The Fortunes are an English harmony beat group. Formed in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, the Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when " You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US, Canadian, and UK Top 10s. Afterwards, they had a succession of hits including " Here It Comes Again" and " Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again"; continuing into the 1970s with more globally successful releases such as "Storm in a Teacup" and "Freedom Come, Freedom Go". In 1966, their manager, Reginald Calvert, was shot dead in a dispute over pirate radio stations.

Biography

The Fortunes ( Rod Allen, Glen Dale, Barry Pritchard as vocalists, Chris Capaldi as piano player, Gary Fletcher as drummer and Tony Britnell as saxophone player) were formed in 1961 and were resident at Clifton Hall in Rugby,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

where many 60s rockstars formed their career. The three vocalists had been the Merrie Men backing Robbie Hood (A.K.A Mike West, previously co-singer with Fred Heath in Johnny Kidd & The Pirates). The Fortunes were originally backed by an instrumental group known as the Cliftones, and the band placed an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

track on a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

, ''Brumbeat'', issued by the local Dial record label. "Cygnet Twitch" was a working of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

's "

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

", and they subsequently signed to British

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

in 1963. Their first single, "Summertime, Summertime", was credited to the Fortunes and the Cliftones. However, the vocalists picked up guitars, jettisoned the Cliftones, and added Andy Brown on drums, and David Carr on keyboards. The follow-up disc "Caroline", co-written by the singer-songwriter and future

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

member Perry Ford and songwriter

Tony Hiller Anthony Toby Hiller (30 July 1927 – 26 August 2018) was an English songwriter and record producer. He was best known for writing and/or producing hits for Brotherhood of Man, including " United We Stand" (1970) and " Save Your Kisses for Me" ( ...

, is still in use as the signature tune for the

pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...

station,

Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Allan Crawford, initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopol ...

. The group's next two singles, Gordon Mills's co-composition "I Like the Look of You" and a revival of " Look Homeward Angel" — like the initial brace of releases overseen by the American record producer

Shel Talmy Sheldon Talmy (August 11, 1937 – November 13, 2024) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger, best known for his work in England in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks, and many other artists. Talmy arranged and produced hits ...

— also failed to chart. Their fifth release, the Roger Greenaway/ Roger Cook number, " You've Got Your Troubles" (1965), reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and was a worldwide hit, including reaching Number 1 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the American Top 10. Their next two singles were " Here It Comes Again", a UK Number 4, and "This Golden Ring" a UK Number 14. These sold well, but each less than the previous release. When Glen Dale left in the summer of 1966 he was replaced by Shel McCrae. Three more singles ("You Gave Me Somebody to Love", "Is It Really Worth Your While?" and "Our Love has Gone") all failed to chart. At this point in 1967, the Fortunes left Decca for

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

. They reunited with Talmy for their next release, "The Idol", a song they had written themselves, and although it did get some

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

in the UK, it did not become a hit. Around this time they released a version of 'Seasons in the Sun' which also failed to chart. The Fortunes also recorded an advertisement for

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

in the United States. Their first recording in 1967 was a version of the theme tune, "Things Go Better with Coke", but they are most remembered for introducing the 1969 new slogan recording, used as the main theme for Coca-Cola on both radio and television

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

s — "It's The Real Thing". In 1968, they tried covering

The Move The Move were a British Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1965. They scored nine Top 40, top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of ...

's hit "

Fire Brigade A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...

" for the US market, but with little airplay or sales. In 1970, they recorded an album for the US World Pacific record label, and then signed with Capitol in both the UK and US in 1971. Then followed a steady succession of singles, some of which were hits outside of the UK and US. It was during this period they had worldwide hits with " Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again" and " Freedom Come, Freedom Go" in 1971, along with " Storm in a Teacup" in 1972.

Later work

Founding member and lead vocalist Allen continued fronting an ever changing version of the Fortunes from 1963 up to his death in 2008. In 1983 and 1984 respectively, Michael Smitham and Paul Hooper joined Barry Pritchard and Rod Allen in the Fortunes. This line up of the Fortunes were awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in 1987 for over 100,000 sales of their ''All The Hits and More'' album. In 1991, Glen Dale, whilst living in Tenerife, reformed the group as Glen Dale's Fortunes alongside Martin Cox (guitar) (who has gone on to be one of the world's top Elton John tributes). In March 1995, Bob Jackson was added to the Fortunes' ranks, after founder member Barry Pritchard left through illness. Jackson, a former member of the group

Badfinger Badfinger were a Welsh rock music, rock band formed in Swansea in 1961. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (musician), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are recognised for th ...

, paid homage to his former bandmate on stage, with a version of the Badfinger penned song " Without You". Jackson left for a year to follow other obligations and

Geoff Turton Geoffrey Turton (born 11 March 1944, Birmingham, England), who also recorded under the name Jefferson, is a British singer. His musical career began as the falsettist lead singer and rhythm guitarist of The Rockin' Berries in 1961, which had a ...

, who was originally a member of the Rockin' Berries, stood in for him. Barry Pritchard died from a heart attack on 11 January 1999 in Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. On 10 January 2008, Rod Allen died after suffering for two months from

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

. The remaining members of the band said they would continue touring and recruited the Dakotas lead singer Eddie Mooney. During 2008, the band regrouped, recorded a new album ''Play On'', and appeared in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, the Netherlands and Belgium as well as the UK. They toured Canada, the Netherlands, and Sweden, in addition to the UK during 2009. The band had a busy schedule in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, and Italy during 2010 and 2011, appearing in Belgium at the Vostertfeesten Festival in August 2010. Drummer Paul Hooper left the band in early 2010 and was replaced by Glenn Taylor, formerly of

Marmalade Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...

. The band then released a new studio album, ''Another Road''. The keyboard player in the original line-up, David Carr, lived and worked in Hollywood, California, doing session work, frequently working with

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson (musician), Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar acro ...

and also Kim Fowley. Carr died on 12 July 2011 from a heart attack. Since 2011, the Fortunes have continued to appear on various 1960s theatre package shows with other artists of the era. Additionally, they have appeared in their own ''Past and Present'' theatre show and in 2015 released the accompanying ''Past and Present'' live album. In 2018 the Fortunes successfully toured Australia and keyboard player Bob Jackson retired later in the year due to ill health. He was replaced by ex Merseybeats and Tornados keyboard player and vocalist Chris Hutchison. The band continues to feature on 1960s theatre shows such as "Sensational 60s" and " Sixties Gold" as well as cruise appearances and toured the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany in 2022. Glen Dale died at a hospice care facility after a battle with heart disease, on 13 January 2019, at age 79. Singer Shel Macrae died in 2022 at the age of 77.

Streaming Hits in the 2020s

In 2021 the Fortunes had two hit singles on the Amazon, Spotify and iTunes download charts with "Never Too Far" (Smitham/Mooney) and "One Special Moment" (Smitham) the band's first chart entries since 1972. The band resumed a UK theatre tour as part of the Sensational 60s Experience package in October 2021 and released an album "Special Moments" in December 2021. The Fortunes signed to US label "Creative & Dreams" in 2022, releasing the singles "Hello My Friend" and "One Special Moment (US Remix), both hits on the UK Heritage Chart, hosted by

Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for mus ...

. In 2023 the Fortunes again charted in the Heritage Charts with their live cover of Dusty Springfield's 60s hit "

I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. The song was recorded by Dusty Springfield and it reached No. 3 on the UK chart in 1964. Composition and early versions The song's life be ...

Members

;Original members * Rod Allen (born Rodney Bainbridge, 31 March 1944,

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

– 10 January 2008, Eastern Green,

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

) – lead vocals, bass (1963–2008) * Barry Pritchard (born Barry Arthur Pritchard, 3 April 1944, Birmingham – 11 January 1999,

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, Wiltshire) – lead guitar, vocals (1963–1995) * Andy Brown (born Andrew Brown, 7 January 1946, Birmingham) – drums (1963–1977) * Glen Dale (born Richard Garforth, 1939, Deal, Kent – 13 January 2019, Chesterfield, Derbyshire) – rhythm guitar (1963–1966) * David Carr (born 4 August 1943,

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

, London – 12 July 2011) – keyboards (1963–1968) Current members * Michael Smitham (born 29 July 1951,

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

) – guitars, vocals (1983–present) * Eddie Mooney (born 6 August 1957,

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

) – lead vocals, bass (2007–present) * Glenn Taylor (born 15 February 1952,

) – drums (2010–present) * Chris Hutchison (born 4 April 1963,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

) – keyboards, vocals (2018–present) Former members * Bob Jackson – keyboards, vocals (1995–2018) *

– keyboards, vocals (2013) * Shel Macrae (born Andrew Raeburn Semple, 8 March 1943,

Burnbank Burnbank is an area in the town of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was formerly a separate Mining town, mining village before being absorbed into the town. Location and governance Burnbank, previously an i ...

, Scotland, died 22 November 2022)"Shel Macrae, lead singer and rhythm guitarist for The Fortunes, dies at 77", ''ITV.com'', 28 November 2022
Retrieved 28 November 2022– lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1966–1977) * George McAllister (born 6 December 1945) vocals, piano, mellotron 1970 – 1974 * John Trickett (born Birmingham) – drums (1977–1984) * John Davey (born 13 September 1955,

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

) – vocals (1977–1983) * Ricky Persell (born 19 October 1954,

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is a suburb in the London Borough of Hillingdon in northwest London. Prior to 1965 it was in Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

) – guitars, vocals (1977–1980) * Paul Hooper (born 20 August 1948,

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

) – drums (1984–2010)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:600 PlotArea = left:95 bottom:80 top:10 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1961 till:01/04/2024 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:keyboard value:purple legend:Keys id:sax value:skyblue legend:Saxophone id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:lines1 value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.9) Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 BackgroundColors = bars:bars ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1961 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1961 BarData = bar:Rod text:Rod Allen bar:Eddie text:Eddie Mooney bar:Barry text:Barry Pritchard bar:Glen text:Glen Dale bar:Shel text:Shel Macrae bar:Ricky text:Ricky Persell bar:Michael text:Michael Smitham bar:Chris text:Chris Capaldi bar:David text:David Carr bar:George text:George McAllister bar:Bob text:Bob Jackson bar:Geoff text:Geoff Turton bar:Chris2 text:Chris Hutchinson bar:Tony text:Tony Britnell bar:Gary text:Gary Fletcher bar:Andy text:Andy Brown bar:John text:John Trickett bar:Paul text:Paul Hooper bar:Glenn text:Glenn Taylor PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Rod from:start till:10/01/2008 color:vocals bar:Rod from:01/01/1963 till:10/01/2008 color:bass width:3 bar:Rod at:10/01/2008 text:† bar:Eddie from:01/01/2007 till:end color:vocals bar:Eddie from:01/01/2007 till:end color:bass width:3 bar:Glen from:start till:01/01/1963 color:vocals bar:Glen from:01/01/1963 till:01/01/1966 color:guitar bar:Glen at:13/01/2019 text:† bar:David at:12/07/2011 text:† bar:Barry from:start till:01/01/1963 color:vocals bar:Barry from:01/01/1963 till:01/01/1995 color:guitar bar:Barry at:11/01/1999 text:† bar:Tony from:start till:01/01/1963 color:sax bar:Chris from:start till:01/01/1963 color:keyboard bar:Gary from:start till:01/01/1963 color:drums bar:David from:01/01/1963 till:01/01/1968 color:keyboard bar:Shel from:01/01/1966 till:01/01/1977 color:guitar width:3 bar:Shel from:01/01/1966 till:01/01/1977 color:vocals bar:Shel at:22/11/2022 text:† bar:Ricky from:01/01/1977 till:01/01/1980 color:guitar bar:Michael from:01/01/1983 till:end color:guitar bar:George from:01/01/1970 till:01/01/1974 color:keyboard bar:Bob from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2018 color:keyboard bar:Geoff from:01/01/2013 till:31/12/2013 color:keyboard bar:Chris2 from:01/01/2018 till:end color:keyboard bar:John from:01/01/1977 till:01/01/1984 color:drums bar:Paul from:01/01/1984 till:01/01/2010 color:drums bar:Glenn from:01/01/2010 till:end color:drums bar:Andy from:01/01/1963 till:01/01/1977 color:drums LineData = at:01/10/1965 color:lines1 layer:back at:01/06/1970 color:lines1 layer:back at:01/06/1971 color:lines1 layer:back at:01/01/1999 color:lines1 layer:back at:01/01/2004 color:lines1 layer:back at:01/01/2008 color:lines1 layer:back at:01/01/2010 color:lines1 layer:back at:01/01/2021 color:lines1 layer:back

Discography

References

External links

*
The official Shel Macrae website
*

The Fortunes at 45cat.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortunes, The Beat groups British Invasion artists English pop music groups Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands Musical groups established in 1963 Cub Records artists Top Rank Records artists Decca Records artists Capitol Records artists United Artists Records artists 1963 establishments in England