Tony Mantor's : Almost Live..... Nashville - Peter Howarth of The Hollies: From Legendary Stages to a Lifetime of Music

Episode Date: August 25, 2026

Show NotesFor more than two decades, Peter Howarth has carried the legacy of one of Britain's most iconic bands as the lead singer of The Hollies. But his remarkable career stretches far beyond one legendary group.In this episode of Almost Live Nashville, Peter joins host Tony Mantor to share the stories behind a lifetime in music—from discovering his passion as a two-year-old fascinated by a record player to performing on some of the world's greatest stages, including Madison Square Garden, Royal Albert Hall, and Wembley Stadium.Peter reflects on working alongside Cliff Richard, collaborating with Rick Fenn of 10cc, writing award-winning musicals, and the challenge of stepping into the shoes of Hollies founding vocalist Allan Clarke. He also shares unforgettable memories, the importance of staying humble, and why connecting with an audience remains the greatest reward of all.Whether you're a lifelong Hollies fan, a musician, or simply love hearing inspiring stories from legendary performers, this conversation is filled with wisdom, humor, and heart.In this episode you'll hear:How one childhood moment sparked a lifelong love of musicJoining The Hollies and honoring an iconic legacyPerforming with Cliff Richard and at Madison Square GardenWriting hit musicals with Rick Fenn of 10ccLessons learned from decades on stageThe pressure and excitement of performing at Royal Albert HallWhy humility matters in the music businessThe creative process behind songwritingThe emotional meaning behind "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"Advice for musicians pursuing a lifelong careerIf you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow Almost Live Nashville, leave a review, and share it with the music lovers in your life. New conversations with incredible artists and entertainers arrive every week. 

Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. Thanks for joining us today. Welcome to Almost Live Nashville, where music, entertainment, and great conversations come together. If you haven't already, tap follow. This way you stay up to date, never missing the great conversation and guests coming your way. Today, we're honored to welcome a man whose voice has been heard by millions around the world. Peter Haworth has been the lead singer of the legendary British band The Hollies for over two decades, carrying on the legacy of one of Rock's most icon. iconic groups while making the role uniquely his own. His story goes far beyond the Hollies. He has shared the stage with Cliff Richard, performed at legendary venues like Madison Square Garden, and London's Royal Albert Hall, collaborated with acclaimed musicians including Rick Fenn of 10C, written hit musicals, and built a career defined by passion, resilience, and an unwavering love of music. In this conversation, Peter shares the childhood moment that sparked his lifelong love of music, the pressure of stepping into the shoes of a legendary frontman,

unforgettable moments performing before thousands of fans, and the lessons he's learned from a lifetime on stage. Whether you're a longtime fan of the Harleys or simply love hearing the stories behind extraordinary careers, you're in for a memorable conversation. So settle in as we welcome singer, songwriter, performer, and one of the most respected voices in British music. Thanks for joining us today. Yeah, nice to speak. you're Tony? Yes, same here. When you look back at everything that you've done, what inspired you to pursue music professionally? The love of music was the first inspiration, I think. I've got very vivid memories of my childhood because the very early part wasn't great. And I remember,

because of where we were in the house, which house I was in at the time, under three years old, I was about two. And I remember being next door in my next door neighbor's house. And she let me, it was a lady called June, and she let me play with the record player. I remember putting the arm onto the record and going, what is that? What is that sound? And that is it. And from then, music's always been a really big part of my life. I think that's it.

It's the love of music. It's the instant communication of emotion through sound. And also, couple that with when you get a bit older, when it just start to play. And when you play an instrument, apart from having the love of it, when somebody goes, oh, wow, that was great. Oh, well done. You can't buy that reaction. I love that story.

Isn't it funny how one little moment like that, the reactions, can change the way that you look at things? That transmits to when we do gigs and that's what, oh, Bobby Elliott, when I first joined the hollies, the one thing that you said to me always sticks in my mind. When we did our first gig, that was in 2004 when I joined in 2004. And I was quite nervous. And we went on, it was like Birmingham Symphony Hall. There's like, you know, 13 hundred people. And at the end of the gig, it went well and everybody standing up and applaud in.

And there's a lot of happiness in the room. Bobby, who's now 84, you know, Bob. came down and he put his arm around me. He said, look at this people. Look all these people out here. Look at those happy people. Look at the people in the balcony's applauding us. Look at that. He said, this is what we do it for. This is our reward. He says, you cannot buy this. And he's absolutely right. You could get 1,000 people, 30 hundred people in the room, pay them all a thousand pounds each to applaud you after you just sunk your song. But it's not going to be the same, is it? You have to earn it. And that for me is another part.

So those two things, having whatever it is that's lacking in my personality, I need something to go, oh, well done, Pete, well done, you know. But that is a big part of doing something communicating. You move somebody, even if you move somebody to leave the room, they say, oh, they go, wow, that was great. Oh, yeah, it's okay. The point is you're doing your best. You always do your best.

If somebody really enjoys it and you've had that moment, I know it's transient, it comes, it goes, but that's why I'm really still here doing it because two reasons I can't do anything else. And the other thing is I really enjoy it. You know, I really do enjoy performing and singing and playing. Yeah, that's awesome. Now, you mentioned the audience. The audience, when they're into what you're doing, can give you the energy where you just never want to stop.

Do you have a memory of an audience that just gave you everything that you was hoping for and created that memory that you just will never forget? Yeah, I've been fortunate. There's a few things that stick out in my mind. One instance, which was incredibly moving for me, It was when I wrote a musical with a guy called Rick Friend from 10CC, we wrote a musical that we were fortunate. We were commissioned to write it.

It went on around the country and it was in the West End, London, for a short period of time. It got slagged off in the West End, but it did fantastic everywhere else. Everywhere else it was going great. Everybody loved it, Birmingham, Manchester. We thought we were going to be multi-millionaires, and it was doing really great guns.

And unfortunately, it was took into the West End, which was kind of against my wish's book, because it wasn't that kind of show. But anyway, point being, after the West End, it went on another tour. It was going to be really its kind of final tour. And all the people that loved that musical, it was the last night was in York about 1992.

I was on stage playing that's another long story while I got involved in doing it, but I was actually on stage that night, playing the part, parts of the musical. And my whole family was there, my mum, my dad, my brother, my sister, everybody I knew, plus everybody over a period of a year and a half, two years that loved that musical all descended. So the last night of that musical, when you went on stage, everybody was cheering,

everybody knew every lyric to every song, and it was an emotional night, and I'll never forget that for multitude of reasons. But I think that, for me, out of all the things, and I've had some wonderful nights, but that for me was one of the most poignant. Now, if I remember correctly, you did something with Cliff Richard as well.

Well, I worked with Cliff Richard, we did what they called the event, which was a special event for him at that time. He was about as big as he was ever at that time. And we did, I think, at the event at the old Wembley Stadium, there was like 50, 60,000 people there. And it wasn't for me. I was just stood on stage doing my backing vocals and playing a big guitar. But I remember looking out at all those people going,

oh my God, wow, that's amazing. I remember that. And also the other one that I do remember only for the reason that I didn't ever think I'd actually get to work with these guys or be a part of briefly what they were doing was at Madison Square Gardens with the Who. And I was just again, a backing working musician. But stood behind Pete Townsend, right behind him watching him play. I can't remember what the song was now.

But just looking out at Madison Square, I'm going to be Pete Townsend. I remember that as well. I think those three things with different reasons. But there's about a bit fortunate, you know, that I've had a lot of good nights, you know. And nowadays, what's happened, I think, it's in the last 10, 20 years now, maybe in the last 15 to 20 years. I used to do a lot of sessions, a lot of writing. But now I seem to be back to going out singing for my supper, you know, the lucrative businesses of either jingles or doing sessions in studios that used to use 28, 48, tracks so then they needed people to sing in tune, but now they don't because they've got auto tune and everybody's recording in the bedrooms. The business has changed for good or bad

whatever you like to look at it. That's another whole area we can go into. But for me, it's back to singing for my supper doing live, which again, I'm away from home a lot. Again, the benefit size that I really do love it. Simple as really. Now you've worked with Cliff Richard, plus all these other great musicians. Yeah. What were some of the things that you learned by working with them that helped you expand and create your journey with the Hollies? I think whatever job you do, for me, every job you take on as a musician, you always learn something with whatever you do.

Every night is a learning experience for me. It's always different and there's always something to be gained from it. But I think when I first joined Cliff and I started to work with musicians at that time in London, I was a young, I'll be 26, 20, 25 was in a band and we didn't make the big time, you know. I was just a singing this band with a little bit of a record deal, but it flopped. But at that time, I remember meeting musicians in London. And when I was a capacity as a session singer. And when I started working with these singers in London, they're really good.

Because first I was a guitarist. I used to, then I started to sing. And I started working with these guys, I realized very quickly, the guys were singing with me. I got an introduction to sing, doing some work. It was just doing a depth for a music. I think it was time. The musicals were the first depths I did. It was about 86, 87.

And I met somebody said, oh, they're looking for singers. You know, would you be available? You've got high rock tenor. They need somebody to sing live and blah, blah. So there's a group of five or six singers in a booth. They don't really have them now because it's all on click track now, but they used to have a booth maybe in between six and eight singers to boost the cast sound underneath the pit.

And I met all these singers and these London singers. I went to debt for somebody and I met these guys. And I'm thinking, wow, these guys are really on it. Their tuning was spot on, you know, and their attention to detail about vibrato, when you sing as a unit. One I had to match my voice. If I'm singing too loud, you could have to bring it down and blend.

And I learned so much just working in a pit situation with three hundred other singers. singing harmony, and then when you get on tour, and it was on tour with Cliff, same thing. The stand of the band was outrageous. I mean, they didn't have any click tracks then. It was all live. It was all live, and the musicians were held up to an astonishingly high level of pride with themselves. Nobody wanted to mess up.

If you mess up, you go, oh, shit, I'm really sorry. You know, if you made one little mistake. So the backing vocals, the guitarist, the drummer, it was all a frighteningly high standard when I thought, my God, I haven't got to put myself up here and not be the one. that's making mistake, not be the one that's going in slightly out of tune to spoil the harmony. You know, it's that kind of thing you learn on the job and you learn from people around you. The other thing I learned very quickly is, is you don't have to be, you know, Miles Davis. You don't have to be Oscar Peterson on the piano or Steve Lucas or the guitar.

I'd love to be Steve Lucas, all Larry Carlton, all these guys. But, you know, when you listen to this amount of perfection of these guys, you don't have to be that unless, of course, you join the Steely Dan, then you have to know your onions and you have to be able to do the gig. Yeah. So whatever gig you're doing, it might be, I don't know, a tour for a small pop band, which is not going to be that demanding, musically, maybe. But the most important thing is to be able to do the job, do it right, turn up on time,

and don't be, I don't want to say the word, but don't be, get on with people, because you're in a group of people that are all just want to have a good time. They don't want any divas. They don't care if you play like Oscar Pitt. All they want you to do is do the job and be nice. Be nice. Don't be a diva, you know, oh my God, you know. Oh, I'm so bored of this.

and enjoy the job, you know, enjoy what you do. Exactly. Now, when you joined the Hollies, they had had some hit records. They had done some really good things. Yeah. How did you find that balance of honoring the past while still being yourself so you could integrate with them and create that style? Yeah, yeah, that's a good one.

The thing is, I learned my best doing playing the part of Orbison, actually, the one thing, when you're taking over, listen, it's a poison chalice. If you're taking over a singer that's so popular like Alan Clark was, or if you're, you know, God forbid, you're in bad company, you're taking over from Paul Rogers or Freddie Mercury, wherever it is, you're never going to satisfy the Alan Clark fans. I'm not going to be Alan Clark. I can't, I can't be Alan.

I'm always going to not be him. You know, if you're a fan of the holidays, you like the songs, and you like Alan, but you don't mind hearing somebody else sing the song because you love the song, you love the drumming, you love the guitar, and you love the harmonies. There's a lot to the Hollies that isn't just Alan Clark's voice, although I do admit it's a massive part. It's a big stamp on the sound of the band.

All I could do is not mess around with a phrasing of it. You know, you don't do a sole version of He Ain't Heavy, giving it all that. I just sing the notes, as Alan would do, he was never a really big flowery singer, giving it all the gesticulations around notes. He's very much a kind of deliver the song, like Jackson Brown would just deliver the song,

perfect notes, simplistic notes, and the timing. I agree. So what was your approach? Start off with, I did try and match what, when I was learning the songs, the phrasing, I did try to match. Because when people hear a song, if you sing it too far away, if you start pulling, let's say if you go, if I go make a wish, I think I pass, you know, giving it all that,

you just sing the song as people, the same phrasing. My timbre of my voice isn't that dissim of mine. I am different. I don't sing like Alan Clark. I'm doing Alan Clark impersonation, but I always tried not to stomp all over what he worked hard for and what the band created. And then as you do it more and more,

it does become more you. I'm over a period of, what, 20-odd years now. When we go out on stage, it's a big family. I've been doing it for 24. Ray and Ian have been there for almost been nearly 40 years now. So we have the same crew, the same crew, the same backline for the 24 years. We just, we have a lovely time and it's a joy and a pleasure to go out. But a short answer to you, because I do ramble on.

I'm very, I do yak a lot, sony. That's okay. It's great. This is all part of telling your journey in the story of what you do. So how difficult was it for you? It was a tough time because you were always going to get, as soon as you walk out on that stage, oh, God, he's terrible. Oh, he's not Alan Clark.

Oh, God, he sounds like, I don't know, nothing, you know. You're always going to get that. Can't please all the people all the time. That's right. What I don't like is when people judge you without coming to see in the band. I totally agree on that. Originally, when I first went out, what was it, 2004. So mobile phones weren't really that advanced.

Now you go to a gig, you get your iPhone out, you've got a great compressor on the mic, it's a great video. So the sound sounds pretty good. But in those days, you know, I remember singing, I was doing there that I breathe something. And I remember seeing this clip that they've got, this guy's terrible. It's like,

from the video. Yeah, it did sound terrible, but that's not really my fault, you know. You'll always get people who want to bash you up. You always get that, you know. Now, you've had the opportunity to play with some incredible musicians. Yeah. Thinking back of all the musicians that you've had the opportunity to work with, Is there one that influenced you on your journey of what you ultimately became and what you do today?

I think I have to say my writing partner, Rick Fen, who I met, funny enough, I met Rick. He was guitarist with 10CC. And I met him in that first pit gig I did. I was talking about doing the session for time, the musical. There was an orchestra pit under there that had incredible musicians in it. I mean, that band was smoking. I mean, you had Tim Renek on guitar, ended up playing with Pink Floyd. I mean, and Tim, I think, was on tour with Pink Floyd.

He was on tour and Rick, depth for Tim. And that's where I met Rick and the pit were just having a, you know, in the interval and we're having a bit of a chat. And he's saying, what are you doing? I said, I need somebody to sing a jingle for me. He said, do you fancy popping around tomorrow? So I went around. I sang a jingle with him. And then four days later he said, look, I've got something to write.

I've got to write this thing for a film, you know. He said, do you fancy coming and writing it together? And from that moment, I think the next 10. 15 years we wrote and recorded a lot of stuff together and as a musician as a creative person and just the general kind of wizard that he is he plays he plays piano you play anything flute you know anything he'll pick it up and bash a tune out he's that level of musician that was i mean i used to be able to read in the pit i could cite read a little bit but i never really advanced to the point where rick could sit in with anybody any musician jazz you know if he was in an irish bar he'd be able to just go

or what playing, and away you go. And he'd be great at improvising around anything, because he had that language down. On top of that, somebody who, when we created, he actually was so humble and he listened. He listened to what I had to say, and I had to be very careful.

If I said to me, if he played something on the piano, where I'd go, oh, I'm not sure about that. I actually, because he'd go, really? And he'd change it immediately to try and get something that we both liked, you know?

And it was like that when he was producing the musicals when he was recording them. I had to be very careful what I said, because he'd spend ages doing something, and I'd come in, you know, we'd get together the next day, He said, I've just put this bass line. I've just put this brass of the thing.

And I go, I'm not sure. You know, I need change it. We worked together and we create some fantastic stuff that I loved. And as a person and as a musician, I think he, yeah, he influenced just generally, yeah, inspired. And one of those people, when you do have a writing partnership with somebody, some people you write with it's good, it's okay. But with Rick, it was always really, really special. I don't know why it just happened, you know.

It was just one of those things we got on well, musically and personally. Now, you've worked in rock. You've worked in theatre, you've done acoustical performances. Yeah. How have those different experiences influenced your approach as a performer? I think from the moment I got up when I was about 15, maybe 16, where I just got me to play with these, what I thought were old guys at the time, but they're probably about 36.

They were playing in a hotel in Blackpool. I learned the solo for Jamboleye. I was into the carpet at that time, and I learned all the Tony Blues solos. And I wanted to be a musician, blah, blah. So you go out and I remember being so nervous and you get out there. It's only in like a lounge in a hotel. It's not like in front of Carnegie Hall or anything. But when you get up there and if you're any kind of musician,

the first gig you do where you actually, I found it terrifying. When it came to all right, play the soul of it. I went, I just froze. Couldn't move my hands. You know, just completely scared to death. And that is a process. You go from doing that to do all the different kind of gigs. You build up your confidence.

Same way with talking to an audience. You know, I remember doing a gig. About a year or two after that, I worked with another. the guy. He was an old band singer, like an old big band sing. He played drums, but he sounded like Lou Rawls. He was a very interesting character. But when we're doing this gig as a trio, I was young, I'd be 17, 18, and working and doing a summer season somewhere. And I was just playing guitar. And he said, right, next week, you're going to sing a song. You're going to sing a song and you're going to talk to the audience. That's a little pressure. So what was the next step?

So I had to learn a song, which I did, and then sing the song, but then introduce it. He sort of pushed me to talk to the audience. And that in itself is a whole. different area of learning expertise. But being a back and singer was great doing that. But when you're at the front, when you're at the front of a band, and the Hollies has taught me a lot about that. I've sort of settled into it. I was always a bit uncomfortable a bit. I needed a guitar or I needed to hold onto the mic stand, you know, but I learned so much doing that. I learned so much for a playing the part of Orbisna. You learn so much and you carry that on to whatever it is, there's always something you can take to the next job that you do. You know, going out and doing solo acoustic stuff,

I remember listening to a Sean Colvin song, her version of, You're going to Make Me Lonesome when you're gone, which is on a Sean Colvin, what's the album called? Cover Girl. The album's going, my brain's going, cover girl. And I heard this about, oh, God,

oh, I don't know, it was a long, long time when it came out. And I thought, wow, that's amazing. She plays and sings, and that's something I wanted to do. So in my own spare time, is trying to work this thing out. I spent ages trying to work this thing out.

And once I'd done it, I thought, what I'm going to do with it, really? I don't do that kind of thing. Did that kind of thought process help you with the Hollies? When I started doing the Hollies, I did a version, the same kind of thing. I wanted to do an acoustic version. I did one of Sandy, which I still play nail. And Here I Go Again, which I still play Nail.

And then the Hollies gave me that slot. When I did this version of Here I Go Again, which was like a slow ballad version of their song, I was telling them about it because I kept tuning it as a slow ballad. Because Here I Go Again is a Soholy song, if you know it, it's all about flower to flower when their kids. They recorded it when they were about 17, 18, which is fine. But when I was singing it in 2004, when I was a lot older, flitting from flower to flower, just didn't feel right, not feel right, but when I was making a cup of tea and I was learning all the songs, I just keep hearing it as this kind of ballad where, you know, it's a more of a ballad kind of

thing. Did a little version of it and I was telling Tony and Bob this and they said, well, plays a bit. I played them a bit. And the next thing I know, I'm on stage of my own in front of Birmingham Symphony or on my own on the stage playing this. And I liked it. Although it was scary, it was really scary. There's something about having a guitar on your own, singing to an audience, and then you get to the point where you just hold it for that little second, just a little bit of drama and everybody's like quiet with a big PA as well it's just oh I love that I love it it's scary and I've had some scary moments doing that because if you mess up it's just you I remember doing here I go going to the Albert Hall and so we're doing the Albert Hall with the Hollies it's

the first gig I did with the Hollies at the Albert Hall with that being the first time you performed with them at Albert Hall how long had you been with them and what happened from there and I've been with the Hollies for about maybe two years and we've done a new album and it's one of those things where everybody's coming to see at the Albert Hall. Everybody's coming. Even Cliff Richard, he came, he knew us in the Holly. He was coming. The producer that I worked with Bill Kenwright,

he was going to come to see the Hollies. And everybody I knew in London was going to come and see the Hollies. And the record company is going to come to see the Hollys. So I'm doing a tour and I'm thinking, oh my God, this Royal Albaal gig is going to be a nightmare. I was really worried about it. And I remember having dreams, you know, where I think I was coming off stage. I'm going, oh, great.

Everybody's going, well done. And I think, oh, my God. Yeah, it's gone really great. And I'll wake up and go, oh, my God. It's next week. Oh my God. And as it happened, the gig was fine. When we get to the Albert Hall, my wife sorted everything out. She sorted out the box for Cliff Richards and Bill Kenwright. That was all taken care of. And I went out for a run. He used to go for a run before the gig. And I was like really cool.

Went to the sound check for absolutely fun. Really looking forward to it. Go out and do the first half. Absolutely fantastic. I'm thinking, wow, I'm at the Alba Hall. This is amazing. I was loving every second of it, every second. So I got to the second half and all the guys left the stage and I'm doing this here I go again, which is this guitar thing, which I love doing. But when the guys left the stage, I'm looking around, I'm thinking, if I mess this up, you know, and then, you still when you get the voices, and I'm going, the voices going, look, you're at the Albert, I'm going to know I'm at the Albert Hall, leave me alone, you know, don't mess this up. And eventually, I started playing the guitar and had so much adrenaline, you know, because of a fear.

It really ruined it for me. I played it fine. But again, you learn to rein that in, and that's something else. I learned that night. And when I knew what was coming, you know, and now you learn, you learn from these things. Absolutely. That's part of growing. How do people find you and follow you on what you're doing?

Oh, I don't know. Probably just the Instagram, Facebook. I mean, there's always the holiday stuff on there. Our personal acoustic tours, I'm only doing six, seven days. I stopped doing those for a long time, actually. It was only last year started doing it again because there's a lady called Calli Langhurst who, she does a part-time promotion for Paul Young and the Pacamino's a band.

She does a little bit, and she just said to me, why don't you do your solo acoustic gigs anymore? So, well, number one, nobody's asked me. Nobody's asked me. The last one I did, I said it went well, but I didn't really make any money. That's not the big thing, but it was a lot of work for not a lot. And she said, well, look, I'll sort some gigs out for you. So I'm doing these seven next year. I don't do a lot, six or seven.

Mix with the gigs, Tolly's tour and cruises. That's what keeps me going, yeah. In closing, can you give us a memory that you will always remember? That may not be the biggest thing you've ever done, but it was the most important thing that you did. Robin Prince of Sherwood, the musical. Writing the musical, getting it on First Night Opening, Leatherhead, the writing process of it, nine months of writing

and recording with Rick. I sang everything, we wrote everything together, I sang all the voices to the different characters, we had so much fun writing and recording it, and that period, the creative process was just so magical. I remember the first day we've been commissioned. We wrote one song to build a show and we could write this particular scene,

and he said, right, write the musical. So I remember going around to his house and we've got this whole musical to write about Robin Pins of Sherwood. with right? Where do we start? What the hell do we do? I remember 15 cups of tea before we both looked at each and thought, it's not going to write itself, is it? It's not going to write itself. So we go over to the piano and he starts playing something, I start singing something, and boomer away. But once you start doing that, I remember going home at night and I go home at night and I'll be

lying in bed all of a sudden you get an idea. Once you open that little gate of creativity, it tends just to can pour out. It does pour out. And then likewise, if it's locked, if it's closed. It's very hard to get it flowing again sometimes or not. I don't know. I've never been such a prolific writer on my own because I don't like writing on my own. It's like pulling me on teeth out. I'm not really a big fan of it. It has happened now and again, but very rarely. That time, writing Robin, recording it, the first year when it was on tour was just, and I wasn't in it and I was just used to go and watching the cast and being so proud of it and how many people it touched and how much it meant to a lot of people. And that was the biggest thing, I think, in my life

I have to say. That is always nice when you have something that means that much to you. And, of course, that it touches others as well. Name a song that you love to sing that just never gets old. He ain't heavy. He's got to be a classic song. And I do that in my own version of when I do my solo acoustic thing. That version means a lot to me.

For many reasons, I did it for my good friend Bill Kenwright, I was a producer. Unfortunately, he passed away two years, which is a big loss for me because he was big in my life. He was really big. I first met Bill Kenwright in 1982 when I was playing guitar in the orchestra pit of Joseph in the amazing technical dream. I played guitar in the pit

and that's where I met my wife. I met my wife in Joseph. We're still together today. So we've been on that arc together. If you don't know, Bill, he was a massive producer in the West End and a real character, a real character. I remember him phoning me.

He was the first person to phone me when I got in the hollies. I don't know he found out. I've literally gone to meet the guys in the afternoon, sang through who he ain't heavy, and I got home and he phoned me. He phoned. I don't know he knew, but he knew. And the other thing was when he foiled me, when his mother had passed away and he wanted me to sing, he ain't heavy.

Her funeral, that was a long time ago. And I did this version. I did that particular version for that. Unfortunately, heartbreakingly, when he passed away, he wanted me to sing that at his funeral, which was, again, very poignant, proud to do it, but very sad. That song means, and I say this when I sing it, it means so many different things to so many different people. Of all the songs that I do sing, I think that's probably the most. powerful. That's an incredible story and I can certainly see why this song means that much to you. So what would you like to leave our audience with that you think that they should know about what's coming up for you?

I'm just going to be carrying on do what I do. I'm always happy to see people, whether it be with the Hollies, with the frontmen in Germany, I've had a lot of fun doing that. Or acoustically, if you like a bit of an acoustic, come and come and see that. But yeah, if you want to come along, please come along and have a lovely evening. and let's all have a good time. It'd be nice. Absolutely. Well, this has been great. Thanks for joining us today.

No, thank you for asking me. Oh, it's been my pleasure. Thanks again. A sincere thank you to our guests for sharing their journey with us today. And thanks for spending part of your day with us. We hope today's conversation gave you something to take with you.

If you haven't already, remember, tap follow so you never miss the great conversations and guests still ahead. You can always reach us at Media at Plateau Music.com. Thanks for being part of what we're building here on Almost Live Nashville. We'll see you next time.