Walker Brothers

Band members

• Scott Walker - born Noel Scott Engel, 9 January 1943, Hamilton, Ohio - lead vocalist, bassist
• Gary Walker - born Gary Leeds, 3 September 1942, Glendale, California - drummer, vocalist.
• John Walker - born John Maus, 12 November 1943, New York^[3] - guitarist, vocalist.

Biography

The Walker Brothers formed in Los Angeles in 1964.^[4] John Maus' band, in which Scott Engel played bass, had a residency at Gazzari's Club in Hollywood, California, and were seen one night by local drummer Gary Leeds.^[1] All three had played in other bands – Engel had played, for example, with The Routers, and Leeds with The Standells.^[3] Leeds had recently returned from touring the UK as a member of P. J. Proby's backing band^[3] and – along with club regular Brian Jones^[5] - thought that the band's rock and roll and blues style would go down well in 'swinging London', where Proby had already succeeded. Before leaving, they appeared in a film, Beach Ball, and they sent demo recordings to record labels in the United Kingdom.

With Leeds' stepfather as sponsor, the three moved to London in February 1965. When they landed, record producer Johnny Franz was keen to sign them up. In a short time they had played several venues around the UK and secured a recording contract with Philips Records. Their first single, "Pretty Girls Everywhere", with Maus as lead singer, had little success,^[3] but radio stations picked up on the follow up "Love Her" with Engel's baritone vocals, and it made the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1965.^[6] The song was originally recorded by The Everly Brothers and released as B-side to their single "The Girl Who Sang The Blues" in 1963.^[4]

Philips then recorded and released the group's version of "Make It Easy on Yourself", a Bacharach and David ballad previously recorded by Jerry Butler. The song was sung by Engel (by now called Scott Walker), arranged by Ivor Raymonde and produced by Johnny Franz, with a full orchestra augmented by session musicians, very much in the style of Phil Spector's productions.^[4] Session musicians on the record included Alan Parker and Big Jim Sullivan - some later Walker Brothers’ records may also have involved Jimmy Page. By August 1965, "Make It Easy on Yourself" had entered the UK Top 10 eventually reaching the Number One spot.^[6] Later in the year it also made #16 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[3] The track sold 250,000 copies in the UK, and over one million copies globally, gaining gold disc status.^[1]

The Number 3 UK hit "My Ship Is Coming In" followed, and then in March 1966, The Walker Brothers hit #1 for the second time in six months with "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore".^[6] At that point, the Walker Brothers’ popularity in UK – particularly that of Scott – reached a new high, especially among teenage girls, and their fan club in the country was said to have been larger than The Beatles'. Although "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" also made the U.S. Top 20, they had much less success in their home country.^[3]

The Walker Brothers continued to have chart hits in the UK in 1966 and 1967, with Scott taking a more prominent role in their song choices and arrangements, but with diminishing commercial success. As pop music moved on, the Walker Brothers began to sound dated. By the end of 1967, the pressures of stardom, internal tensions, and 'artistic differences' began to diminish the group. It sent Walker into depression - he had already attempted suicide and he sought refuge in a monastery by the time his enmity with Maus split the band.^[4] After a tour in Japan in 1968, the group officially disbanded.

All three continued to release solo records, with Scott (who first recorded solo in 1967) being by far the most successful and creating a large cult following.^[6] In 1976 the group unexpectedly reunited, scoring another UK Top 10 hit with Tom Rush's "No Regrets". However, the three albums that followed sold poorly. Scott's tracks on the final album, Nite Flights, laid the stylistic groundwork for Scott's later solo career.

Much of the Walkers' story is retold in the biography, Scott Walker: A Deep Shade of Blue, published only in the UK.^[2]