So many bands like ours will sit here and eulogise about The Beatles, The Stone Roses and, latterly I suppose, Oasis. And, whilst I adore the sound of The Fab Four, particularly from ‘Help’ onwards, and remember with great fondness following The Roses all over the country and queuing up at Eastern Bloc Records in Manchester for a copy of THAT debut album, I’ve got to say my core musical influences do lie elsewhere.
I think it triggered my life-long love of three-part harmony. Graham Nash, Allan Clarke and Tony Hicks (along with fellow Salford/ Manc lads, The Bee Gees), are the past-masters at the lost art of three-part harmony. For aural proof, try going beyond the obvious Hollies tracks like ‘On A Carousel’ and ‘Bus Stop’, and seek out their criminally underrated late 60’s albums ‘For Certain Because’, ‘Evolution’ and ‘Butterfly’
“Of course, they learned the art of close harmony from the inventors of that
form, the magnificent Everly Brothers. What can you say about Phil and Don that hasn’t already been said a million times over. They may be an obvious choice, but so what? To my mind, they are possibly the most influential force on classic pop music (alongside Buddy Holly) as, without them, there would be no Beatles, no Hollies, no Simon & Garfunkel and so on.
Neil – Bassplayer and all round tech wizard, share with us his musical influences.
People often ask me who influences my bass playing, expecting to hear the names of luminaries such as Carol Kaye, Paul McCartney, Bill Wyman and John Entwistle. Now don’t misinterpret me, Ms Kaye, Macca, Bill and John are shining examples to any bass player learning the instrument that it is a musical instrument and not a percussion instrument (as many modern bass players seem to believe). Indeed, I love the Beatles, the Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, the Hollies, the Beach Boys. I also love the Clash, the Ramones, the Smiths, the La’s, James, Belle & Sebastian, Air and, of course, the Roses. All of whom no doubt influence my bass playing in some way.
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With my father a ‘cellist in the two great Northwest orchestras, the Halle Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and my mother a violin teacher, music was less an option and more ‘that’s just what we do’. In my early years, it was a way of life. I recall, as a kid, running around the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, hiding in the rows of seats, while my dad rehearsed with the orchestra, watching, listening. If I wasn’t at rehearsals, I was subjected to the (less than dulcet) tones of beginner violinists coming from our front room. Although I didn’t realise it then, I saw some pretty inspirational performances from my hiding place in that hall. I even remember conducting the orchestra during one concert. The conductor turned to the audience and asked if there was any child who wanted a go. My dad had prepared me for this question and my hand was up the second the conductor turned round. If I close my eyes, I can still picture myself, on the rostrum, baton in hand in front of that great orchestra. I reckon that’s where it started for me. And so it was, playing the cello came second only to school, whether I liked it or not.
With my parents all but banning pop music in our house, as a kid my only outlet into the world of pop was late night radio. While the house slept, I would scan the waves looking for anything that caught my ear; a beautiful melody, a catchy riff, a funky bass line or just something I’d never experienced before. Consequently, my musical influences became completely varied – from one extreme to another.
Having spent so much time with orchestras, joining The Cyrcles has been such a breath of fresh air for me and rekindled my love for the cello. Jon’s writing is so full of melodies, counter melodies and harmonies and the strings blend in perfectly. The songs are really spacious in a way that allows me to play around with melodic riffs, sustained harmonies and my classical influences.
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