1970. It ...

"), the LP also included songs from more recent Hollies albums such as ''

Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...

'' (1974), '' Another Night'' (1975) and '' Write On'' (1976). Two recorded songs from the show were not used for the LP ("

Boulder to Birmingham "Boulder to Birmingham" is a song written by Emmylou Harris and Bill Danoff which first appeared on Harris's 1975 album ''Pieces of the Sky.'' It has served as something of a signature tune for the artist and recounts her feelings of grief in the y ...

" and "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

").

Reception

The album was advertised on British television and the original UK album cover art referred directly to the advertisement. In other countries, however, the album had a completely different cover, featuring a photo of the Hollies on stage. The album reached the top five in the UK Album chart, stayed there for 12 weeks and the Hollies were awarded a

silver disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

for this album.

Track listing

Personnel

The Hollies * Allan Clarke – lead vocals, guitar on Long Cool Woman ("This one features Allan on lead guitar!" heard on LP) *

Tony Hicks Anthony Christopher Hicks (born 16 December 1945) is an English guitarist and singer who has been a member of the British rock/pop band the Hollies since 1963, and as such was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. His main rol ...

– lead guitar *

Terry Sylvester Terence Sylvester (born 8 January 1947) is an English musician and songwriter. He is a former member of the Escorts, the Swinging Blue Jeans (1966–1969), and the Hollies. In the latter role, he took on the high parts formerly sung by Graham ...

– rhythm guitar *

Bernie Calvert Bernard Bamford Calvert (born 16 September 1942) is an English musician who played bass guitar and keyboards with The Hollies from 1966 until 1981. Career He worked with several rock and roll groups during the early 1960s, most notably Rickie ...

– bass *

Bobby Elliott Robert Hartley Elliott (born 8 December 1941) is an English rock drummer, best known for playing with The Hollies. He has been described as "one of the very finest drummers in all of pop/rock". Early life Elliott discovered jazz music when he w ...

– drums Additional personnel *

Pete Wingfield William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer, keyboard player, songwriter, singer and music journalist. Career Whilst at Sussex University Wingfield and three other students formed the group Jellybread. In 1969, he ...

– piano, ARP synthesizer, VOX String machine

References

{{The Hollies 1977 live albums The Hollies albums