The Marbles were an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

duo that consisted of

Graham Bonnet Graham Bonnet (born 23 December 1947) is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri.Pr ...

and

Trevor Gordon Trevor Gordon Grunnill (19 May 1948 – 10 January 2013) was a British-Australian singer, songwriter and musician. He was a member of the late-1960s group the Marbles, whose biggest hit was the UK No. 5 "Only One Woman". Early life Gordo ...

, who operated between 1968 and 1969. Their only well-known singles were "

Only One Woman "Only One Woman" is a song and the first single by English musical duo the Marbles, written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees. It later also appeared on their self-titled album ''The Marbles''. Recording and reception It was ...

" and "

The Walls Fell Down "The Walls Fell Down" is the second single by the English rock duo The Marbles with Lead vocals by Graham Bonnet. It was released in March 1969, and was written and produced by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb, of the Bee Gees, and was prod ...

". They also became associated with the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

members

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

, Robin and

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician. He achieved fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main le ...

at that time. "Only One Woman" reached number 5 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-s ...

in November 1968. The duo disbanded in 1969. Shortly after their split, in 1970, they released their only self-titled album.

History

Bonnet and Gordon are cousins. They were born in

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, i ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, England, although his webpage, In Memory Of, states Gordon was born 18 May 1948, in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. While Bonnet stayed in England, Gordon grew up in Australia where he met the

for the first time in 1964, on which Gordon recorded "House Without Windows" and "And I'll Be Happy"; both songs were written by

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popul ...

. In 1965, Gordon recorded two other Barry Gibb compositions: "Little Miss Rhythm and Blues" and "Here I Am". Gordon returned to England in 1966 and recorded one single as 'Trev Gordon' then returned to Australia, and returned to England again in 1967 to join Graham's band the Graham Bonnet Set. In 1968, they became the Marbles, and signed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with the Australian

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. Hist ...

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'' ...

. Although Stigwood signed only Bonnet and Gordon, drummer Steve Hardy from the Blue Sect/the Graham Bonnet Set, continued to work with them. Hardy's vocal work was on the song "By the Light of the Burning Candle" (with vocals by Gordon originally, later, the song was reworked in July 1968 with Bonnet on vocals). They were befriended by the Gibb brothers Barry, Robin and

of the

who wrote six songs for them, and provided some

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

. "

" was released in the UK and the U.S. in August 1968; the single reached the top 5 in the UK and was their biggest hit. Following the release of the group's debut single, Bonnet made a remark to a reporter as to "Only One Woman" being a bit boring, angering Barry. Their second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "

" only reached number 28 on the same

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 ...

. But 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 Netherl ...

it was more successful, where it reached number 3 in their

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

in April 1969. Their third single, "

I Can't See Nobody "I Can't See Nobody" is a song by the Bee Gees, released first as the B-side of "New York Mining Disaster 1941". With "New York Mining Disaster 1941", this song was issued as a double A in Germany and Japan., and included on the group's third LP, ...

", a cover of the 1967 Bee Gees song which was arranged by Jimmy Horowitz, was only released in Europe, except in the UK. By 1969, the Marbles had split. Their fourth and last single, "

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka, co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two significantly different arrangements, and it is considered to be his signature ...

" (third in Britain) did not chart internationally. "I Can't See Nobody" was chosen as the B-side in the UK, "Daytime" in Europe and "Little Laughing Girl" in America. In August 1970,

Cotillion Records Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records (from 1971 part of WEA) and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was formed as an outlet for pop, R&B, and jazz. Its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About a Mover", rea ...

released their only self-titled album in the United States. After the split, Bonnet started a lengthy solo career. From 1978 to 1980, he was the lead singer with

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...

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. Rainbows c ...

. While Gordon released one solo album ''Alphabet'', he later became a music teacher and died in 2013 in London.

Discography

Albums

*''The Marbles'' (1970, US : Cotillion CD 9029 / Germany : Polydor 184-365)
Side One:
"

" / " A House Is Not a Home" / "Storybook Children" / "Daytime" / "By the Light of a Burning Candle" / "

Stay with Me Baby "Stay with Me" (often credited as "Stay with Me Baby") is a soul song co-written by Jerry Ragovoy and George David Weiss. It was first recorded in 1966 by Lorraine Ellison, and produced by Ragovoy. Ellison recorded "Stay with Me" at a last-min ...

"
Side Two:
"

" / " To Love Somebody" / "

" / "Elizabeth Johnson" / "Little Laughing Girl" / "

" *''The Marbles'' (2003, Germany : CD re-issue Repertoire REPUK 1014)
Same tracks and running order as on original release plus 6 bonus tracks, all original mono single versions:
"

" / "By the Light of a Burning Candle" / "

" / "Love You" / "

" / "Little Boy" ;Compilations *''Marble-ized'' (1994, Australia : Polydor 523-866-2)
Same tracks and running order as on original 1970 album ''The Marbles'' plus extra final track: "Love You"

Singles

References

External links

* The Marbles short biography at AMG* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marbles, The English rock music groups British soft rock music groups English musical duos Soft rock duos Male musical duos Musical groups established in 1968 Musical groups disestablished in 1969 Musical groups from London People from Skegness