The Overlanders were a British
music group
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...
active during the 1960s.
Career
Originally playing
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
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*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
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** Folk hero
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*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
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* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
songs, the band found success hard to come by during the
beat
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
era and so converted to a more mainstream sound.
In 1964, they had a regional hit in the
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
area of the United States, and in Australia, with a cover of "Don't It Make You Feel Good", a song written and recorded by
The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...
in UK. That same year, their rendition of
Chad Stuart's "
Yesterday's Gone" received much airplay in the US and became a minor hit.
Although they released twelve singles on the
Pye record label between 1963 and 1966, the Overlanders' only British hit was a
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 ...
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 ...
' "
Michelle".
It reached number 1 on the ''
Record Retailer
''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The title ...
'' chart (subsequently 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-s ...
) in January 1966 and beat off a rival recording by
David and Jonathan
David and Jonathan were, according to the Hebrew Bible's Books of Samuel, heroic figures of the Kingdom of Israel, who formed a covenant, taking a mutual oath.
Jonathan was the son of Saul, king of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and David w ...
, whose version was produced by
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
and featured
arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
s by
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer.
Early life and early career
Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mus ...
.
A collection of complete recordings, titled ''Michelle: The Pye Anthology'', was released on CD by
Castle Records
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in 2001.
Personnel
The original trio were:
* Paul Arnold – lead guitar, vocals (born Paul Arnold Friswell, 18 August 1942,
Bretford
Bretford is a small hamlet in Warwickshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Brandon and Bretford. Location
It is about east-southeast of Coventry, at a junction of the A428 road (Coventry–Rugby) and the old Fosse Way. The two ro ...
,
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
,
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
)
* Laurie Mason – piano, percussion, vocals (born 1 November 1940,
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
,
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
)
* Peter Bartholomew – guitar, vocals (born 20 May 1941,
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
* Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Ando ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
)
This line-up was augmented in concert by:
* Rick Wild – vocals, keyboards (born in
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
)
* Alan Warran – drums
* Terry Widlake – bass (born Harry Terence Widlake, 21 April 1942,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
)
* Paul Russell - first drummer of band, joined same time as Terry Widlake, was drummer for approx a year, leaving in January 1966.
Both Widlake and Russell came from "the Sherwoods"
* Brian Middleditch – original drummer
* David Banks – drums
* David Walsh – drums (born 10 August 1947, Birmingham, Staffordshire)
* David "Kip" Stewart – guitar
* Andy Scarisbrick – guitar
When Arnold left in late 1966 to pursue a solo career, he was replaced by Ian Griffiths.
Widlake left in 1968, and was replaced by
Mike Wedgwood
Mike Wedgwood (born 19 May 1950 in Derby) is an English bassist and singer. He is related to the Wedgwood family of pottery fame.
Wedgwood joined The Overlanders in 1968 following their biggest hit, a cover of The Beatles song, " Michelle", an ...
(born 19 May 1950, in
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
).
Rick Wild kept the band touring, and are currently based in
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
, West Yorkshire. Occasional bass and drum deputies are undertaken by Barry Kingsbeer (bass) and Wal Freeman (drums) of The Establishment from Nuneaton and Coventry.
References
External links
Photo and discography*
Biography at Allmusic.com
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
*
British folk music groups
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