The Fortunes
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The Fortunes are an English music band that, in the wake of the Beatles and as part of the British Invasion , became successful in the 1960s. Their special style of music consists mainly of soft ballads with three-part choir singing and the voice of Rod Allen, who led the band for over 40 years. He died of cancer in 2008 at the age of 63.
The beginnings
Rod Allen was born Rodney Bainbridge in Leicester, the son of shopkeepers. His interest in popular music was sparked by Skiffle , particularly the voice and guitar of singer Lonnie Donegan , whose fan club he joined at the age of twelve.
In 1958 the family moved to Sparbrook, a district of Birmingham, where Rod attended Moseley Grammar School. He later worked for an insurance company, which he left after 18 months to become a professional musician. He formed an acoustic guitar band, The Clifftones, with friends Glen Dale and Barry Pritchard.
In 1963 the group switched to electric guitars, with Rod on bass guitar, and expanded to include Dave Carr (keyboards, harmonica) and Andy Brown (drums). The band's first manager was Reg Calvert , concert promoter and later owner of the English pirate broadcaster Radio City . Calvert persuaded the musicians to accompany a singer whom he had given the stage name "Robbie Hood".
It was the time of the renaming, so that the Clifftones first became The Merry Men, soon afterwards The Fortunes Rhythm Group. Rod also gave himself a stage name, Allen, which he had picked out from the phone book. The band rehearsed a program of songs by Dionne Warwick , Gene Pitney and Broadway plays, and soon had such a large repertoire that manager Calvert occasionally called out to audiences during performances, "Make a wish for any song, and if the Fortunes can't play it, pay." I 5 shillings! "
In 1963, the group won a beat competition at the Gay Tower Ballroom in Edgbaston and received a record deal with Decca Records . The second single they recorded there was called "Caroline" and was not a hit, but it was the signature tune of the pirate station of the same name off the English coast.
1965 to 1969
The breakthrough to the top of the charts came in 1965 with their fourth single "You've Got Your Troubles". It reached number 2 in the UK and number 7 in the US. The song was written by Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway , two English Tin Pan Alley composers who would be among the most sought-after songwriters in the next ten years. Rod Allen was the lead singer of the song, as was the case with the following chart hits "Here It Comes Again" and "This Golden Ring", the latter also a Greenaway / Cook composition. Before "This Golden Ring" was released, the band toured the United States for the first time.
After the musicians had admitted in an interview that they had not played the instruments themselves when recording "You've Got Your Troubles", they had the opportunity to test their skills live at the famous Poll Winners Show of the New Musical Express at Wembley Arena to prove where they performed "This Golden Ring" in front of a thousand screaming teenagers.
The Fortunes released ten more singles in the 1960s, but none of them could build on the initial success. However, they succeeded in 1969 with their recording of Seasons in the Sun , the translation of Jacques Brels "Le Moribond", written by Rod McKuen , a number four hit in the Netherlands. Following the example of the Beatles and other bands of that time, they now also recorded their own compositions, mainly from the pen of Rod Allen and Barry Pritchard, including "The Idol", published in 1967.
1970 until today
The band bridged the lack of chart success with appearances in clubs and jingles for various television and cinema advertising films, above all "The Real Thing" for Coca-Cola . The comeback came in the early 1970s when Greenaway and Cook helped them to the top of the charts with the songs "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again" and "Freedom Come, Freedom Go". Another success came with the follow-up single "Storm in a Teacup", a song that Lynsey de Paul and Ron Roker had written. These successes ensured the Fortunes regular live performances to this day.
A loyal fan base, especially in the Netherlands, and committed supporters made it possible to record two albums in 1999 (Some Bridges) and 2004 (Heroes Never Die), of which Roger Cook had contributed a few songs.
Rod Allen played his last concert at Yeovil in November 2007. Shortly afterwards, he was diagnosed with liver cancer. At his request, the surviving musicians, now with the new singer Eddie Mooney, continue to perform as The Fortunes.
Rod Allen died on January 10, 2008, leaving behind his wife Margaret, daughter Sharon, son Leigh, and three grandchildren.
Members
- Barry Pritchard, born April 3, 1944 in Birmingham , England (guitar, vocals)
- Glen Dale, born Glenn Garforth in Deal, England April 2, 1943 (guitar, vocals); † January 13, 2019
- Rod Allen, born Rod Bainbridge in Leicester, England, March 31, 1944; † January 10, 2008 (bass, vocals)
- David Carr, born August 4, 1943 in Leyton, England; died in July 2011 (keyboard, vocals)
- Andrew Brown, born January 7, 1946 in Birmingham, England (drums, vocals)
- Tony Britnell
- Gary Fletcher
- Chris Capaldi
- Shel McCrae
- George McAllister
- Johnny Davey
- John Trickett
- Ricky Persell
- Michael Smitham
- Paul Hooper
- Bob Jackson
- Geoff Turton
- Eddie Mooney
Web links
- Internet presence of the group
- The Fortunes at Allmusic (English)