This version of the band didn't stay together long, however, and Blakley quickly switched to guitar (which Poole relinquished) after Dave Munden joined on the drums. Munden proved not only to be a very talented percussionist, but also a good singer. This gave the group a third vocalist, which would prove essential to their success further on in their history. Howard also switched to bass soon after Munden joined.

The band -- then known as the Tremilos thanks to a misspelling -- built up a following at local dances and clubs, and then broke into the U.S. air base circuit, where the length of sets they were forced to play required them to learn a massive number of new songs. By 1961, they had turned professional. The group's line-up changed again around that time when Graham Scott left and was replaced by Rick Westwood, who had previously played with Tony Rivers & the Castaways.

The band's first break happened soon after when they were spotted by Jimmy Grant, the producer of the BBC's Saturday Club music showcase, who got them an audition for the BBC. This led to the group becoming regulars on radio and, in turn, resulted in an audition for Decca Records on New Year's Day 1962. At the time, Decca was looking for a new rock & roll act and the Tremeloes were up against a relatively obscure Liverpool quartet called the Beatles. Decca executives Dick Rowe and Mike Smith were in charge of the auditions. Rowe chose the Tremeloes, reportedly based on the fact that they were based in London and, thus, would be more accessible than the Beatles.

The signing had a range of consequences for the band and their future. At the time, it was routine for groups to have a featured member -- Cliff Richard & the Shadows being the prime example -- thus, the label insisted that the band be signed as Brian Poole & the Tremeloes.

Their singles of "Twist Little Sister" and "Keep on Dancing" did not chart but caused a lot of interest in the music business.

Their next single was “Twist & Shout”, which managed to rise to number four on the English charts, despite running up head-to-head with the Beatles' recording, issued on an EP that summer. Their next record, a cover of the Contours' hit "Do You Love Me," was a classic of the era, an honest, authentic-sounding screamer of a single that hit number one in England once the Beatles' "She Loves You" vacated the spot, and managed to eclipse a rival version by the Dave Clark Five.

In its wake, Brian Poole & the Tremeloes managed a series of respectable and inspired hits over the next two years, including a U.K. Top Ten cover of Roy Orbison's "Candy Man" and a convincingly raucous rendition of the Strangeloves' Bo Diddley beat-driven anthem "I Want Candy."

They appeared on film, most notably a pair of performance clips in the feature film “Go Go, Big Beat”, a featured spot in “A Touch of Blarney”, and made the rounds of the television music showcases, charting moderately well until the end of 1965.

By the end of 1965, The Tremeloes split with Brian Poole and replaced bassist Alan Howard with Chip Hawkes.

They had a good and dedicated friend in the guise of Mike Smith, who had exited Decca in 1966. Smith was now in the employ of the newly created CBS Records label, the British outlet for America's Columbia Records. The new label was hungry for homegrown talent to augment the label's roster of American stars, and Smith convinced CBS to sign the Tremeloes.

Cat Stevens approached the band with "Here Comes My Baby”, an infectiously tuneful, upbeat song. It became a number four hit in England and even made it to number 13 in America, pleasing The Tremeloes, CBS/Columbia, and Mike Smith no end.

This was the break they needed. The Tremeloes were suddenly booked alongside the Hollies, Paul Jones, and the Spencer Davis Group, where they proceeded to roll over the rest of the show with their sound and style. They were suddenly poised for greater things than they'd ever seemed capable of during their days at Decca.

"Silence Is Golden," a popular concert number, became their next single and their first number 1 in England since "Do You Love Me," ascending to number 11 in America during the spring of 1967, and becoming their second U.S. gold record.

For all of their reputation as a pop/rock band, the Tremeloes had a surprisingly progressive and musically sophisticated edge. Rick Westwood’s invention of the fuzz guitar sound was heard on "Let Your Hair Hang Down," "What a State I'm In," and "Suddenly Winter" -- all B-sides – They were a match for anything that Jeff Beck, Davey O'List, or any of the other progressive axe-men of the era were doing.

"Even the Bad Times Are Good," "Be Mine," "Silence Is Golden" (a number one hit), "Suddenly You Love Me," "Helule Helule," "My Little Lady," "All the World to Me," and "I'm Gonna Try" -- songs whose respective beats, harmonies and hooks half the groups in England or America would have killed to put together -- were all achingly catchy, rousing, perfect pop/rock creations, and even those experimental B-sides were tuneful in ways that many progressive rock tracks by the Nice and the Yardbirds weren't.

The Tremeloes toured America just as the Summer of Love was blossoming and managed to chart their album “Here Comes the Tremeloes” on that side of the Atlantic, while its U.K. version got to number 15. The next three years saw them move from success to success in England and around the world, with another three singles in the U.K. Top Ten and two more in the British Top 40; tours of three continents only confirmed that they could reach audiences well beyond the UK.

In a sense, the Tremeloes' music filled a gap that was left when bands like the Beatles and the Hollies started getting all serious and intense in their writing and messages, and groups like Gerry & the Pacemakers disappeared. There was still an audience out there for well-sung and inventively played pop/rock, songs that were fun to hear on the radio and to hum or sing to. In America, outfits like the Monkees, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and bubblegum rockers such as the Ohio Express and the 1910 Fruitgum Company on Buddha Records were filling this same gap in slightly different variations.

The Tremeloes were the 1st band to play in South America and did many tours there playing and filling as many as 4 football stadiums per night. At one time creating a record of over 200,000 for a live audience in one show.

The band showed they still had the golden touch in the 70’s with "Me and My Life”, which reached number four in England, while its B-side, "Try Me”, was a first-rate rock & roll number.

Joe Gillingham joined the band on keyboards in 1987 making the band a 5-piece.

Chip Hawkes left the band the same year and was replaced by Davey Freyer.

Original member Alan Blakley passed away in 1996 making the band a 4-piece again as he was not replaced.

The Tremeloes have just recently had a change of bass player: Jeff Brown joined the band in February 2005.

Jeff was with Andy Scott’s “Sweet” for almost 15 years and had been with Chip Hawkes’s band for a year, so he was the Tremeloes’ obvious choice.

Jeff’s powerful voice and excellent bass playing compliment the band very well.

The Tremeloes still play all their original hits on their shows with a few good choice songs included.

The Tremeloes are still in demand all over the world and feel they have got a good few more years left in them.

For more information, or to book The Tremeloes please email abbie@halcarterorg.com