| The Ivy League | |
|---|---|
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Beat, rock, Pop rock |
| Years active | 1964–1975 |
| Labels | Piccadilly Records |
| Website | theivyleague.co.uk |
| Members | |
| Jon Brennan Dave Buckley Mike Brice |
|
| Past members | |
| Perry Ford John Carter Ken Lewis Tony Burrows Neil Landon |
|
The Ivy League are an English vocal trio, created in 1964, who enjoyed two Top 10 hit singles in the UK Singles Chart in 1965.[1] The group's sound was characterised by rich, three-part vocal harmonies.
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The Ivy League was formed in August 1964 by three session singers with an extensive vocal range, John Carter, Ken Lewis (both previous members of Carter-Lewis and the Southerners) plus Perry Ford. They were first heard doing background vocals for The Who on their hit single "I Can't Explain" in November 1964 but after that the Who's producers entrusted John Entwistle and Pete Townshend with the backing vocals. Their debut single, "What More Do You Want" generated little interest but the second release, "Funny How Love Can Be" made the UK chart's Top 10. Further hits followed, including "That's Why I'm Crying" and UK chart #3 "Tossing and Turning". The original trio released just one album, 1965's This is the Ivy League – panned in the music press as disappointing, with its excessively wide spread of musical styles and material[2] – before both Carter and Lewis left the group. Carter departed in January 1966, with Lewis leaving about one year later. The duo then set up a production company called Sunny Records.[3]
Tony Burrows and Neil Landon replaced Carter and Lewis and the Ivy League released a couple of albums, Sounds of the Ivy League (1967) and Tomorrow is Another Day (1969).[4] Several more singles followed, including the minor hits, "Willow Tree" and "My World Fell Down". A cover version of the latter song provided the U.S. band, Sagittarius, with a #70 chart placing in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967.
Success for The Ivy League in the United States was slight, only "Tossing and Turning" appearing in the Billboard charts, reaching #83 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5] Carter and Lewis next masterminded The Flower Pot Men, hitting #4 in the UK with "Let's Go To San Francisco". Carter and Lewis then fulfilled the role of managers.[6] Burrows and Landon left The Ivy League to join the touring version of The Flower Pot Men, leaving Perry Ford to carry on with new personnel until he stopped using the name in 1975.
In the 1980s a band started touring under the name The Ivy League which performed the group's hits at nightclubs and Sixties nostalgia events, even though none of the earlier members were involved. In the 1990s, a number of compilations were released, including Major League: the Collectors' Ivy League (1998).[4] A band called The Ivy League continues to perform, without connection to the original band that existed between 1964 and 1975. The present day line-up consists of Jon Brennan (bass guitar/vocals); Dave Buckley (drums, vocals) and Mike Brice (guitar, vocals).[7]
The original line-up of The Ivy League was:
Bill Clarke (West Bromwich) joined in 1968 on bass guitar from the Wellington Kitch Jump Band, where he teamed up with former "Kitch" drummer, Roger Hall.[8] John Carter's replacement was Tony Burrows from The Kestrels. His voice is also heard on many UK hit singles of the 1970–1975 era, such as White Plains' "My Baby Loves Lovin'", Brotherhood of Man's "United We Stand", Edison Lighthouse' "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)", First Class' "Beach Baby" (another John Carter project), plus The Pipkins' "Gimme Dat Ding". Lewis was replaced by Neil Landon, who also went to The Flower Pot Men, leaving Perry Ford to carry on The Ivy League with various personnel until 1975. A new line-up was then formed with Robert Young (born Robert Parkes, 11 June 1953, Stockport) as lead falsetto singer. This version toured for about 18 months.