{"id":6325,"date":"2026-08-20T23:36:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T23:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6325"},"modified":"2026-08-20T23:36:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T23:36:49","slug":"the-hollies-officially-call-it-quits-as-last-two-members-of-classic-1960s-lineup-retire-after-being-in-band-for-63-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6325","title":{"rendered":"The Hollies Officially Call It Quits, as Last Two Members of Classic 1960s Lineup Retire After Being in Band for 63 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nThe Hollies have officially called it a day. And perhaps, like many, you didn\u2019t even realize a version of that classic rock band was still performing. Yet the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group had endured in some form and continued to tour since 1962 \u2014 including two members who go back virtually to the inception of the band, lead guitarist Tony Hicks and drummer Bobby Elliott.<\/p>\n

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\n\tNow, due to health concerns, Hicks has had to step away from the group. And in sympathy, Elliott has also decided it is time to retire. And with that, the group\u2019s six-and-a-half-decade tenure is finally coming to a close. <\/p>\n

\n\tAn announcement posted by the group on social media Thursday read: \u201cDue to health reasons, Tony has decided to step away from touring. Out of respect for Tony and everything they have shared throughout their remarkable journey together, Bobby has also decided to retire from touring. After more than six decades, the Hollies\u2019 touring career will come to a close with immense gratitude to the fans who have supported them around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHicks is 80, and Elliott is 84. Both joined the Hollies in 1963, shortly after the group\u2019s inception and prior to their run of massive hits. <\/p>\n

\n\tThey were both inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, along with founding frontmen Allan Clarke and Graham Nash, later singer Terry Sylvester (who stepped in when Nash left in 1969) and early members Eric Haydock and Bernie Calvert. Hicks and Elliott did not actually attend the ceremony, citing a gig that night they did not want to give up. <\/p>\n

\n\t(The lineup pictured above in 1964, from left to right, is Nash, Clarke, Haydock, Elliott and Hicks.)<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the U.S., as part of the vaunted British Invasion ushered in by the Beatles, they had their first top 10 hit with \u201cBus Stop,\u201d which reached No. 5 in 1966. Other top 10s included \u201cStop Stop Stop\u201d that same year, \u201cCarrie Anne\u201d in 1967, \u201cHe Ain\u2019t Heavy, He\u2019s My Brother\u201d in 1969, \u201cLong Cool Woman in a Black Dress\u201d in 1972 and \u201cThe Air That I Breathe\u201d in 1974. In the U.K., some of their charting hits were different, like \u201cI\u2019m Alive,\u201d which went to No. 1 in 1965 but barely made a dent in America.<\/p>\n

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\n\tHicks was not one of the primary singers in the group but had plenty of credits in that capacity, singing \u201cLook Through Any Window\u201d and sharing lead vocals on songs like \u201cCarrie Anne.\u201d He was also a primary writer along with Clarke and Nash, credited on hits including \u201cCarrie Anne\u201d and \u201cKing Midas in Reverse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter many lineup changes over the years, a version of the group solidified in 2004 that remained intact until the band\u2019s most recent dates, with Hicks and Elliott being joined by new singer Peter Howarth and Steve Lauri, Ray Stiles and Ian Parker, whose had the third-longest tenure, having joined in 1991.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTony Hicks and I had a band called the Dolphins,\u201d Elliott said in an interview with Rhino.com to commemorate the group\u2019s 50th anniversary in 2014. \u201cTony was 14, I was 18, but we were quite a hot band here in the north, and as time went on, Allan Clarke and Graham Nash heard about us. The Hollies were forming and they wanted a guitar player, so their manager kept coming and pestering us: \u2018Tony, you must come and join this new band, the Hollies. They\u2019ve got an audition at Abbey Road Studios!\u2019 It was all this, that, and the other. And he said, \u2018Okay, if Bob comes along, I will!\u2019 [Laughs.] Anyway, that went by the book, and he went along by himself. Meanwhile, there were no Dolphins anymore!\u201d But Elliott himself joined soon enough.<\/p>\n

\n\tHicks, in an interview with Terrascope, said the group\u2019s famous three-part harmony sound developed \u201cby accident. Allan and Graham sung together but we found my voice could blend in as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOf the group\u2019s modern shows, Elliott said in 2014, \u201cOur show now is, like, two and a half hours long. We like to do the traditional sort of British theaters, and we do an hour, then the 20-minute intermission, and then we do about an hour and a quarter more. So that\u2019s a full evening. We don\u2019t go for supports and things like that. It\u2019s our theater for the day. And the crew and everybody, they\u2019re all like part of the family, and\u2026it\u2019s an event, really. And that\u2019s what keeps it going, I think. The live shows are so enjoyable, and the \u2013 I dare say \u2013 adulation at the end, and the standing ovation. You float off after that. And then you have a shower, get changed, have a drink, and\u2026there\u2019s no better feeling. That\u2019s the best life for me. So that\u2019s something I don\u2019t want to let go! [Laughs.] I\u2019ll have to one day \u2013 time\u2019s rolling on \u2013 but for now, it\u2019s still great fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnyone wanting to hear Hollies material live still has a shot at it, as Terry Sylvester, Nash\u2019s replacement, continues to participate in oldies package tours with \u201cof the Hollies\u201d appended to his name. And Nash has tour dates booked into this fall, with \u201cBus Stop\u201d being the one Hollies tune that figures into his setlists.<\/p>\n

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The Hollies have called it a day after 64 years, as near-original members Tony Hicks and drummer Bobby Elliott have decided to retire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[4898,4899],"class_list":["post-6325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame","tag-the-hollies"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Hollies Officially Call It Quits, as Last Two Members of Classic 1960s Lineup Retire After Being in Band for 63 Years - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6325\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Hollies Officially Call It Quits, as Last Two Members of Classic 1960s Lineup Retire After Being in Band for 63 Years - 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