The Overlanders (band)
Encyclopedia
The Overlanders were a British
music group
active during the 1960s.
song
s, the band found success hard to come by during the beat
era and so converted to a more mainstream sound. In 1964 they had a regional hit in the Chicago area of the U.S.A and in Australia
with "Don't It Make You Feel Good".
Their only major hit
was a cover version
of The Beatles
' song, "Michelle
". It reached number one in the UK Singles Chart
in January 1966, and featured arrangement
s by Tony Hatch
.
Rick Wild kept the band on the road and are currently based in West Yorkshire.
In 2001, 34 years after they broke up, Castle Records issued a CD
assembling the Overlanders' complete released recordings, entitled Michelle: The Pye Anthology.
later joined by -
In late 1966 Arnold left to pursue a solo
career and was replaced by -
Widlake left in 1968 and was replaced by -
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
active during the 1960s.
Career
Originally playing folkFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s, the band found success hard to come by during the beat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
era and so converted to a more mainstream sound. In 1964 they had a regional hit in the Chicago area of the U.S.A and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with "Don't It Make You Feel Good".
Their only major hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
was a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' song, "Michelle
Michelle (song)
"Michelle" is a love ballad by The Beatles, mainly written by Paul McCartney, with the middle eight co-written with John Lennon. It is featured on their Rubber Soul album. The song departs from most of The Beatles' other recordings in that some of the lyrics are in French...
". It reached number one in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in January 1966, and featured arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s by Tony Hatch
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
.
Rick Wild kept the band on the road and are currently based in West Yorkshire.
In 2001, 34 years after they broke up, Castle Records issued a CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
assembling the Overlanders' complete released recordings, entitled Michelle: The Pye Anthology.
Personnel
The originals were -- Paul Arnold - guitar/vocals (born Paul Arnold Friswell, 18 August 1942, in BretfordBretfordBretford is a small hamlet in Warwickshire, England. It is part of the parish of Brandon and Bretford.Bretford lies at a junction between the A428 road and the old Fosse Way. The name of the village comes from the old ford crossing point over the River Avon which runs just south of the village...
, near RugbyRugby, WarwickshireRugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
, WarwickshireWarwickshireWarwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) - Rick Wild - Lead Vocals/Keyboard (born in West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
) - Laurie Mason - piano/vocals
- Peter Bartholomew - guitar/vocals
- Brian Middleditch - Original Drummer:
later joined by -
- Terry Widlake - bass
- David Banks - drums
- David Walsh - drums
- David 'Kip' Stewart - guitar
In late 1966 Arnold left to pursue a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career and was replaced by -
- Ian Griffiths
Widlake left in 1968 and was replaced by -
- Mike WedgwoodMike WedgwoodMike Wedgwood is an English bassist and singer. He is related to the Wedgwood family of pottery fame.Wedgwood joined The Overlanders in 1968 following their biggest hit, a cover of The Beatles song, "Michelle", and remained with them until 1971.Following a stint with Arthur's Mother from 1971–72,...
(born 19 May 1950, in DerbyDerbyDerby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, DerbyshireDerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
)
External links
- Photo and discography
- [ Biography at Allmusic.com]