The history of the British rock band Smokie from Bradford is a whole chronicle of a difficult, thorny path in search of their own identity and musical independence.
The birth of Smokie
The creation of the group is a rather prosaic story. Christopher Ward Norman and Alan Silson studied and were friends in one of the most ordinary English schools.
Their idols, like many young people of that time, were the amazing Liverpool Four. The motto "Love and rock will save the world" inspired the friends so much that they decided that they would be rock stars.
To create a full-fledged group, they invited guys who studied in a parallel class. These were Terry Uttley (bass) and Peter Spencer (drums).
None of the friends had a musical education, but they had excellent vocal abilities, excellent hearing and virtuoso possession of instruments.
Creative way
The group began its creative activity with performances at school evenings and in inexpensive pubs.
Almost the entire repertoire is the well-known hits of The Beatles and some other rock and pop star performers. The guys did not stop there and soon the compositions of their own composition began to sound.
Even though they were inept and imitative songs, they were already their own works. Having changed the original name of the group, the team went to London - the main city of rock music for fame and recognition.
Here, too, they had to perform in bars and small clubs, while the first success can be noted - the emergence of a devoted circle of fans.
Simultaneously with the performances, the first single "Crying in the Rain" was recorded, with which the group did not win the long-awaited victory. However, this did not cause panic.
The guys saved up the amount needed to record and release (in a small edition) the first full-fledged long-playing record, the fate of which was also not very rosy.
The reason for this deplorable stability was the lack of a producer, advertising and promotion.
The Musical Rise of Smokey
Fortune still smiled at the stubborn performers. Once performing in a small cafe in London, they attracted the attention of famous producers and composers of the time, Chinn and Chapman, with their performance.
They highly appreciated the performance data of young musicians and they were offered patronage. The beginning was a change in the name of the group. This is how the group Smokie appeared.
At the beginning of the joint activity, the producers provided the new group with well-known hits, there was an agreement about this. After some time, a statement was received from the creators about the beginning of a new generation in rock music.
Rise and recognition of Smokie
Thanks to hard work on the mistake made, the next disc, consisting of almost 100% of songs of his own composition, hit the charts of European countries.
Most of the fans of the Smokie group turned out to be in Germany, where the released disc won a cult status.
Acquaintance with young musicians
Christopher Ward Norman (vocals) was born into a family of hereditary actors. Mom danced and sang on the provincial stage, my father worked in a dance and comedy group.
Parents were well aware of the difficult everyday life of show business, so they did not insist on their son's musical career, while always providing support.
When the future star was 7 years old, his father gave him a guitar, which predetermined the fate of the boy. In connection with the tour of his parents, Christopher changed schools very often, he had to study in different parts of England.
When he was 12 years old, the family moved to his mother's hometown of Bradford, where he met his future Smokie bandmates.
Alan Silson (musician, songwriter, guitarist) met Christopher at the age of 11. The boys were united by a love of music, which led to the creation of a musical group by common efforts.
Terry Uttley (vocals, bass) was born and raised in Bradford. From the age of 11 he was engaged in playing the guitar, but he abandoned his studies. At the same time, he did not stop studying chords, he studied exclusively from the tutorial.
Parents assumed that the son would follow in the footsteps of his father and become a printer. Instead, the young musician joined a school rock band.
Peter Spencer (drummer) has been in love with percussion since childhood. They fascinated him at the moment when the boy heard the performance of the Scottish bagpipe ensemble. The boy had his first drum when he was 11 years old.
He had another attachment - football, but the music won. In addition to percussion instruments, Peter owned the guitar and flute superbly.
Creative achievements of the group
The group has toured a lot throughout its existence, constantly looking for something new in sound and stage images.
The musicians were very burdened by the strict conditions of the concluded contract, which did not allow them to engage in their self-expression and the realization of their own plans in music. The composers gave the group complete freedom of action.
The released record (the musical creativity of the group) became a sensation and an international hit. However, the past tense years have left their negative mark.
Tired of the struggle for independence, musical individuality and originality, the musicians decided to go their own way. And their sincere, heartfelt and open songs excite many listeners even today.
Smokie today
On December 16, 2021, Terry Uttley died. The bass player and the only permanent member of the band Smokie died after a short illness.
Recall that on April 16, 2021, information appeared on the band's website that Mike Craft decided to leave Smokey. On April 19, Pete Lincoln became the new vocalist. Take a Minute, released in 2010, is considered the last album in the discography of the British rock band.
