The Move
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Origin | Birmingham, Warwickshire, England |
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The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States.[1][2] For most of their career the Move were led by guitarist, singer and songwriter Roy Wood. He wrote all the group's UK singles and, from 1968, also sang lead vocals on many songs. Initially, the band had four main vocalists (Wood, Carl Wayne, Trevor Burton and Chris "Ace" Kefford) who divided amongst themselves the lead vocal duties.[1]
The Move evolved from several mid-1960s
Between 2007 and 2014, Burton and Bevan performed intermittently as "The Move featuring Bev Bevan and Trevor Burton".
History
Formation and early career
The Move were formed in December 1965, and played their debut show at the Belfry, Wishaw, on 23 January 1966. The original intentions of
Secunda got them a weekly residency at London's
In April 1967, NME reported that the Move had offered a £200 reward (equivalent to £3,900 in 2024)[7] for the recovery of the master tapes of ten songs intended for their debut album. The tapes were stolen from their agent's car when it was parked in Denmark Street, London.[8] The tapes were found in a skip (dumpster) shortly afterward, but the damage caused to them meant that new mixes and masters would have to be made, resulting in the delayed album only being released in March 1968 instead of the original plan of autumn 1967. Their third single "Flowers in the Rain" was the first chart single played on BBC Radio 1 when it began broadcasting at 7 am on 30 September 1967, introduced by Tony Blackburn. The single, which reached No. 2 in the UK,[6] was less guitar-orientated than their previous two singles, and featured a woodwind and string arrangement by Cordell's assistant Tony Visconti.[3] The track was released on the re-launched Regal Zonophone label.[2]
Legal issues
Without consulting the band, Secunda produced a cartoon postcard to promote the single "Flowers in the Rain"; this showed the
For their fourth single the group had planned to release "
As a direct consequence of the lawsuit, the Move fired Secunda and hired Don Arden, who had himself recently been fired as manager of the Small Faces. In a 2000 interview, Wayne noted that there had always been a major split within the group about Secunda's tactics: "[Secunda] had the animals who would do what he wanted to do in Trevor, Ace, and me—the fiery part of the stage act. I think Roy would obviously qualify this himself, but I believe he was slightly embarrassed by the image and the stunts—but the rest of us weren't ... We were always willing to be Secunda puppets."[10]
Pop success and dissolution
During November and December 1967 the group took part in another package tour around the UK, playing two shows a night over sixteen days, as part of an all-star bill that included
The Move were on the bill at the inaugural
At this time the band invited Jeff Lynne, a friend of Wood, to join. He turned the offer down, for he was still working toward success in the Idle Race, another Birmingham-based group. It was rumoured in the music press that Hank Marvin of the recently disbanded Shadows had been invited to join the Move. Some years later, Wayne recalled that to be nothing more than a publicity stunt; however, Marvin himself, in an article in Melody Maker in 1973 and elsewhere, has maintained that he was approached by Wood and invited to join the Move, but declined because their schedule was too hectic for him.[citation needed] Bevan confirmed in a 2014 interview that the band invited Marvin, but they never expected him to accept.[13] Burton was ultimately replaced in 1969 by Rick Price, another veteran of several Birmingham rock groups, who joined on a temporary, non-contractual basis.[3] Thus, the group in spring 1969 consisted of Wayne (vocals), Wood (guitar, vocals), Bevan (drums), and Price (bass, vocals).
Both Ace Kefford and Trevor Burton struggled commercially after leaving the Move. Kefford formed his own short-lived group, the Ace Kefford Stand, with Cozy Powell on drums.[2] After this, he pursued a solo career and recorded a solo album in 1968, but it remained un-released until 2003 when it appeared as Ace The Face. Burton played bass with yet another Birmingham group, the Steve Gibbons Band, was one-third of the short-lived band Balls (with Denny Laine and Alan White), and later fronted his own blues group as lead guitarist.
In October 1969 the Move made their only concert appearances in the US, opening two shows for
The Move's second album, 1970's Shazam, continued the Move's practice of musical quotation, and of elaborately re-arranged versions of other performers' songs. "Hello Susie" (a Wood composition), which was a Top 5 hit for Amen Corner in 1969, quoted Booker T. Jones' and Eddie Floyd's "Big Bird". The album also featured a slightly slower re-recording of "Cherry Blossom Clinic", an instrumental medley of public domain works, and a cover of a Tom Paxton song, "The Last Thing on My Mind". Despite such superficial similarities with their past, however, the album represented a clear break from the Move's identity as a pop group, reintroducing them as a hard-edged underground band.[4] Burton played bass on a couple of tracks as they had been recorded before he left, although this was not credited at the time.[citation needed]
Well aware that Wood was intent on setting up his new, orchestral rock project, Wayne suggested that Wood concentrate on performing with his new band while continuing to write songs for the Move, which would be reorganized with a lineup consisting of Wayne, Burton, and Kefford; however, his suggestion was rejected by Wood, Bevan and Price, so after getting angry and embarrassed witnessing a fight between Wood and a drunken audience member in Sheffield, Wayne quit the group in January 1970, a month before the release of Shazam.[14] He subsequently worked in a variety of musical ventures and appeared on television and radio. In 2000, he replaced Allan Clarke as lead singer of the Hollies and performed with them as lead singer until his death from cancer in 2004.
Jeff Lynne and a new direction
Upon Wayne's departure, the Move jettisoned Walsh as manager and returned to Arden. Lynne agreed to join the band as a second guitarist and pianist, enthused by Wood's ELO idea. Wood also wanted a second songwriter in the band to relieve the pressure on himself. The band's first recording with Lynne was a single, "
For the rest of the year, the Move concentrated on studio work, because they still owed one more album under their existing contract with Essex Music (
Toward the first split
Although Wood, Lynne and Bevan had intended Looking On to be the final Move album, Harvest requested that the new group first release a new Move album, in the same vein as Looking On, as the first album under its new deal, with the other two albums to be credited to the new group, in order to recoup the advance given to the band. As a result, the band recorded the last Move album and the first Electric Light Orchestra album at the same time—even during the same lengthy recording sessions (due to all the overdubbing by Wood and Lynne). The final Move LP, For several television appearances behind those songs, the Move added two musicians who became members of the original ELO: Bill Hunt (horns, woodwinds, piano) and a returning Richard Tandy (guitar, bass).
In 1972, after the release of the first Electric Light Orchestra album, the Move released what turned out to be a farewell record, a
Resurrection and break-up
A one-off reunion occurred on 28 April 1981, at the Locarno in Birmingham, involving Wood, Bevan, and Kefford.[18] Several other Birmingham bands of the era also reunited for the event, which was a charity fundraiser.
In 2004, after the death of Wayne, Bevan formed the Bev Bevan Band—shortly to be renamed 'Bev Bevan's Move' (without any other past members), in order to capitalise on the Move's continuing reputation and belated success. Bevan recruited former ELO Part II colleagues guitarist Phil Bates and keyboard player Neil Lockwood, plus bassist Phil Tree, to play a set on tour composed mostly of classics by the Move. Wood expressed extreme displeasure at that development.[19][20]
Former Move guitarist Burton joined the band on occasion during 2006, and joined permanently in 2007 (Wayne had tried to broker a reunion between Bevan and Burton before his death, and was to be involved with the new band). Bates departed in July 2007 to re-join ELO Part II (now renamed the Orchestra) and was replaced with Gordon Healer. The Autumn 2007 tour was billed as "the Move featuring Trevor Burton and Bev Bevan".[21]
In 2014, the band toured as the Move with a lineup consisting of Bevan, Burton, Tree, keyboardist/vocalist Abby Brant, and guitarist/vocalist Tony Kelsey. On 2 May 2014, Bev Bevan announced through a Facebook post that the Move had broken up, and that he and Burton would tour separately with groups called "the Bev Bevan Band" and "the Trevor Burton Band".[22][23] In December 2014 the Bev Bevan Band completed their "Stand Up And Rock" tour, which lasted for almost 50 dates, in conjunction with Bevan's childhood friend Jasper Carrott. Guests on the tour included Trevor Burton, Geoff Turton and Joy Strachan-Brain, alongside Bevan, Kelsey, Tree and Brant.
In 2016 the band announced that they had reformed again, and were due to perform at The Core Theatre in Solihull, West Midlands, with a line-up consisting of Bevan, Burton, Tree, and Kelsey;[24] however, it was later revealed that the band performing would no longer be billed as 'The Move', but as 'Bev Bevan's Zing Band', and would not feature Burton; with the line-up consisting of Bevan, Tree, and Kelsey, along with a returning Abby Brant, and Geoff Turton on lead vocals.[25]
Personnel
Members
Final lineup
- Bev Bevan – drums, percussion, vocals (1965–1972, 2004–2014)
- Trevor Burton – guitar, bass, vocals (1965–1969, 2007–2014) (unofficial member 2004–2007)
- Phil Tree – bass, vocals (2004–2014)
- Abby Brant – keyboards, vocals (2014)
- Tony Kelsey – guitar, vocals (2014)
Discography
- Move (1968)
- Shazam (1970)
- Looking On (1970)
- Message from the Country (1971)
References
- ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie. "Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-072-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sharp, Ken (30 September 1994). "Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock". The Move Online. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008.
- ^ a b Brumbeat: The Move. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
- ^ ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b c d UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (first ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 171. CN 5585.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Rock Family Trees - The Birmingham Beat - Full length version". YouTube. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ Carl Wayne, 2000 interview Archived 2 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine, The Move Online. Retrieved November 2006.
- ^ "Syd Barrett Pink Floyd Psychedelic Music Progressive Music: 12/3/67 Pink Floyd Poster – Hendrix Package Tour". Sydbarrettpinkfloyd.com. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (first ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 183. CN 5585.
- ^ "Interview: Bev Bevan (The Move, ELO, Black Sabbath) • Hit Channel". Hit-channel.com. 5 March 2014. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ "History". Carlwayne.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ Farrar, Justin (15 June 2010). "The 10 Best (Longhaired) Power-Pop Albums of the 1970s". Rhapsody.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- ^ Liner notes, Message from the Country re-issue, EMI Records, 2005.
- ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "The Move - I Can Hear The Grass Grow Live Locarno 28 Apr 81.wmv". YouTube. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ "The Move Online: Roy Wood 'Move' Statement". 9 July 2011. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Mojo magazine, 2007
- ^ Bev Bevan interview with Johnnie Walker, BBC Radio 2, 20 September 2007
- ^ Bevan, Bev (2 May 2014). "Bev Bevan announces breakup of the Move". Facebook.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ Kelley, Ken (3 May 2014). "The Move Announce Their Break-Up". Ultimate Classic Rock. Town Square Media. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ "Bev Bevan's Zing Band at The Core Theatre on 17 Sep 2016". Livebrum.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ "Bev Bevan's Zing Band". Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
External links
- Official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
- Face The Music site: Move, ELO, and related
- The Move Information Station
- The Move at IMDb