The Fourmost are an English

Merseybeat Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffl ...

band that recorded in the 1960s. Their biggest UK hit single was "A Little Loving" in 1964.

Biography

Guitarist/vocalist Brian O'Hara and best friend guitarist/vocalist Joey Bower (born Joseph Bower, 17 November 1939,

Dingle Dingle ( Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Kill ...

, Liverpool, Lancashire) formed the Two Jays in 1957. The group changed its name to the Four Jays in September 1959 when bass guitarist/singer Billy Hatton and drummer Brian Redman (born 21 June 1941,

Huyton Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Belle Vale, and the neighbouring village of Roby, with which it f ...

, Liverpool, Lancashire) joined the group. The Four Jays played at the

Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely asso ...

on 1 March 1961. Rhythm guitarist/singer Mike Millward (ex- the Undertakers) joined the Four Jays in November 1961, followed by drummer/singer Dave Lovelady in September 1962. The band changed its name to the Fourmost in October 1962. On 30 June 1963, the group signed a management contract with

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

. This led to their being auditioned 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 Be ...

and signed to

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1 ...

record label. With Epstein as their manager, the Fourmost had access to early

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

compositions. The Fourmost's first two singles were written by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

. " Hello Little Girl", one of the earliest Lennon songs, was released on 30 August 1963 and reached No. 9 in the UK. Their follow-up single, " I'm in Love" (Lennon–McCartney), was released on 15 November 1963 and reached No. 17 in the UK. It was also notable as one of the earliest Beatles-penned songs to be released in the United States but, as with the Fourmost's other singles, it 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 ...

there. Their biggest hit followed. "A Little Loving", written by Russ Alquist, reached Number 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 mid 1964. From then on, none of the group's singles cracked the Top 20 in the UK. "How Can I Tell Her", was followed by a cover version of

the Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

' "

Baby I Need Your Loving "Baby I Need Your Loving" is a 1964 hit single recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song was the group's first Motown single and their first pop Top ...

", sung by Millward, while Hatton took lead vocal on "Everything in the Garden", and " Girls Girls Girls" (first recorded by

the Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing ...

and a hit for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

). O'Hara composed most of their songs, which were used as B-sides including "Waitin' for You", "That's Only What They Say", "He Could Never", and "You Got That Way". On the group's only 1960s album, ''First and Fourmost'', from September 1965, they covered

Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers, August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songwr ...

's, "Till You Say You'll Be Mine". Other tracks included "My Block" sung by Hatton and written by

Jimmy Radcliffe James Radcliffe (November 18, 1936 – July 27, 1973) was an American soul singer, composer, arranger, conductor and record producer. Biography James Radcliffe was born in New York City. He released such singles as "My Ship is Coming In", a so ...

, Carl Spencer and

Bert Berns Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", " Piece ...

(originally a hit for

the Chiffons :''The Chiffons also briefly recorded under the name The Four Pennies; for the British band of the latter name see The Four Pennies.'' The Chiffons are an American girl group originating from the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in 1960. His ...

in 1963), Millward sang a re-make of " The in Crowd", which featured the brass section from

Sounds Incorporated Sounds Incorporated, first recorded as Sounds Inc., was a British instrumental pop/rock group which recorded extensively in the 1960s. Career Sounds Incorporated formed in early 1961, in Dartford, Kent, and gained a reputation in nearby South ...

, and Hatton sang two cover versions of

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

's "

The Girl Can't Help It ''The Girl Can't Help It'' is a 1956 American musical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield in the titular role, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, and Julie London. The picture was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenp ...

" and "Heebie-Jeebies". The band appeared in the 1965 film, ''

Ferry Cross the Mersey "Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reachi ...

'' and on the soundtrack album of the same name singing "I Love You Too" (which appeared in two differing versions from mono to stereo). In early 1966, the band was rocked by the sudden death of rhythm guitarist/vocalist Mike Millward from

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

. They recruited

George Peckham George "Porky" Peckham (born 1942, Blackburn, Lancashire) is an English record engineer, widely recognised as among the most accomplished in the business. He has been responsible for producing the master discs from which many vinyl records hav ...

as replacement. In August 1966, the Fourmost covered another Beatles' song, "

Here, There and Everywhere "Here, There and Everywhere" is a song by the English people, English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album ''Revolver (Beatles album), Revolver''. A love Sentimental ballad, ballad, it was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lenno ...

", followed by a cover of

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

's "Auntie Maggie's Remedy" in November 1966. The latter song was representative of a comedic element to some of the group's recordings. Peckham wrote and sang the country-influenced "Turn the Lights Down Low" (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 "Auntie Maggie's Remedy"), a short-lived effort to branch out to less pop-oriented fare. In 1968, now on the

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 ...

record label, they recorded " Apples, Peaches And Pumpkin Pie", an R&B hit by

Jay & the Techniques Jay & the Techniques was an American pop group formed in Allentown, Pennsylvania during the mid-1960s. Their song " Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie", released in 1967 on the Smash label, reached the Top 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Biogr ...

, followed by "Rosetta" (suggested by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

, who played piano on it), and "Easy Squeezy". The group soon stopped recording, and became popular on the cabaret circuit. Peckham left the band in 1969 to run a recording studio. Joey Bower returned to the band as replacement, a later private pressing album; ''The Fourmost'' – featured O'Hara, Hatton, Lovelady and Bower – which included covers such as " Without You", "

I've Got You Under My Skin "I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song written by American composer Cole Porter in 1936. It was introduced that year in the Eleanor Powell musical film ''Born to Dance'' in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the Acad ...

", " Rag Doll" and " Save the Last Dance for Me" was sold at their shows in 1975. Hatton, Lovelady and Bower all left in 1980 while O'Hara continued the group with new members, although a version of the band featuring O'Hara with Hatton and Lovelady did once perform at the new Cavern Club. O'Hara eventually dropped out, selling the band's name. A later line up featuring longtime bassist/singer Bill Haisman (who had been in the later group alongside O'Hara) plus John Richards (lead guitar, vocals), Gary Pearson (guitar, vocals) and Kevin Clarkson (drums, vocals) released a DVD and CD titled, ''The Fourmost Live at The Club Tropicana'', featuring recording of a show recorded in Skegness on 7 April 2007. They performed both "Hello Little Girl" and "A Little Loving" among other covers of 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s hit songs. Charley Records later issued a 20 track compilation album also titled ''First and Fourmost'', while EMI Records later released a CD stereo/mono version of the original 1965 album in 1999. Brian O'Hara took his own life the same year. In 2005, they also released a 33 track CD compilation ''The Best of The Fourmost'', which included the stereo version of "I Love You Too", and four previously unreleased songs with booklet notes written by Hatton. Hatton died in 2017. In 2018, the Fourmost completed a 59-date theatre tour on the Sensational 60s Experience Tour along with other acts from that period.

Original band members

* Brian O'Hara, born 12 March 1941,

, Liverpool; died 27 June 1999, Wavertree, Liverpool (suicide), vocalist/lead guitarist * Mike Millward, born Michael Millward, 9 May 1942, Bromborough, Cheshire; died 7 March 1966, at Clatterbridge Hospital, Bebington, Cheshire (

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

) rhythm guitarist/vocalist * Billy Hatton, born William Hatton, 9 June 1941,

, Liverpool; bassist/vocalist died 19 September 2017, Liverpool * Dave Lovelady, born David Lovelady, 16 October 1942,

Litherland Litherland is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside. It was an urban district, which included Seaforth and Ford. It neighbours Waterloo to the north, Seaforth to the west, and Bootle to the south and is approximately nor ...

, Liverpool, drummer/vocalist

Discography

Albums

Singles

References