From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Walker Brothers
Cover of Images (1967)
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, USA
Genre(s)	Rock, pop
Years active	1964 to 1967 1976 to 1978
Label(s)	Philips Records GTO Records
Associated acts	Scott Walker Gary Walker John Walker

The Walker Brothers were a 1960s and 1970s pop group, originally a rock band, founded by three Californians, who became most successful in the UK. They were not related, and adopted the "Walker Brothers" name as a show business touch.

Contents 1 Band members 2 Biography 3 UK chart discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Singles 4 References 5 External links

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

The Walker Brothers formed in Los Angeles in 1964. John Maus’ band, in which Scott Engel played bass, had a residency at Gazzari’s Club, and were seen one night by local drummer Gary Leeds. All three had played in other bands – Engel had played, for example, with the Routers, and Leeds with the Standells. Leeds had recently returned from touring the UK as a member of P. J. Proby’s backing band and – along with club regular Brian Jones[1] - thought that the band’s rock'n'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 companies in England.

With Leeds’ stepfather as sponsor, the three moved to London in February 1965. When they landed, producer Johnny Franz was keen to sign them up. In a short time they had played several prestigious venues around Britain and secured a recording contract with Philips Records. Their first single, Pretty Girls Everywhere, with Maus as lead singer, had little initial success, but after radio starting playing the B-side, Love Her , with Engel’s baritone vocals, it made the UK Top 20 in June 1965.

Philips then quickly recorded and rush-released the group's version of Make It Easy on Yourself, a Bacharach and David ballad previously recorded by Jerry Butler. The record 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. 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 British Top 10 eventually reaching the Number One spot. Later in the year it also made #16 in the US charts.

The # 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. At that point, the Walker Brothers’ popularity in Britain – 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 US top twenty, they had much less success in their home country.

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” led to the group splitting up, though they did tour Japan together in 1968.

All three continued to release solo records, with Scott’s being by far the most successful. In 1976 the group unexpectedly reformed, scoring another UK top ten hit with Tom Rush's "No Regrets". However, the three albums that followed sold poorly. The final album, Nite Flights pointed the way to Scott Walker's later solo career.

• Take It Easy (1965)
• Portrait (1966)
• Images (1967)
• No Regrets (1975)
• Lines (1976)
• Nite Flights (1977)
• Everything Under the Sun - The Complete Recordings - 5 CD box set (2006)

• "Pretty Girls Everywhere" (1965) - did not chart
• "Love Her" (1965) - UK Singles Chart High - No. 20
• "Make It Easy On Yourself" (1965) - No. 1 (also #16 in the U.S.)
• "My Ship Is Coming In" (1965) - No. 3 (also #63 in the U.S.)
• "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" (1966) - No. 1 (also #13 in the U.S.)
• "(Baby) You Don't Have To Tell Me" (1966) - No. 13
• "Another Tear Falls" (1966) - No. 12
• "Deadlier Than The Male" (1966) - No. 34
• "Stay With Me Baby" (1967) - No. 26
• "Walking In The Rain" (1967) - No. 26
• "No Regrets" (1976) - No. 7
• "Lines" (1976) - did not chart
• "We're All Alone" (1977) - did not chart
• "The Electrician" (1978) - did not chart

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
• The Great Rock Discography - 5th Edition - ISBN 1-84195-017-3
• Guinness Rockopedia - ISBN 0-85112-072-5
• The Book of Golden Discs - 2nd Edition - ISBN 0-214-20512-6
• Everything Under the Sun (box set) Universal Records Cat. no. 983 984-4

• Further information
• Chapter from forthcoming biography of group
• Scott Walker-Fanpage Germany
• Photo archive of Scott Walker and The Walker Brothers by photographer Chris Walter