In this pop song, lead singer Allan Clarke is trying to tell a friend that he needs to appreciate the girl who cares about him. Around that time, The Hollies wrote most of their material, but “Listen To Me” (1968) was penned by an outsider : Tony Hazzard. Hazzard explained that “Listen To Me” started with the line, “Your ears are deaf, your mouth is dumb, your eyes are blind,” and the whole piece materialized from those words. He added : “Sometimes it’s not so much inspiration as imagination.” This was the last Hollies single with founding member Graham Nash, who left to form Crosby, Stills & Nash with David Crosby and Stephen Hills. John Wells of NME considered the tune “a much more mature and sophisticated sound” for the English group. And Billboard described it as a “strong outing” and an “infectious rhythm entry.” WORTH MENTIONING : The Hollies charted more hits on Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1975 than any other British band, except for The Beatles, Dave Clark Five and the Rolling Stones. Their tally of 22 charting pieces during that period BESTED EVEN THE WHO‼️ 💙🎼💛
I loved this song when it was out. It still sounds wonderfully fresh a full 55 years later. After so long, one can listen to it without thinking about life in those days. 😏
Incredible song. Missed by almost everyone. Amazing harmonies especially on the middle 8 bit. "Does it hurt to realise..." Such brilliant songwriting deserved more recognition.
Completely agree my parents are massive fans grew up with them on at home and saw them 35 years ago at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre was an absolutely brilliant concert shame they didn’t get greater recognition such talented guys
I bought this as a kid in 1968. Best Hollies song ever for me. I always thought that the lyric ending each verse went: "That Judy can't find love..... (then the chorus) Listen to me...."
One of the songs, that brings back a lot of childhood memories. This is one of the first records I ever got. I was only 5 or 6 years old when I got a bunch of old 45 records from my mother along with my first record player. Well, I'm 35 now and I still have this record today and play it on my Jukebox regularly.
Written by Tony Hazzard, who also penned Fox On The Run and Ha Ha Said The Clown for Manfred Mann plus hits for Lulu, Herman's Hermits, Andy Williams, etc., etc...
I think the video needs a bit of re-syncing, but what a great track this is! I remember loving it around the end of 1968 just as I started work, a period where it was all too easy for a great number to drop between the cracks because there was just so much fantastic stuff in the charts, so competition was tremendous. But it stands the test of time. The writer, Tony Hazzard, seemed to be all over the scene at that time-I understand he's in his early seventies and still in the business.
My favourite ❤ hollies song.....this and my other favourite gasoline alley bred.....both only made the top 20 but both Fantastic songs .....God bless b kind to each other ❤ love animals ❤ and yourself ❤
Tão de fantásticos como de inesquecíveis, estes The Hollies. Na minha opinião, a melhor banda a nível de vozes em dueto, ou terceto. Sempre presentes nas minhas audições
the hollies are amazzzzzing Alan Clarke's voice is to me next best to John Lennon and Bob Dylan, full of feeling, Gasoline Alley Bred is very under estimated, one of the very best. The band did better music after G. Nash left, Alan Clarke is one of the very best, record again Alan people will love to hear you, you are missed very much.
@Jonathan Wright ~ Do you honestly think The Hollies did better music after Nash's departure? This song, Listen To Me is a fine example of the group's excellence WITH Nash, and of course there's dozens of other classic gems recorded during his residency with the band. Sure, they were still great after Nash bowed out. I won't debate that. I love a lot of what they did, but to say that they were better without him is a matter of taste and preference.
+slimshine953 Agree. While some of the post Nash stuff is great, we're not talking about the sort of form which created that incredible 3 album run from '66 through '67 ('For Certain Because' / 'Evolution' / 'Butterfly').
Yeah, that 3 album run was AMAZING. And they did it WITH Graham, of course. Graham was really inspired and full of power in those years. I love the Hollies, by the way. My favorite album is Evolution. I can't describe its magic...
I swear that there was some weird connection between the Hollies & The Who because of the coincidences I've spotted the last couple of days. Firstly I noticed how similar the Hollies 'I Can't Let Go' and 'I Can See For Miles' by The Who are to each other in their structure & sound. Now I just heard this Hollies song for the first time and I noticed plenty of references of being deaf, dumb, and blind - (even the words are in the same order) at the time of this songs release, Pete Townshend & The Who would've been completing the Tommy album, so it's odd that the words 'deaf, dumb, & blind' are in both recordings. Regarding 'I Can't Let Go' and 'I Can See For Miles', the Hollies released 'I Can't Let Go' in 1965 I think, and The Who's 'I Can See For Miles' was released in 1967. Although according to Townshend, he wrote 'I Can See For Miles' a couple of years earlier but wanted to save it as an 'ace in the hole' song, in case The Who should struggle for singles to release.....which means that those 2 songs were probably written around the same time. Was there some kind of espionage going on between these 2 bands at the time? Or something else?
@@LG-kl3co - Yeh that may be the case, but as far as I'm aware Pete Townshend never wrote songs for the Hollies either, but he did write most of the Who's songs
The trouble with Nash is that most of his work is simple and naive. He says otherwise, he was holding the Hollies back. He ain't heavy, Long Cool woman, The air that I breathe, I cant tell the bottom from the top....all single releases after he left tell half the picture. Listen to the post Nash Hollies albums for the other half and they confirm the picture.
Forget Oasis, the Roses,New Order, Smiths,etc, this is THE greatest band ever from Manchester ! I was brought up in Hulmeand know what I'm talking about !
You can understand why, but I think that ‘cabaret’ kind of sound that this was clearly leading into really suited The Hollies once he’d left. Especially Allan’s voice!
I think you’re right about Nash! I also think (as successful as crosby, stills and nash were!) Graham Nash - in some ways - regretted his move, especially later on! But, one of the best, if not the best vocal harmony groups ever!
@@malcolml309 Graham Nash distinctive vocals was what made The Hollies sound so special. Allan Clarke had the best voice and was a natural lead singer while Tony Hicks was a superb guitarist and a fine harmony singer. Nash had a somewhat rougher sound to his voice and when Terry Sylvester replaced him in late 1968, The Hollies sound became smoother and actually an easier listen.
@Greg Normal Of The Hollies? Yes I am, actually I prefer The Hollies before Graham Nash left to go on to become part of CSNY!!! After that, not so much...
An amazing group, a really good song. But the image was stopping them dead in their tracks. Such a great band didn't need to be dressed in "Prom date" clothes.
Why oh why did you leave Graham. This band was your home. Allan was your partner, Tony was one of the best guitarists in England. It was a triumvirate of excellence and you threw it away to go off with a couple of American stoners. As much as I love the first CSN album, it weren’t the Hollies.
Very simple. During the 1967,1968 period Graham Nash's writing and musical output far surpassed any member of The Hollies. Take a listen to the album "The Hollies at Abbey Road 1966-1970". Don't get me wrong, The Hollies were a great band and by 1970 they were on a creative upswing again, but during this 1968 period, Graham was just on a superior level musically as opposed to the rest of the guys.
@Greg Normal good mate don't blame u there songs r amazing . Sorry just finished work . My favourite song is dear Eloise omg I love that song 🎵 and yes I will
Yo había leído que a Allan Clarke le cabreaba que la atención (lo he visto en muchas fotos publicitarias) se fuera a Graham o a Tony, porque Allan era el vocalista, o lo que llaman en inglés el "frontman" 😂así que yo creo se querían evitar algún coraje...
