The Walker Brothers

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The Walker Brothers
Origin Los Angeles, USA
Genre(s) Rock, pop
Years active 1964 to 1968
1976 to 1978
Label(s) Philips Records
GTO Records
Associated acts Scott Walker
Gary Walker
John Walker

The Walker Brothers were a 1960s and 1970s pop group, originally a rock band, founded by three Californians, who became most successful in the UK. They were not related, and adopted the "Walker Brothers" name as a show business touch.

Contents

[edit] Band members

[edit] Biography

The Walker Brothers formed in Los Angeles in 1964. John Maus’ band, in which Scott Engel played bass, had a residency at Gazzari’s Club, and were seen one night by local drummer Gary Leeds. All three had played in other bands – Engel had played, for example, with the Routers, and Leeds with the Standells. Leeds had recently returned from touring the UK as a member of P. J. Proby’s backing band and – along with club regular Brian Jones[1] - thought that the band’s rock'n'roll and blues style would go down well in “swinging London”, where Proby had already succeeded. Before leaving, they appeared in a film, Beach Ball, and they sent demo recordings to record companies in England.

With Leeds’ stepfather as sponsor, the three moved to London in February 1965. When they landed, producer Johnny Franz was keen to sign them up. In a short time they had played several prestigious venues around Britain and secured a recording contract with Philips Records. Their first single, "Pretty Girls Everywhere", with Maus as lead singer, had little initial success, but after radio stations started playing the B-side, "Love Her" , with Engel’s baritone vocals, it made the UK Top 20 in June 1965.

Philips then quickly recorded and rush-released the group's version of "Make It Easy on Yourself", a Bacharach and David ballad previously recorded by Jerry Butler. The record was sung by Engel (by now called Scott Walker), arranged by Ivor Raymonde and produced by Johnny Franz, with a full orchestra augmented by session musicians, very much in the style of Phil Spector’s productions. Session musicians on the record included Alan Parker and Big Jim Sullivan - some later Walker Brothers’ records may also have involved Jimmy Page. By August 1965, "Make It Easy on Yourself" had entered the British Top 10 eventually reaching the Number One spot. Later in the year it also made #16 in the US charts.

The # 3 UK hit "My Ship Is Coming In" followed, and then in March 1966, The Walker Brothers hit #1 for the second time in six months with "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore". At that point, the Walker Brothers’ popularity in Britain – particularly that of Scott – reached a new high, especially among teenage girls, and their fan club in the country was said to have been larger than The Beatles’. Although "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" also made the US top twenty, they had much less success in their home country.

The Walker Brothers continued to have chart hits in the UK in 1966 and 1967, with Scott taking a more prominent role in their song choices and arrangements, but with diminishing commercial success. As pop music moved on, the Walker Brothers began to sound dated. By the end of 1967, the pressures of stardom, internal tensions, and “artistic differences” began to diminish the group. After a tour in Japan in 1968, the group officially disbanded.

All three continued to release solo records, with Scott being by far the most successful. In 1976 the group unexpectedly reunited, scoring another UK top ten hit with Tom Rush's "No Regrets". However, the three albums that followed sold poorly. Scott's tracks on the final album, Nite Flights, laid the stylistic groundwork for Scott's later solo career.

[edit] UK chart discography

[edit] Studio albums

Title Release
date		 Label U.K. albums peak GER albums peak
Take It Easy with The Walker Brothers 1965 Philips Records 3 7
Portrait 1966 Philips Records 3 8
Images 1967 Philips Records 6 23
No Regrets 1975 GTO Records 49 -
Lines 1976 GTO Records - -
Nite Flights 1978 GTO Records - -

[edit] Selected compilations

Title Release
date		 Label U.K. albums peak
The Walker Brothers' Story 1967 Philips Records 9
Walker Brothers in Japan (Live Album) 1987 Bam Caruso -
No Regrets - The Best Of Scott Walker And The Walker Brothers 1965-1976 1992 Polygram Records 4
Everything Under the Sun - The Complete Studio Recordings (Five CD box set) 2006 Universal International -

[edit] Singles

A-Side B-Side Release
date		 U.K. singles peak IRE singles peak U.S. Billboard peak GER chart peak Dutch chart peak
"Pretty Girls Everywhere" "Love Her" 1965 - - - - -
"Love Her" "Pretty Girls Everywhere" 20 - - - -
"Make It Easy On Yourself" "But I Do" 1 3 16 - -
"My Ship Is Coming In" "You're All Around Me" 3 - 63 - 9
"The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" "After The Lights Go Out" 1966 1 5 13 4 -
"(Baby) You Don't Have To Tell Me" "My Love Is Growing" 13 - - 21 37
"Another Tear Falls" "Saddest Night In The World" 12 - - 24 -
"Deadlier Than The Male" "Archangel" 32 - - - -
"Stay With Me Baby" "Turn Out The Moon" 1967 26 - - - -
"Walking In The Rain" "Baby Make It The Last Time" 26 - - - -
"No Regrets" "Remember Me" 1976 7 5 - - 7
"Lines" "First Day" - - - - -
"We're All Alone" "Have You Seen My Baby" 1977 - - - - 32
"The Electrician" "Den Haague" 1978 - - - - -

[edit] Extended Plays

Title Side A Side B Year UK EP chart peak
I Need You "Looking For Me" / "Young Man Cried" "Everything's Gonna Be All Right" / "I Need You" 1966 1
Solo John - Solo Scott "I Only Came To Dance With You" / "Greens" "Without Your Love" / "Lottin Dottin Da Da" 4

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The Walker Brothers
Scott Walker · Gary Walker · John Walker
Albums

Take It Easy with The Walker Brothers  · Portrait  · Images  · No Regrets  · Lines  · Nite Flights
Singles

"Pretty Girls Everywhere"  · "Love Her"  · "Make It Easy On Yourself"  · "My Ship Is Coming In"  · "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore"  · "(Baby) You Don't Have To Tell Me"  · "Another Tear Falls"  · "Deadlier Than The Male"  · "Stay With Me Baby"  · "Walking In The Rain"  · "No Regrets"  · "Lines"  · "We're All Alone"  · "The Electrician"
Related articles
discography