| Honeybus | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Pop music |
| Years active | 1967–1973 |
| Labels | Deram Records |
| Past members | |
| Pete Dello Ray Cane Colin Hare Pete Kircher Jim Kelly (deceased) Lloyd Courtenay |
|
Honeybus were a 1960s pop group formed in April 1967, in London. They were best known for their 1968 UK Top 10 hit single, "I Can't Let Maggie Go".[1]
Contents |
The best known line-up consisted of:
Material was written mainly by the band's main resident composers, Dello and Cane, although Hare and Kircher also contributed songs.[2] The group's supporters and critics, amongst them Kenny Everett, compared the band's sound to that of the Rubber Soul era of Beatles. Honeybus, however, never achieved the commercial success of many other artists of their time, only once in their history connecting with the public for a major hit with 1968's "I Can't Let Maggie Go",[2] which was so popular that it earned the band a cover photo on the popular music magazine, Disc and Music Echo, for which they posed atop a red London bus.
"I Can't Let Maggie Go" reached Number 8 in the UK Singles Chart, in April 1968, staying in the Top 40 for over two months.[1]
Chances of future success were not helped when Dello resigned in August 1968.[2][3] He had been willing to play live on radio and television appearances or a special concert showcase, but abhorred the live scene and the idea of touring America, which he had done earlier in the 1960s. Deprived of their key songwriter and performer, the band drafted in Jim Kelly to replace Dello on guitar and vocals, whilst Cane, whose talents and instincts were a close match for Dello's, took over most of the songwriting and a large share of the lead vocals.[2]
This line-up scored a minor success with "She Sold Blackpool Rock" and a follow-up single to "Maggie", "Girl Of Independent Means", but the group never really recovered. Kircher was next to leave the band, in the summer of 1969, and went on tour with Engelbert Humperdinck. He was replaced by drummer Lloyd Courtney for the remainder of the sessions for their debut album, but Honeybus eventually disbanded late in 1969. The posthumous 1970 album Story, without an active band to promote it, failed to chart.[2]
Dello, Hare and Kelly all went on to record critically acclaimed solo material in the early 1970s, which failed to achieve any significant commercial success.[2]
The Dello line-up of the band reunited in 1971 to record a new body of songs for the Bell Records label and a complete LP, Recital, for the British division of Warner Bros. Records. A change in management at Warner Brothers meant that Recital was never issued.[2]
Their hit song, "I Can't Let Maggie Go" (who was also a top 10 hit in Italy, with a good Italian version made by the local group Equipe 84, entitled Un angelo blu - A blue angel -), enjoyed an unexpected reprise in popularity in the 1970s, when it was used as the soundtrack for a television advertisement for "Nimble", a bread produced for slimmers.
Since their heyday, Honeybus have found themselves pigeonholed as one-hit wonders.
After a number of years out of the spotlight, Hare released new solo material in 2002. He now runs an official Honeybus website. In 2007 Hare played a few gigs with a completely new Honeybus line-up minus Dello.
A solo EP, "Down From Pitswood", featured two original and long-forgotten Honeybus songs, which the band had recorded for BBC Radio sessions in the late 1960s. More recently, he has been working on songs for a fourth album, that has been interrupted by personal problems. It is hoped that the project will be completed and released in 2011.