10 songs with a strong Teesside influence
Keep on Running All Right Now Livin ’ Next Door to Alice Love is the Drug Oliver ’ s Army Kayleigh The Road to Hell The King of Rock ‘ n ’ Roll Tubthumping Say You Won ’ t Let Go
Any hits we missed ? Write to dave @ resolutionpublishing . co . uk if you can add more names to this list of tuneful Teesside hit-makers .
Janick Gers
( Hartlepool ) As lead guitarist for rock band Iron Maiden since 1990 , Gers has played on 16 top 40 hits including No 1 ‘ Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter ’, along with three No 1 albums . He had previously enjoyed a couple of top 40 hits with fellow rockers Gillan .
Chris Corner ( Middlesbrough ) A producer , songwriter and multiinstrumentalist , Corner formed Sneaker Pimps with fellow Teessider Liam Howe , and the trip hop band went on to enjoy five top 40 hits in the late 1990s .
Liam Howe ( Hartlepool ) Sneaker Pimps recorded their hit debut album ‘ Becoming X ’ at the Elwick home of Howe ’ s father , as they went on to enjoy four top 40 successes . As a writer and producer , he has since worked with the likes of Lana Del Rey , Ellie Goulding and Adele .
Eddie Jobson
( Billingham ) A talented keyboardist and violinist , Jobson played syntheziser on Bryan Ferry ’ s first solo hit , ‘ A Hard Rain ’ s Gonna Fall ’, before replacing Brian Eno as a member of Ferry ’ s Roxy Music between 1973 and 1976 , during which time ‘ Love is the Drug ’ was one of four top 40 hits . He also performed with Curved Air , Jethro Tull and Frank Zappa ’ s Band .
Pete Trewavas ( Middlesbrough ) Although born on Teesside , bass guitarist Trewavas was raised in Buckinghamshire . Since he joined rockers Marillion in 1982 they ’ ve enjoyed 24 UK top 40 hits including 1985 No 2 ‘ Kayleigh ’.
Pete York ( Redcar ) York was drummer for the Spencer Davis Group , who achieved back-to-back No 1 ’ s in the mid-1960s with ‘ Keep on Running ’ and ‘ Somebody Help Me ’ among a total of seven top 40 hits .
Dunstan Bruce ( Billingham ) Bruce was part of archo-pop band Chumbawumba , best known for their 1997 No 2 ‘ Tubthumping ’, which reached No 1 in both Australia and Canada . The band achieved two further UK top 40 successes .
Richard Hewson ( Stockton ) A producer and multi-instrumentalist , Hewson was the sole member of studio group , The RAH Band , enjoying No 6 hits with both ‘ The Crunch ’ ( 1978 ) and ‘ Clouds Across the Moon ’ ( 1985 ) among three top 40 hits . He had previously arranged The Beatles ’ ‘ Long and Winding Road ’, whilst also arranging for such luminaries as The Bee Gees , Diana Ross , Art Garfunkel , Paul McCartney , Fleetwood Mac and Chris Rea . In the ’ 80s he was also producer for hits by Toyah , Five Star and Shakin ’ Stevens .
Bruce Thomas
( Stockton ) Thomas was bassist for Elvis Costello ’ s backing group , The Attractions , but was originally part of an unsuccessful band , The Wildflowers , with fellow Teessiders Paul Rodgers and Micky Moody . With Costello , the Attractions had 14 UK top 40 hits , most memorably 1979 No 2 ‘ Oliver ’ s Army ’.
Wendy Smith ( Middlesbrough ) Smith performed the keyboard and provided backing vocals for North-East band Prefab Sprout , creators of seven top 40 hits between 1985 and 1997 including 1988 ’ s top 10 ‘ The King of Rock ‘ n ’ Roll ’. In 2015 she was appointed Director of Learning and Participation at Sage Gateshead .
Adrian Rea
( Middlesbrough ) Rea played drums on his cousin ’ s first hit , ‘ Fool ( If You Think It ’ s Over )’, in 1978 , plus his later breakthrough with ‘ Stainsby Girls ’ and 1987 ’ s ‘ Let ’ s Dance ’.
CJ Bolland ( Stockton ) Although he was born in Stockton , Bolland ’ s family moved to Antwerp in Belgium when he was three . An electronic music producer , his single ‘ Sugar Is Sweeter ’ reached No 11 on the UK Singles Chart in 1996 , with two further top 40 hits following over the next 12 months .
Marion Ryan
( Middlesbrough ) Once called " the Marilyn Monroe of popular song ", Marion Ryan was a pop singer of the 1950s . Born Marion Sapherson in 1933 , her song ‘ Love Me Forever ’ peaked at No 5 in 1958 . A well-known TV personality of the era , her Leeds-born sons , Barry and Paul Ryan , later formed a double act , with Paul writing Barry ’ s No 2 hit ‘ Eloise ’.
Paul Smith ( Billingham ) Not to be confused with his Maximo Park name-sake , the talented session drummer known as Little Paul , Billingham-born Smith performed on the Prefab Sprout top 30 hit ‘ A Prisoner of the Past ’ in 1997 . He had previously enjoyed a short spell in punk band , The Toy Dolls , shortly after their no 4 hit ‘ Nellie the Elephant ’.
Alistair Griffin ( Middlesbrough ) Having finished second on the second series of Fame Academy , Castleton-raised Griffin hit the top five with his first hit , ‘ Bring it On ’, early in 2004 . He has gone on to enjoy two further top 40 hits .
John Rogan ( Hartlepool ) Rogan performed for Adam Faith ’ s backing band , The Roulettes , on 1963 No 5 success ‘ The First Time ’.
Jamie Tinkler ( Middlesbrough ) Linthorpe-born Tinkler enjoyed three top 20 hits in 1994-95 with Peter Waterman-signed band Pop !
Although he has never performed on a top 40 hit , a very creditable mention must go to Teessider Steve Thompson , writer of Wavelength ’ s 1982 top 20 hit ‘ Hurry Home ’, who has also written for Elaine Paige and Celine Dion . Coulby Newham ’ s Carl and Andy Pemberton also enjoyed a No 1 album in 2006 after finishing third in the second series of TV ’ s X-Factor .
Wendy Smith
15