Forum Home Forum Home > Progressive Music Lounges > Prog Music Lounge
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - John Lees vs Les Holroyd
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Topic ClosedJohn Lees vs Les Holroyd
 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
Andrea Cortese View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: September 05 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 4411 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: John Lees vs Les Holroyd
    Posted: November 16 2005 at 08:11

What do you think about their disagreements and their solo careers?

Do you think it'll be possible to see them riunited to form, within Wooly Wolstenholme, the great original Barclay James Harvest (the sad recent death of Mel Pritchard apart)?

Nexus first release cover BJH Through the Eyes of John Lees (within Woolly)

Revolution Days reissueBJH Featuring Les Holroyd (within Mel)



Edited by Andrea Cortese
Back to Top
Guests View Drop Down
Forum Guest Group
Forum Guest Group
Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 16 2005 at 17:22
There seems to be no way on this earth that BJH will ever have Lees and Holroyd together. Both apparently burned a few bridges when they acrimoniously split up in 1998. Which is a shame, never got to see them live with the Wooley one.
Back to Top
Moogtron III View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: April 26 2005
Location: Belgium
Status: Offline
Points: 10616 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 17 2005 at 04:28

I read in a Dutch progmagazine that the reason for the split was that Holroyd wanted to do new stuff, and he thought that Lees was clinging too much to the past.

I think it must be possible to see them reunited. Would be great. I once saw BJH in concert (without Wolstenholme) and it was fantastic!

Unique band that gets bashed too much. They have a lot of memorable melodies, and they have their own distinct sound.



Edited by Moogtron III
Back to Top
Easy Livin View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

Joined: February 21 2004
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 15585 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 17 2005 at 06:16

Never say never! With Wooly back with Lees, the temptation must surely be there for Holroyd to rejoin as well. I would have thought a reunion tour in Germany would be very lucrative for them.

I don't think either has particularly shone since they split. That said, the band were clearly running out of ideas anyway. Even when they were both in the same band, they didn't tend to work together much, most songs were by one or the other. It was the contrast between their songs which made them appealing, hence their post split albums are rather one dimensional.
Back to Top
Andrea Cortese View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: September 05 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 4411 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 17 2005 at 13:53

John and Les have ever worked together. It's a sad thing they don't now! They were always more than the sum of their parts.

Mel's death means that the band can never be re-formed as it was, but perhaps it might make some people realise that there are more important things in life than musical differences and banal disagreements.



Edited by Andrea Cortese
Back to Top
Chemical Alice View Drop Down
Forum Newbie
Forum Newbie
Avatar

Joined: November 13 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 8 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 17 2005 at 17:20
Stranger things have happened before, I do think they will be back together eventually. They way they are doing it now is a disaster for the name Barclay James Harvest. Album/Material wise the new stuff isn't good enough, at least not for a whole album, and concert wise we do not get the songs we wanna hear, unless we don't both versions! No, this rubbish gotta end now, bring us the real BJH that we (I) love so much  
Don't crawl to me with sentiment, my laughter drowns your cries
You're a memory trapped on Polaroid, a puppet drawn on celluloid
Back to Top
Tony Fisher View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer


Joined: April 30 2005
Location: England
Status: Offline
Points: 967 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 17 2005 at 17:46

Last I heard (and it was on the fan site), Woolly was in a mental hospital just down the road from me in York, recovering from illness. I hope he's recovered enough to get out and play.

I'd love to see BJH live again. They were excellent when I saw them in 1976. Probably the most ignored band on the site (except Horslips!).
Back to Top
salmacis View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member

Content Addition

Joined: April 10 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 3928 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 17 2005 at 18:04
Originally posted by Easy Livin Easy Livin wrote:

Never say never! With Wooly back with Lees, the temptation must surely be there for Holroyd to rejoin as well. I would have thought a reunion tour in Germany would be very lucrative for them.

I don't think either has particularly shone since they split. That said, the band were clearly running out of ideas anyway. Even when they were both in the same band, they didn't tend to work together much, most songs were by one or the other. It was the contrast between their songs which made them appealing, hence their post split albums are rather one dimensional.

Hard to top that statement from Easy Livin'. I have pretty much everything they did from their debut up til 'Ring Of Changes', and I really enjoy all of those albums, but I heard some of their more recent output and they were doing what no band should ever do unless there is some genuine purpose (ie- unplugged) imo- re-recording their old songs like 'Berlin' and 'Life Is For Living'. This pretty much added flames to the fire of people who believe the band can't hack it as two separate entities. They need to sort out their differences and make the album they must be able to (Wooly's more recent solo stuff from what I've heard shows the talent is still there intact!).

However, BJH aren't the only band to have this bizarre rift. Saxon, the legendary NWOBHM band, have two bands- the regular Saxon with Biff Byford as singer, plus Oliver Dawson-Saxon that feature two members of the original line-up.
Back to Top
Easy Livin View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

Joined: February 21 2004
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 15585 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 18 2005 at 03:59
Originally posted by Tony Fisher Tony Fisher wrote:

Last I heard (and it was on the fan site), Woolly was in a mental hospital just down the road from me in York, recovering from illness. I hope he's recovered enough to get out and play.

I'd love to see BJH live again. They were excellent when I saw them in 1976. Probably the most ignored band on the site (except Horslips!).

That was a while back now Tony. Glad to say he's made a full full recovery, and has been working with Lees for a couple of years now.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.175 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.