Terence Sylvester (born 8 January 1947) is an English musician and songwriter. He is a former member of the Escorts,

the Swinging Blue Jeans The Swinging Blue Jeans are a four-piece 1960s British Merseybeat band, best known for their hit singles with the HMV label: " Hippy Hippy Shake", " Good Golly Miss Molly", and " You're No Good", issued in 1964. Subsequent singles released tha ...

(1966–1969), and

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 band ...

. In the latter role, he took on the high parts formerly sung by

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 ...

, who had left the band in December 1968.

Life and career

Early career/The Escorts

Sylvester grew up in

Allerton, Liverpool Allerton is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is located southeast of the city centre and is bordered by the suburbs of Garston, Hunt's Cross, Mossley Hill, and Woolton. It has a number of large houses in the pre ...

and attended school with future

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 ...

guitarist, Joey Molland. At the age of 14, Sylvester was employed for a time as a

panel beater Panel beater or panelbeater is a term used in some Commonwealth countries to describe a person who repairs vehicle bodies back to their factory state after having been damaged (e.g., after being involved in a collision). In the United States an ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

's brother. The group he co-founded, the Escorts, appeared with

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 ...

in the early 1960s. The Escorts recorded their

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

of "

Dizzy Miss Lizzy "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" is a rock and roll song written and recorded by Larry Williams in 1958. Although identified as a "genuine rock & roll classic", it had limited success on the record charts. Seven years later, the Beatles recorded the song, an ...

" on

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label. History Fontana started in the 1950s as a sub ...

in 1964. A

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

of the Escorts, ''From the Blue Angel'', was issued on LP and then in 1995, on CD.

The Swinging Blue Jeans

In 1966, Sylvester began a three-year stint with

, replacing guitarist/vocalist Ralph Ellis.

The Hollies

Sylvester's debut with

in January 1969 saw him sing on the UK

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 ...

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

s "

Sorry Suzanne "Sorry Suzanne" is a 1969 single by the Hollies, co-written by Geoff Stephens and Tony Macaulay. It was the group's first song to feature Terry Sylvester in the place of Graham Nash. "Sorry Suzanne" was released with the B-side "Not That Way at Al ...

" 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 h ...

", plus on the albums ''

Hollies Sing Dylan ''Hollies Sing Dylan'' is a 1969 cover album featuring songs written by Bob Dylan and performed by the Hollies. It is their eighth UK album. It was also released in the US as ''Words and Music by Bob Dylan'' with a different cover but using the ...

'' and ''

Hollies Sing Hollies ''Hollies Sing Hollies'' is the ninth studio album released in the UK by the Hollies. It was released in November 1969 by Parlophone. It was their second album that year, coming 6 months after an entire album of Bob Dylan covers. It was their ...

'' (both 1969), which debuted Sylvester's songwriting. His first song for the group was "Gloria Swansong", and he continued to write by himself ("Pull Down the Blind", "Cable Car" 1971), with Allan Clarke ("Why Didn't You Believe", "Man Without a Heart", "Perfect Lady Housewife") and as part of Clarke-Hicks-Sylvester. This trio composed most of the Hollies songs on several albums: ''

Confessions of the Mind ''Confessions of the Mind'' is the tenth studio album by the Hollies. It was released in the United States as ''Moving Finger'', with a different track sequence and the tracks "Separated" and "I Wanna Shout" replaced with the Clarke/Sylvester p ...

'' (1970), '' Hollies'' (1974), '' Another Night'' (1975), '' Write On'' and '' Russian Roulette'' (both 1976 – although neither of the latter two were issued in the US in their original form) plus '' A Crazy Steal'' (1978). Some of Sylvester's work appeared on

B-sides 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 ...

on singles including "Indian Girl" (1972), "No More Riders" (1974), in addition to singing lead vocals on the

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 ...

and Kenny Lynch co-written song, "Oh Granny" (1972). In addition to high harmony vocals, Sylvester also sang a brief lead vocal section on the 1970 UK hit, "Gasoline Alley Bred" (sung mostly by Allan Clarke). He then took on a greater share of responsibilities during the 1972–73 period, when Swedish vocalist,

Mikael Rickfors Mikael Rickfors (born 4 December 1948) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. From 1968, he was the lead singer and bass guitarist in Swedish band Bamboo. The band released two singles before breaking up in 1970. Rickfors later performed with th ...

, temporarily replaced Clarke. Sylvester sang " Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" on the Hollies' 1973 US tour and on American television appearances. He later sang a number of lead vocals during this period on '' Romany'' (1972). This album included a cover of

Judee Sill Judith Lynne Sill (October 7, 1944 – November 23, 1979) was an American singer and songwriter. The first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum label, she released two albums on Asylum and partially completed a third album before dying of a d ...

's "Jesus Was a Crossmaker". On ''Out on the Road'' (1973), Sylvester took lead vocals on several songs including "Slow Down, Go Down", "Pick Up the Pieces", and "Mr. Heartbreaker" (which was co-written with Dean Ford of

Marmalade Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It is also made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamot ...

). After a period of discontent, partly over musical policy, Sylvester split with the Hollies in May 1981, in an incident that precipitated the resignation of bassist

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 ...

Solo work

In 1974, Sylvester released his eponymous solo album, re-releasing it as ''I Believe'' with a slightly revised track listing in 1976.

Jimmy Griffin James Arthur Griffin (August 10, 1943 – January 11, 2005) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s soft rock band Bread. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1970 as co-writer ...

guested harmony vocals on the song "Travelin' Boy", while Sylvester cut solo versions of his Hollies songs "Cable Car", "Indian Girl", "Pick Up the Pieces Again" and later, a solo version of his 1973 Hollies song "I Had a Dream", which was added to the CD version of the album. The 1974 single on

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United State ...

(" For the Peace of All Mankind", an Albert Hammond cover) and a couple of singles in 1976 (" I Believe", a

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

cover, and "End of the Line") all taken from his solo album failed to chart. In 1978, Sylvester issued the non-album singles "Too Bad Lucy Jane" and "Silver and Gold" in the UK, but these also failed to chart. He also earlier had contributed vocals to

the Alan Parsons Project The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock band active between 1975 and 1990, whose core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They were accompan ...

's first album, '' Tales of Mystery and Imagination'' (1975), singing lead on "To One in Paradise", and providing background vocals on "The Cask of Amontillado", behind John Miles. In 1994, a further solo album appeared, ''I Believe in Love'', comprising live versions of both his Hollies and solo recorded songs, plus covers such as " It Never Rains in Southern California", from a concert recorded on 20 March 1994 in Germany.

Griffin & Sylvester

In 1982, Sylvester, in collaboration with

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

, recorded and released ''Griffin & Sylvester'' on

. From this album, "Please Come into My Life", was released as a single. In the mid-1990s, Sylvester teamed up with Griffin again as the duo 'Griffin & Sylvester', touring the UK and Canada as a part of the 'Soft Rock Cafe'. The friendship and partnership continued, on and off, up to Griffin's death in January 2005. Their 1982 album was re-issued on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in O ...

with three bonus songs in 1999.

Later releases, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

A double album of Sylvester's recordings with the Hollies (mostly Sylvester lead vocal tracks), the Alan Parsons Project, solo, and Griffin & Sylvester entitled ''The Complete Works: 1969–1982'', was issued in France on Magic Records in 2001. In 2010, as a member of the Hollies, Sylvester was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

along with

, Allan Clarke,

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 ...

and

Eric Haydock Eric Haydock (born Eric John Haddock; 3 February 1943 – 5 January 2019) was a British musician, best known as the original bass guitarist of The Hollies from December 1962 until July 1966. He was one of the first British musicians to play a ...

Solo discography

Albums

*1974: ''Terry Sylvester'' *1976: ''I Believe'' *1994: ''I Believe in Love''

Singles

*1974: " For the Peace of All Mankind" *1974: "Mary Anne" *1975: "End of the Line" - AUS #82 *1976: " I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" *1978: "Silver and Gold" *1978: "Too Bad Lucy Jane"

with Jimmy Griffin (as Griffin & Sylvester)

Albums

*1982: ''Griffin & Sylvester''

Singles

*1982: "Please Come into My Life" *1982: "Rozanne"

References

External links

Official website
* Terry Sylvester biographyat

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvester, Terry 1947 births Living people English male singers English rock guitarists British soft rock musicians Musicians from Liverpool The Hollies members Rhythm guitarists English male singer-songwriters Beat musicians English male guitarists