THE MOVE
 The
Move was one of the UK’s finest groups of the 60’s and early 70’s
but only formed through the urging of David Bowie. The singer,
performing as Davy Jones at Birmingham’s legendary Cedar Club in 1965,
met Ace Kefford and Trevor Burton and over a drink, encouraged the two
young musicians to get their own group together.
Soon after, the duo
invited Roy Wood, Carl Wayne and Bev Bevan to join and complete the
original Move line-up. A year later, their debut single ‘Night Of
Fear’ was a no.2 smash hit. As the 60’s turned into the 70’s, the
original line-up fragmented until only Wood and Bevan, plus later Move
member Jeff Lynne, remained. The trio celebrated a final top 10 hit with
‘California Man’ in 1972 before developing the group into the
Electric Light Orchestra and even greater success.
An exceptionally dynamic
and controversial stage act, The Move’s live performances have been
remembered for stunning musicianship and frenzied demolitions of
televisions, instruments and stages with an axe, chopping a Cadillac to
pieces at London’s Roundhouse and inciting a riot which alarmed
headline act The Who (the stage had to be rebuilt…). Even the famous
Marquee Club was not safe. During a performance of ‘Fire Brigade’,
the stage was set alight, resulting in the Soho district being jammed
with fire engines. So shocking and fiery were The Move live, that for a
while, the group were banned from every theatre in the UK and Europe, a
decade before the Sex Pistols’ similar punk rock antics. They even
threatened Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s government with the furore
surrounding the promotional campaign for ‘Flowers In The Rain’. The
single reached no. 2 in the UK charts but Wilson sued manager Tony
Secunda and The Move in the High Court and all royalties were paid to
charities of Wilson’s choice, a ruling still in place today. As
songwriter Roy Wood says, it’s less for murder..
Away from the controversy
and violence, The Move scored top 10 hits in the UK and European charts
with singles including ‘Blackberry Way’, ‘Night Of Fear’,
‘Fire Brigade’, ‘I Can Hear The Grass Grow’ and ‘Flowers In
The Rain’, the first ever record played on BBC Radio 1.
During a Move tour with
The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The
Pink Floyd to promote The Move’s self-titled debut album on EMI’s
Regal Zonophone label, Ace Kefford experienced the beginnings of severe
depression, resulting in serious panic attacks and a suicide attempt
that drove him out of the group and blighted his life for over 30 years.
A year later, as
‘Blackberry Way’ became the group’s first no.1 single, Trevor
Burton, dissatisfied with what he
saw as a slide into commercial pop, announced his departure from The
Move during a violent on-stage brawl with drummer Bev Bevan. Cymbals
were thrown like Frisbees and guitars and microphone stands were used as
clubs – all in front of a bemused concert audience.
The Move's second album
Shazam, featuring new bassist Rick Price, was described by Rolling Stone
magazine as "a masterpiece" but the songs (one side written by
Roy Wood, the other inspired covers) were also a true representation of
the material they performed live. Two Move shows at San Francisco’s
Fillmore West were recorded in 1969 but were never released due to lead
singer Carl Wayne leaving the group to pursue a solo career.
Forced to take over the
lead role, Wood adopted tribal face paint and wild back-combed hair to promote
new single ‘Brontosaurus’ on BBC TV, a look he was later to use in
Wizzard. ‘Looking On’ released on Fly Records in 1970, was the first
album of all-Move compositions and included ‘Feel Too Good’, used
recently in the movie ‘Boogie Nights’. The album and single were
also the first to feature singer, songwriter and guitarist Jeff Lynne.
The revamped group, now a trio, saw Lynne and Wood begin focusing their
songwriting energies into creating a parallel band project, the Electric
Light Orchestra, while also recording a new Move album.
Message From The
Country’ was The Move’s final album but the general consensus,
hardly challenged since its release on 8 October 1971, is that it was
unquestionably the best album they ever made. Signed to EMI’s Harvest
label by new manager Don Arden, the group also recorded three Roy Wood
hit singles, ‘Tonight’, ‘Chinatown’, and ‘California Man’,
while Jeff Lynne's ‘Do Ya’ became the group’s sole American hit.
In the UK, it was relegated to the b-side of final single ‘California
Man’. Relinquishing its no.7 spot for ELO's debut single ‘10538
Overture’ during 1972, it made a fitting finale for one of the most
entertaining, creative and turbulent groups in British rock music.
DISCOGRAPHY
Albums
Move (1968) UK #15[5]** Something Else from The Move (1969) (5 track
EP played at 33 rpm)** Shazam (1970) Looking On (1970) Message from the
Country (1971)
Singles
"Night of Fear" January 1967 #2 "I Can Hear the Grass
Grow" April 1967 #5 "Flowers in the Rain" August 1967 #2
"Fire Brigade" February 1968 #3 "Wild Tiger Woman"
August 1968 - "Blackberry Way" December 1968 #1
"Curly" July 1969 #12 "Brontosaurus" April 1970 #7
"When Alice Comes Back to the Farm" October 1970 -
"Tonight" June 1971 #11 "Chinatown" October 1971 #23
"California Man" April 1972 #7 "Do Ya" June 1972 |
