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Marmalade are a Scottish pop rock band originating from the east end of
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, originally formed in 1961 as The Gaylords, and then later billed as Dean Ford and The Gaylords, recording four singles for Columbia (EMI). In 1966 they changed the band's name to The Marmalade, and were credited as such on all of their subsequent recorded releases with CBS Records and
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...
until 1972. Their greatest chart success was between 1968 and 1972, placing ten songs on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top ...
, and many overseas territories, including international hits " Reflections of My Life", which reached #10 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Chart and #3 on the UK Chart in January 1970, and " Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", which topped the UK chart in January 1969, the group becoming the first-ever Scottish artist to top that chart. The original members began to drift away in the early 1970s, resulting in the band departing Decca in 1972. In 1973 the first evolved line up of the band rejoined
EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the suc ...
and with their first record release became known simply as Marmalade. All subsequent record releases are credited similarly. Graham Knight (an ongoing member from the pre-Marmalade "Dean Ford and The Gaylords" lineup) remained until September 2010. The band still exists, with many additional further evolved lineups including vocalist Sandy Newman, a member since 1975, touring the nostalgia circuit.


History


The Gaylords

The Gaylords (named after the notorious post war Chicago Gaylords street gang) were originally formed by Pat Fairley and Billy Johnston in
Baillieston Baillieston ( sco, Bailiestoun) is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is about east of the city centre. It also gives its name to Ward 20 of Glasgow City Council and forms part of the Glasgow East constituency of the UK Parliament. Geographi ...
, a suburb east of Glasgow, in 1961. Their initial line-up included Tommy Frew on drums and lead guitarist Pat McGovern, fronted by vocalist Wattie Rodgers. William Junior Campbell joined on his fourteenth birthday on 31 May 1961 replacing McGovern, and Rodgers was then himself replaced, initially by two new lead vocalists, Billy Reid and Tommy Scott, although Reid soon departed leaving Scott as the sole
frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
. Bill Irving, from local Baillieston group the Cadillacs, then took over from Johnston on bass. The group began gathering notice and in 1963 Fairley and Campbell spotted Thomas McAleese, singer with local group the Monarchs, at the
Barrowland Ballroom The Barrowland Ballroom (also known as Barrowlands) is a dance hall and music venue in Glasgow, Scotland. History The original building opened in 1934 in a mercantile area east of Glasgow's city centre, built by Maggie McIver, the "Barras Que ...
in Glasgow, and it was not long before he replaced Scott as lead singer. McAleese then adopted the stage moniker Dean Ford, and they then became known as Dean Ford and The Gaylords. Raymond Duffy, from Glasgow group the Escorts, then came in on drums after Frew departed. For a few months, they had an organist, Davey Hunter. By early 1965, Graham Knight, from the local group the Vampires, had displaced Irving on bass. Becoming popular in Scotland, and under the management of Billy Grainger, in early 1964 they were championed by Scottish music journalist Gordon Reid, which led to them being signed to EMI's Columbia label by
Norrie Paramor Norman William Paramor (15 May 1914 – 9 September 1979), known professionally as Norrie Paramor, was a British record producer, composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, and orchestral conductor. He is best known for his work with Cliff ...
after auditions at Glasgow's Locarno Ballroom. They went on to record four singles, including a cover of the 1963
Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midni ...
US hit "Twenty Miles", which was a big seller locally but failed to
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
nationally. The Columbia releases, although uncredited, were all produced by Bob Barratt, EMI staff producer, with Norrie Paramor as executive. Paramor played the
celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ...
on "What's The Matter With Me"; the
b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
of "Twenty Miles". In 1965, they played a long stint in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
at the Storyville in
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and also in
Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in North ...
. By this time The Gaylords had attained status as one of the top groups in Scotland, borne out in music poll results, but were ambitious, and so on their return from Germany to London in early 1965, they decided to try for success in the UK as a whole, and remained in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, where they changed management and agency representation, as Billy Grainger wished to remain in Glasgow.


Name change and the CBS era

On the recommendation of
the Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with " Do You Love Me". After Poole's departu ...
, who had played with them in Glasgow, the Gaylords were invited to join the London-based agency Starlite Artistes, owned and managed by Peter Walsh. They then began to build up a club reputation as a tight, close harmony band and in 1966, finding themselves in the middle of the 1960s
swinging London The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London as its centre. It saw a flourishing in art, mus ...
scene, they decided to update their image and instrumentation. On the advice of their new manager, they changed the band name to "The Marmalade". Unusually, they now had two bass players, Knight on four-string and Fairley on six-string (Fairley having dropped the standard
rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
normally associated with rock groups of the early 1960s). With their EMI Columbia contract at an end, Walsh, with the help of John Salter, Walsh's booking agent, was successful in signing the band to CBS Records with producer Mike Smith, who was having great success with the Tremeloes, now their agency stablemates. But their first few CBS singles also failed to chart in the UK. Drummer Ray Duffy (who later played with
Matthews Southern Comfort Matthews Southern Comfort (MSC) was originally a British country rock/folk rock band, formed in 1970 by former Fairport Convention singer Ian (later Iain) Matthews. The original line-up consisted of Matthews, lead guitarist Mark Griffiths (who ...
and Gallagher and Lyle and also on Campbell's later solo recordings), decided to leave in 1966 to return to Scotland to get married just after their first CBS release, "Its All Leading up to Saturday Night". The band then placed adverts in the
New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
and
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born c ...
, and after various auditions, former postman
Alan Whitehead Alan Patrick Vincent Whitehead (born 15 September 1950) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Southampton Test since 1997. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Shadow Minister for Green New Deal and Ener ...
ex member of London outfit the Loose Ends became their new drummer, debuting on their next single, "Can't Stop Now", which failed to sell despite the group's performing it on a TV play, ''The Fantasist'', written by
Alun Owen Alun Davies Owen (24 November 1925 – 6 December 1994) was a Welsh playwright, screenwriter and actor, predominantly in television. However, he is best remembered by a wider audience for writing the screenplay of The Beatles' debut feature f ...
, for the
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
''
Theatre 625 ''Theatre 625'' is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production an ...
'' series. Their third CBS single, the self penned " I See the Rain", written by Campbell and Ford, was praised by
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
as the "best cut of 1967". It became a
chart-topper A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...
the same year.
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 ...
of
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 and Graham Nash founded the ba ...
contributed to the session, but it too flopped in the UK, although the track, with its distinct 1960s feel, has since attained a
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic ...
and been resurrected recently by artists such as
Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as a co-founder of the pop-rock band The Bangles. Hoffs founded The Bangles (originally called the Bangs) in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson. They r ...
of
the Bangles The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Manic Monday" (1986), "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), " Hazy Shad ...
and
Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...
. (see '' Under the Covers, Vol. 1'') 19 January 1967 proved to be a turning point in the band's progress when they made their debut at London's
Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally close ...
where they supported
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
. Two weeks later, on 3 February, they supported
the Action The Action were an English band of the 1960s, formed as the Boys in August 1963, in Kentish Town, North West London. They were part of the mod subculture, and played soul music-influenced pop music. Career The band was formed as the Boys in ...
. After that, they never supported anyone again at the Marquee and on 16 March 1967 they began a long residency which carried through to the autumn of the following year, building a reputation and following, including touring with
the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
,
Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...
,
Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...
,
Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...
and
the Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with " Do You Love Me". After Poole's departu ...
. This culminated with summer appearances at the Windsor Jazz and Rock Festival, directly preceding
Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...
, and Festival of the Flower Children
Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, a ...
. CBS, concerned at Marmalade's lack of commercial success, threatened to drop them if they did not have a hit. So after the failure of another self-penned single later that year, "Man in a Shop", they were urged to record more chart-orientated material. Mike Smith offered the band "
Everlasting Love "Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, originally a 1967 hit for Robert Knight and since remade numerous times, most successfully by Love Affair, as well as Town Criers, Carl Carlton, Sandra Cretu, and Gloria E ...
", but they declined as they preferred to continue to record group based material rather than with large orchestral accompaniment. The song was then given to Love Affair, arranged by
Keith Mansfield Keith Mansfield (born 1941 in London, England) is a British composer and arranger known for his creation of prominent television theme tunes, including the ''Grandstand'' theme for the BBC. Career Other works include "The Young Scene" (the or ...
, which became a No. 1 for them. They later gave in to pressure and recorded " Lovin' Things" written by Artie Schroeck and Jet Loring in 1967, and arranged by Keith using a similar orchestral formula (Keith already knew the band and had previously arranged earlier cuts including their last single Man In A Shop) It reached No. 6 in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top ...
in the summer of 1968. This was covered by
the Grass Roots The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums, two ...
in the US in 1969, using virtually the same arrangement. Marmalade's debut album, ''There's A Lot Of It About'', featured a mix of some of their singles and
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of current popular tunes, and was released in 1968. Marmalade made a cameo appearance on the big screen in the film '' Subterfuge'' that year. After a lesser hit with their follow-up single "Wait For Me Mary-Anne" (written by Alan Blaikley and
Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in '' 1776'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The W ...
), which made No. 30, they enjoyed their biggest UK success with their cover of
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' " Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", which topped the UK chart in January 1969, the group becoming the first ever Scottish group to top that chart. Their version of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" sold around half a million in the UK, and a million copies globally by April 1969. This was followed by further success with "Baby Make It Soon" (written by
Tony Macaulay Tony Macaulay (born Anthony Gordon Instone; 21 April 1944) is an English author, composer for musical theatre, and songwriter. He has won the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Award twice as 'Songwriter of the Year' (1970 an ...
), which reached No. 9 in the summer of 1969. In February 1969 the band appeared on the BBC's flagship program '' Colour Me Pop'', (precursor to ''
The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...
'') performing a halfhour slot. They also appeared on the BBC's review of the 1960s music scene, '' Pop Go The Sixties'', performing "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" live on the broadcast on
BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
on New Year's Eve 1969.


Decca era

In November 1969 the band was signed to
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...
by Decca head of A&R, Dick Rowe under a highly lucrative advance deal, allowing the band to
write Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute ...
and
produce Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables ( grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and ...
their own songs, with no studio time restraints, and in their very first Decca recording session, they recorded " Reflections of My Life", which would become their biggest worldwide hit, rewarding Decca's and Dick Rowe's faith in the band. Topping the charts in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
(also Top 10 in United States and No. 1 in most of
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
), it was written by Campbell and Ford, and featured a "backwards" (
backmasking Backmasking is a recording technique in which a message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. It is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional. Artists have s ...
)
guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular ...
by Campbell. "Reflections of My Life" has recorded over two million sales, and the writers were awarded a Special Citation of Achievement in 1998 by BMI in attaining radio broadcast performances in excess of one million in the US alone. Other UK hits for Decca included "
Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbo ...
" (UK No. 3 and US No. 51) and "My Little One" (UK No. 15)., "Cousin Norman" and "Radancer" (both reaching UK No. 6). Their manager, Peter Walsh, was a 1960s and 1970s pop entrepreneur whose portfolio also included
the Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with " Do You Love Me". After Poole's departu ...
,
Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Be ...
,
the Move The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their care ...
,
Billy Ocean Leslie Sebastian Charles, (born 21 January 1950), better known by his stage name Billy Ocean, is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-son ...
,
the Troggs The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English garage rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", " With a Girl Like You" and " Love Is All Around", all ...
and Blue Mink. Their first Decca album, ''Reflections Of The Marmalade'' was released in the US as ''Reflections Of My Life'' on Decca's
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London na ...
subsidiary. Their US singles during this era likewise came out on London. But their manager, Walsh, turned down an offer to tour the US opening for
Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael A ...
, thus blowing an opportunity for further exposure there. To be fair to Walsh, he did not much care for the fact that Marmalade would have had to pay a substantial dollar premium to do so, a practice common in the US but totally alien to Walsh's traditional UK management and agency style. After Campbell, who co-wrote most of the group's original material with Ford, left the band in March 1971 for a solo career, and to study orchestration and composition at the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performan ...
, they began a series of line-up changes, including the loss of drummer Whitehead. Marmalade recruited guitarist Hugh Nicholson, an ex-member of
the Poets The Poets were a Scottish blues, freakbeat and psychedelic pop band, who were managed and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. Some of their singles were released on his label, Immediate Records. Their cover version of " Baby Don't You Do It" w ...
, to replace Campbell, and after the first post Campbell release, "Cousin Norman", it was Nicholson who insisted on them sacking Whitehead and recruiting his friend and colleague from the Poets, Dougie Henderson. This caused Marmalade to suffer adverse publicity from the UK's ''
News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national red top tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one o ...
'' after an embittered Whitehead gave them stories of the band's experiences with groupies. Marmalade released ''Songs'' in November 1971, with Nicholson taking over most song compositions, which met with limited success. However, Nicholson penned two of their last hits, "Cousin Norman" (brass arranged by Campbell) and "Radancer", as well as the lesser hit "Back on the Road", on which he sang lead vocal. Fairley quit the band circa 1972 to run the group's music publishing company, then Nicholson, who was discouraged over the failure of their ''Songs'' album, also left in 1973 to form
Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
(not to be confused with a later boy band of the same name). Ford, Knight and Henderson carried on with Marmalade. Nicholson was eventually replaced by Mike Japp, a rock guitarist from the Welsh band, Thank You. The group returned to EMI and released a new single, "Wishing Well", credited simply as Marmalade (dropping the "The"). But Knight left during the recording of their next album, ''Our House Is Rocking'' (which showcased a heavier rock sound and was delayed until the autumn of 1974) and the group was briefly a trio before Joe Breen (ex-Dream Police) came in on bass. Refusing to play most of the band's old hit records on stage, the group slowly came to a standstill.


1975–1978

In 1975 Knight linked up with former drummer Alan Whitehead to form 'Vintage Marmalade' with Sandy Newman (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Charlie Smith (guitar). They were reunited with their old manager, Peter Walsh, to play all the hits on stage and had a full date sheet. Later in 1975, after Ford and the remaining members called it quits, Knight and Whitehead took over the name Marmalade with the new line-up, fronted by Newman. They signed a deal with
Tony Macaulay Tony Macaulay (born Anthony Gordon Instone; 21 April 1944) is an English author, composer for musical theatre, and songwriter. He has won the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Award twice as 'Songwriter of the Year' (1970 an ...
's Target Records and in 1976, had what turned out to be their final Top 10 hit with the ominously entitled, Macaulay penned song, "Falling Apart at the Seams". The song also reached the
easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
charts in the U.S. and made the Top 50 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the group's last charting single on the U.S charts. Subsequent singles failed to chart. One of these was " Talking In Your Sleep", produced by Roger Greenaway and released in January 1978, six months ahead of the
Crystal Gayle Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951) is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit " Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same as that of her oldest sis ...
version of the same song, which became well known worldwide. Newman (ex-Chris McClure Section, 1968–1970) has continued to front Marmalade since 1975, releasing a further eleven singles in the UK (excluding re-releases), seven of which were via Target Records, none of which have charted in the UK or US, and today they continue to tour the nostalgia circuit performing the band's full hit repertoire. Smith departed in 1977 to join Nicholson in Blue and Garth Watt-Roy came in briefly for Marmalade's ''Only Light On My Horizon Now'' album, before leaving for the Q-Tips in 1978. He was replaced by guitarist Ian Withington, who appeared alongside Knight, Newman and new drummer
Stu Williamson Stu Williamson (May 14, 1933 – October 1, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter and valve trombonist. Born in Brattleboro, Vermont, Williamson was the younger brother of jazz pianist Claude Williamson. In 1949, he moved to Los Angeles, whe ...
for the next album ''Doing It All For You'' (1979). Whitehead left the band in 1978 to manage other pop groups and singers, which he has continued to do. He also appeared in the 2010
TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
'' Take Me Out'' and ran a lap dance club.


Subsequent years

Charlie Smith returned in 1980, as the band's drummer this time. Alan Holmes (vocals, guitars, keyboards), a former member of the Bristol-based band Federation, succeeded Withington. A 1980 US only album, ''Marmalade'', on G&P Records, featured a re-recorded mix of their Decca, EMI and Target material, alongside some Junior Campbell-penned tracks. Another unsuccessful album, ''Heartbreaker'', came out in the UK in 1982 on the Spectra label. Graham Knight remained as the sole original band member touring the nostalgia circuit with Newman, Smith and Alan Holmes. In 1982, Glenn Taylor replaced Smith on drums, though Smith returned from 1989 to around 1998, before Taylor took over permanently.
Dave Dee David John Harman, known professionally as Dave Dee (17 December 1941 – 9 January 2009), was an English singer-songwriter, musician, A&R manager, fundraiser and businessman. He was the frontman for the 1960s pop band Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, ...
began appearing as guest singer for Marmalade in 1987 and recorded a single with the band, "Scirocco", in 1989. He continued to make live guest appearances with them until his death in 2009. In September 2010, Graham Knight, the last remaining member of the original band, departed. Drummer Taylor also left to join
the Fortunes The Fortunes are an English harmony 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 US, Canadian, and UK Top 10s. Afterwards, they had ...
. The new players were drummer Damon Sawyer and bassist Mike Steed. In 2011, guitarist and vocalist John James Newman joined, making the band a quintet once again. 2013 saw the current Marmalade line-up release their first new studio album since 1979. Entitled ''Penultimate'' and released in CD and vinyl formats, it featured six new compositions, together with re-recordings of many Marmalade songs. The album was launched on 4 October 2013 to coincide with the start of a 52-date UK tour. In 2015 Jan Robinson (vocals, bass) and Chris North (drums, percussion) were brought in as the new rhythm section, in place of Steed and Sawyer.


Original band members — evolved history

2011 saw the release of ''Fine Cuts–The Best Of Marmalade'' on the Union Square Music BMG Salvo label (SALVOMDCD26), a double album containing all of the Marmalade original studio recordings between 1966 and 1972, including all of their chart hits. The complete catalogue was also made available via digital download. Ford was one of many lead vocalists contributing to the Alan Parsons Project. Although for some years he withdrew from the music industry and battled alcoholism, settling in Los Angeles (after a brief spell in New York ), he became active in music again and released a single of his own composition "Glasgow Road" with Joe Tansin (ex-
Badfinger Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (vocals, guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are rec ...
) in 2012. He later recorded a version of "Reflections Of My Life" in 2015 and in 2016 released a
PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...
album entitled ''Feel My Heartbeat'', available for digital download. Ford died on 31 December 2018 at the age of 73 at his home in Los Angeles of complications from
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms bec ...
. His final album, a two-disc collection called ''This Scottish Heart'', was released just weeks before his death. Fairley also moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s having worked in music publishing for the RSO Group
Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions like '' Hair'' ...
and for the band Yes. He retired from the music business many years ago and set up a bar and music venue called The Scotland Yard Pub, in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. He sold the successful business in March 2018 and retired. He died at his home in Los Angeles on 11 August 2020, at the age of 76. Whitehead continues in artist management and can be seen reviewing the Onyx range of tuned sports cars on the Together TV programme "Rock 'N' Roll Cars" (he also provides the voice-over for this show, which features pop acts such as Go West and
Tony Hadley Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley returned to the ban ...
talking about their motoring history). Knight has retired and has homes in Sussex and Spain. Campbell became a successful solo recording artist, songwriter, television and film composer, record producer and music arranger, and lives in Sussex. He continues to oversee all of the master rights to the original band recordings on behalf of the whole band, which they retain, and also their publishing rights.


Members

;Original band: * Graham Knight – vocals, bass (1966–1973, 1975–2010) * Dean Ford – lead vocals, guitar, harmonica (1966–1975; died 2018) * Patrick Fairley – vocals, six string bass/rhythm guitars (1966–1972; died 2020) * William Junior Campbell – vocals, guitars, keyboards (1966–1971) * Raymond Duffy – drums (1966) ;Further members: *
Alan Whitehead Alan Patrick Vincent Whitehead (born 15 September 1950) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Southampton Test since 1997. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Shadow Minister for Green New Deal and Ener ...
– drums (1966–1971, 1975–1978) * Dougie Henderson – drums (1971–1975) * Hugh Nicholson – vocals, guitars (1971–1973) * Joe Breen – vocals, bass (1973–1975) * Mike Japp – vocals, guitars (1973–1975; died 2012) * Charlie Smith – vocals, guitar (1975–1977; drums 1980–1982 and 1989–1998) * Garth Watt-Roy – vocals, keyboards (1977–1978) * Ian Withington – vocals, guitar (1978–1980) *
Stu Williamson Stu Williamson (May 14, 1933 – October 1, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter and valve trombonist. Born in Brattleboro, Vermont, Williamson was the younger brother of jazz pianist Claude Williamson. In 1949, he moved to Los Angeles, whe ...
– drums (1978–1980) * Glenn Taylor – drums (1982–1989; 1998–2010) *
Dave Dee David John Harman, known professionally as Dave Dee (17 December 1941 – 9 January 2009), was an English singer-songwriter, musician, A&R manager, fundraiser and businessman. He was the frontman for the 1960s pop band Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, ...
– vocals (1987–2009; died 2009) * Damon Sawyer – drums (2010-2015) * Mike Steed – vocals, bass (2010-2015) * Ian 'Spike' Munro – vocals, guitar (unknown) ; Gaylords members * Patrick Fairley (1961–1966) * William Junior Campbell (1961–1966) * Bill Irving – bass (1961–1964) * Tommy Frew – drums (1961–1963) * Tommy Scott – vocals (1961–1963) * Billy Johnston – bass (1961) * Wattie Rodgers (Dunlop) – vocals (1961) * Pat McGovern – lead guitars (1961) * Billy Reid – vocals (1961) * Dean Ford (1963–1966) * Raymond Duffy (1963–1966) * Davey Hunter – organ (1963) * Graham Knight (1965–1966)


Current members

* Sandy Newman – lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards (1975–present) * Alan Holmes – vocals, acoustic/electric guitar, keyboards (1980–present) * John James Newman – vocals, acoustic guitar (2011–present) * Jan S Robinson – vocals, bass (2015–present) * Chris North – drums, percussion (2015–present)


Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:22 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:100 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1961 till:01/01/2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:lguitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar,_vocals id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar,_vocals id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards,_vocals id:bass value:blue legend:Bass,_vocals id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:lines1 value:black legend:Studio_Albums id:bars value:gray(0.95) Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 BackgroundColors = bars:bars ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1970 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1966 BarData = bar:Gaylords text:The Gaylords bar:Marmalade text:Marmalade bar:Rodgers text:Wattie Rodgers bar:Reid text:Billy Reid bar:Scott text:Tommy Scott bar:Ford text:Dean Ford bar:Newman text:Sandy Newman bar:McGovern text:Pat McGovern bar:Campbell text:William Campbell bar:Nicholson text:Hugh Nicholson bar:Japp text:Mike Japp bar:Smith text:Charlie Smith bar:Withington text:Ian Withington bar:Holmes text:Alan Holmes bar:Newman2 text:John James Newman bar:Hunter text:Davey Hunter bar:WattRoy text:Garth Watt-Roy bar:Fairley text:Patrick Fairley bar:Johnston text:Billy Johnston bar:Irving text:Bill Irving bar:Knight text:Graham Knight bar:Breen text:Joe Breen bar:Steed text:Mike Steed bar:Robinson text:Jan Robinson bar:Frew text:Tommy Frew bar:Duffy text:Raymond Duffy bar:Whitehead text:Alan Whitehead bar:Henderson text:Dougie Henderson bar:Williamson text:Stu Williamson bar:Taylor text:Gene Taylor bar:Sawyer text:Damon Sawyer bar:North text:Chris North PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Gaylords from:start till:01/01/1966 color:black bar:Marmalade from:01/01/1966 till:end color:black bar:Rodgers from:01/01/1961 till:31/05/1961 color:vocals bar:Reid from:31/05/1961 till:01/07/1961 color:vocals bar:Scott from:31/05/1961 till:01/01/1963 color:vocals bar:Ford from:01/01/1963 till:01/01/1975 color:vocals bar:Ford from:01/01/1963 till:01/01/1975 color:rguitar width:3 bar:McGovern from:01/01/1961 till:31/05/1961 color:lguitar bar:Campbell from:31/05/1961 till:01/01/1971 color:lguitar bar:Campbell from:31/05/1961 till:01/01/1971 color:keys width:3 bar:Fairley from:01/01/1961 till:01/01/1972 color:rguitar bar:Johnston from:01/01/1961 till:01/08/1961 color:bass bar:Irving from:01/08/1961 till:01/01/1965 color:bass bar:Knight from:01/01/1965 till:01/01/1973 color:bass bar:Knight from:01/01/1975 till:01/01/2010 color:bass bar:Frew from:01/01/1961 till:01/01/1963 color:drums bar:Duffy from:01/01/1963 till:01/06/1966 color:drums bar:Whitehead from:01/06/1966 till:01/01/1971 color:drums bar:Whitehead from:01/01/1975 till:01/01/1978 color:drums bar:Newman from:01/01/1975 till:end color:vocals bar:Newman from:01/01/1975 till:end color:lguitar width:3 bar:Holmes from:01/01/1980 till:01/01/2011 color:rguitar bar:Holmes from:01/01/1980 till:01/01/2011 color:keys width:3 bar:Holmes from:01/01/2011 till:end color:keys bar:Holmes from:01/01/2011 till:end color:rguitar width:3 bar:Henderson from:01/01/1971 till:01/01/1975 color:drums bar:Williamson from:01/01/1978 till:01/01/1980 color:drums bar:Taylor from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1989 color:drums bar:Taylor from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2010 color:drums bar:Sawyer from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2015 color:drums bar:North from:01/01/2015 till:end color:drums bar:Breen from:01/01/1973 till:01/01/1975 color:bass bar:Steed from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2015 color:bass bar:Robinson from:01/01/2015 till:end color:bass bar:Nicholson from:01/01/1971 till:01/01/1973 color:lguitar bar:Japp from:01/01/1973 till:01/01/1975 color:lguitar bar:Smith from:01/01/1975 till:01/01/1977 color:rguitar bar:Smith from:01/01/1980 till:01/01/1982 color:drums bar:Smith from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1998 color:drums bar:Withington from:01/01/1978 till:01/01/1980 color:rguitar bar:Newman2 from:01/01/2011 till:end color:rguitar bar:Hunter from:01/01/1963 till:01/01/1964 color:keys bar:WattRoy from:01/01/1977 till:01/01/1978 color:keys


Discography


Dean Ford and The Gaylords singles


Singles as The Marmalade


Singles as Marmalade


Marmalade studio albums

* Original band * ''There's a Lot of It About'' (December 1968)
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
* ''Best Of'' (1969)
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
* ''Reflections of the Marmalade'' (1970)
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...
* ''Songs'' (1971)
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...
* Additional/ later line-ups * ''Our House Is Rocking'' (1974) * ''The Only Light on My Horizon Now'' (1977) * ''Hello Baby'' (1978) * ''... Doing It All for You'' (1978) * ''Heavens Above'' (1979) * ''Marmalade'' (US only) (1980) * ''Heartbreaker'' (1982) * ''Penultimate'' (2013) * ''The Full Spread'' (2019)


See also

* List of bands from Glasgow * List of Scottish musicians


References


Sources

* Info sourced from liner notes, including those by band members on: *1992 Decca Records (Deram) 820 562-2 ''Reflections of The Marmalade'' *1996 Castle CD CCSCD436; ''The Marmalade – The Definitive Collection'' *1998 Castle CD CCSCD825 ''Marmalade – The Definitive Collection'' *2000 Castle – Sequel NEECD 335 ''Rainbow: The Decca Years'' *2004 Sanctuary CMOCD 940 ''The Marmalade – BBC Sessions'' *2005 Sanctuary SMETD 182 ''Marmalade – The Ultimate Collection'' *2011 Union Square Music – Salvo SALVOMDCD26 "Fine Cuts: The Best Of Marmalade"


External links


Marmalade at "Rockingscots"
* Marmalade biography at AllMusicbr>Current official websiteMarquee Club Calendar – 1967Official Facebook for former Marmalade lead singer Dean Ford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marmalade 1966 establishments in Scotland Baillieston Musical groups established in 1966 Beat groups Decca Records artists Columbia Records artists Columbia Graphophone Company artists London Records artists Musical groups from Glasgow Scottish psychedelic rock music groups Scottish pop music groups Psychedelic pop music groups