Revival for swinging sixties

Mini-skirts, The Beatles, mods and rockers, Sandy Shaw... ah, those were the days.

If you do recall those lively years a fab evening at Preston’s Guild Hall next month is likely to be just to your taste.

The Sensational 60s’ Experience brings together four top musical names from the period to provide a couple of hours of reminiscing and nostalgia.

The Marmalade, Herman’s Hermits, Chris Farlowe and
Steve Ellis’s Love Affair will need no introduction to anyone who was swinging along to the hits of the decade.

Who can forget the quirky version of The Beatles’ Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da by The Marmalade?

Originally billed as Dean Ford and The Gaylords, the band hailed from Glasgow and changed its name on the recommendation of The Tremeloes, another star line-up of the time.

The Marmalade earned a reputation as a close harmony group and reached a peak in the late sixties and early seventies with hits such as Falling Apart at the Seams, Refections of My Life and cousin Norman.

The group was unpretentious and irresistibly commercial and proved it with its chart successes, including a number one slot for Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.

But members began to drift away as the decade progressed and now there are no original members of the band.

Herman’s Hermits (right) is another band that will be close to many people’s hearts – especially as its members originated from around the North West.

It chalked up no fewer than 23 top-20 singles, 10 hit albums and three major movies.

Hits included Something is Happening, I’m Into Something Good and There’s a Kind of Hush.

The original line-up included lead vocalist Peter Noone, who was already known at the time for his acting in TV’s Coronation Street.

Now, the longest serving member of the current Herman’s Hermits is Barry Whitwam, who joined the band shortly after it was formed.

Alongside these two giants will be Chris Farlowe, whose musical career began in the 1950s when he was a member of a skiffle group.

Later he joined The Thunderbirds, progressing to a solo career in the late sixties and performing all over Europe with a song list that included Out of Time, Handbags and Gladrags and Reach Out and I’ll Be There.

In 2009, Chris toured as a featured artist as part of the “Maximum Rhythm and Blues” tour of 32 UK theatres

Finally we welcome Steve
Ellis’s Love Affair, which formed in 1967 and then stormed into the charts with Everlasting Love.

At the time Steve was only 17, but his distinctive and powerful voice shone through and he and the band notched up futher hits including Rainbow Valle, Bringing on Back the Good Times and A Day Withou Love.

The Sensational 60s Experience is at Preston Guild Hall on Sunday, November 24. Tickets are available from the box office on 0845 344 2012 or online from www.prestonguildhall.com