Richard Westwood (born 7 May 1943), also known as Rick West or Ricky West, is a British retired musician, known for being a member of

the Tremeloes The Tremeloes (formerly Brian Poole and The Tremeloes) are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with ...

from 1962 to 2012.

Early life

Richard Westwood was born in

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

on 7 May 1943. Westwood first learned how to play guitar at age nine, and got his first electric guitar at age 12 after seeing guitarist

Bert Weedon Herbert Maurice William Weedon, OBE (10 May 1920 – 20 April 2012) was an English guitarist whose style of playing was popular and influential during the 1950s and 1960s. He was the first British guitarist to have a hit record in the ...

play live. He was in "Joe and the Teens" and "Tony Rivers & the Castaways" before he joined the Tremeloes.

Career

Westwood joined Brian Poole and the Tremeloes (originally spelt correctly as “Tremoloes”) in 1962. On 31 December 1962,

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

chose the Tremeloes over

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece gi ...

, due to the

band living closer in comparison to the

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

band. They first entered the charts with a cover of

Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by The Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Broth ...

in 1963, the song went to number four in the UK. The Tremeloes

They initially found success in the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

era with lead singer

Brian Poole Brian Poole (born 2 November 1941)Eder, BruceBrian Poole Biography, Allmusic. Retrieved 17 August 2014 is a singer and performer who was the lead singer of 1960s beat band Brian Poole And The Tremeloes Early life He was brought up in th ...

, scoring a UK

chart-topper A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include r ...

in 1963 with "

Do You Love Me "Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown, Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three ...

", the song went to number one in three different countries (UK, Ireland, New Zealand). The band mostly covered rock and roll songs of the 1950s, and appeared on shows such as

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

, and the

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

poll winners concerts in 1964. After Poole's departure in 1966, the band achieved further success as a four-piece with 13 top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart between 1967 and 1971 including " Here Comes My Baby", "

Even the Bad Times Are Good "Even the Bad Times Are Good" is a song recorded by British group the Tremeloes, released as a single in July 1967. It became their third consecutive top-ten hit in the UK and continued their international success. Release and reception "Even ...

", " (Call Me) Number One", " Me and My Life" and their most successful single, " Silence Is Golden" (1967). Westwood played bass guitar on " Sweet Illusion", a 1973 a minor hit penned and recorded by

Junior Campbell Junior Campbell (born William Campbell Jr., 31 May 1947) is a Scottish composer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member, lead guitarist, pianist, and singer with the Scottish band Marmalade (band), Marmalade and co-wrote and produced s ...

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 song spent nine weeks on the Official Singles Chart and peaked at fifteen. Westwood was applauded for his falsetto vocals on the Tremeloes' hit song " Silence Is Golden", however in the mid-1970s, Westwood started having troubles hearing, and briefly left the band to recover, replaced by Bob Benham during this time. Once he came back, he was unable to sing properly, including being completely unable to sing falsetto. During 1977–1979, he played piano for

the Nashville Teens The Nashville Teens are an English rock band, formed in Surrey in 1962. They are best known for their 1964 hit single " Tobacco Road", a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom and Canada, and a Top 20 hit in the United States. Career While playing ...

, leaving to rejoin the Tremeloes as they reformed. Westwood served as Tremeloes guitarist until 2012, when he announced his retirement after 54 years. His last concert was in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

on 1 November. The performance was a part of the “Sensational 60s Experience” tour. An exact reason for Westwood's retirement isn't clear, but his long history of hearing problems is suspected to be the reason. Westwood returned to the band with Hawkes for a small tour in 2019.

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

the Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

once noted Westwood as “one of the world’s best guitarists.”

Allegations

In December 2015, it was reported that Westwood and Tremeloes member Chip Hawkes would stand trial for the April 1968 assault of a then-fifteen-year-old girl at a hotel in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. In December 2015, while leaving Chester Crown Court, both he and Hawkes were assaulted by an intoxicated photographer, who had to be restrained by their barrister. In July 2016, it was reported that both parties had been acquitted after their accuser failed to enter evidence.

Discography

(See The Tremeloes discography)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Westwood, Rick 1943 births Living people English male singers English pop rock singers British guitarists Beat musicians The Nashville Teens members The Tremeloes members