Smokie are an English glam rock band from Bradford who found success in Europe in the 1970s.
Originally called The Yen, then The Sphynx and later Essence, the band was formed in 1965 at St. Bede's Grammar School in Heaton, Bradford. It was composed of Chris Norman (vocals/guitar/piano) born Christopher Ward Norman, 25 October 1950, Redcar, Yorkshire), Terry Uttley (born Terence David Uttley, 9 June 1951, Birkenshaw, Yorkshire) (bass/vocals), Alan Silson (lead guitar/vocals) (born 21 June 1951, Birkenshaw, Yorkshire) and Ron Kelly (drums) (born Ronald Kelly, 1952). As Essence, they toured small clubs in Bradford and the surrounding communities. At the time the band was formed Kelly was four years younger than the others aged only 13.
In May 1968, the group found a manager in Mark Jordan, who advised them to rename themselves The Elizabethans. The group now became fully professional, and the members garnered higher salaries. In the autumn of 1968, Kelly left the group to continue studying, which caused the group to perform with various different drummers almost every gig. December saw the group having a first TV appearance on Yorkshire Television's news and magazine show "Calendar". In August 1969, the four performed two songs for the BBC show "High Jinx". Enthused with this successful performance Jordan had them record a first demo tape. In early 1970 RCA showed an interest in the band and suggested a name change to Kindness. A single was recorded, but due to a strike, the double A-side, "Light Of Love" / "Lindy Lou", was not released for a few months. 300 copies of that were sold and it was followed by a second single "Oh Julie" / "I Love You Carolina".
In late 1970, Dave Eager approached the group and offered to manage them. Subsequently, an arrangement was made with Rory Storm - formerly of the influential band Mersey Beat and early Beatle contemporaries Rory Storm and the Hurricanes - the band to which Ringo Starr had originally belonged. Kindness backed Storm performing as 'Rory Storm and the Failures'. In late 1971, Norman suffered a serious infection which affected his vocal cords. After getting over the sickness his voice sounded much rougher, which the other group members considered an interesting addition to their sound. Eager introduced them to Decca, which resulted in recordings in February 1972 . Shortly thereafter their next single was released: "Let The Good Times Roll" / "Oh Yeah!"
The remaining members decided to continue with the band and went about finding their third lead singer. Friend of the band Mike Craft was chosen - allegedly, it only took one song to come to a decision. The World And Elsewhere was released later that year, followed by Light A Candle - The Christmas Album.
In 1996, Silson terminated his membership, saying he intended to pursue a solo career and to work with other acts as well, joining Mickey Finn's T. Rex; he also no longer wanted to be on the road all the time. Mick McConnell became the group's new lead guitarist. This formation produced the next album Wild Horses - The Nashville Album (1998), precisely in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.. In February 2001, the group released two albums, Uncovered and Uncovered Too, which consist entirely of cover versions, with no original new songs added.
In 2004 Smokie released a studio album with their own material. The album, "On The Wire", marked the beginning of a new strong period for the band that, despite almost 30 years in the business, refuse to sit back and stop their development. 11 of the 14 songs on the new album were written by the band themselves.
In 2006 Smokie released the album "From the Heart", although mainly a compilation album, it contained 3 brand new tracks.
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