The Allisons were an English pop duo consisting of Bob Day (born Bernard Colin Day; 2 February 1941 – 25 November 2013) and John Alford (born Brian Henry John Alford, 31 December 1939). They were marketed as being brothers, using the surname of Allison.

Career

The Allisons represented the United Kingdom in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1961 The Eurovision Song Contest 1961 was the 6th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Once again, the contest was held in the French seaside city of Cannes, having also hosted the . Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and ho ...

with the song " Are You Sure?". They came second with 24 points. The song was released as a single on the Fontana label, and climbed to number 1 on the UK ''

NME ''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 ...

'' pop chart, while in the chart compiled by the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts in ...

the song spent six weeks at number 2 and a further three weeks in the top 4. "Are You Sure" sold over one million

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, earning a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. In Germany the single reached number 11.Ehnert, Günter (ed.): ''Hit Bilanz. Deutsche Chart Singles 1956-1980''. Hamburg: Taurus Press, 1990, S. 15 Despite a couple of minor follow-up

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

s, the duo disbanded in 1963. Alford initially tried songwriting, but he and Day teamed up for short tours to keep the 'Allisons' name alive. Additionally, in the 1970s and 1980s Alford was joined by other "brothers" — Mike "Allison" and Tony "Allison". By the 1990s, Day and Alford regularly reunited to perform on the oldies circuit. The Allisons' final public performance was at the "Tales from the Woods" British R'n'Roll Heritage Show #8 at The Borderline Club in London, 2012. A clip from that show can be found on the 'Tales From The Woods' YouTube channel Bob Day died on 25 November 2013, aged 72, after a long illness.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

45-RPM website

45cat.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allisons English pop music duos Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the United Kingdom Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1961 Musical groups established in 1961 Musical groups disestablished in 1963 1961 establishments in England 1963 disestablishments in England