After 64 Years, the Hollies Announce They Are Calling It Quits
by Best Classic Bands Staff
The Hollies’ classic lineup (photo from their Facebook page).
The Hollies, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted band formed in Manchester, England, in 1962, are effectively packing it in. The band, which included Graham Nash during its first six years, and which recorded such hits as “Bus Stop,” “Carrie Anne,” “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” “The Air That I Breathe” and “Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress),” issued a statement on Aug. 20, 2026, stating that guitarist Tony Hicks, 80, and drummer Bobby Elliott, 84, both of whom joined the band in 1963, will no longer tour.
As The Hollies have not released a new studio album in more than a decade, the statement can be interpreted as an acknowledgement that the Hollies are no more.
The band’s statement, which was posted on its social media pages, reads in full:
“Due to health reasons, Tony has decided to step away from touring.
“Out of respect for Tony and everything they have shared throughout their remarkable journey together, Bobby has also decided to retire from touring.
“After more than six decades, The Hollies’ touring career will come to a close with immense gratitude to the fans who have supported them around the world.
-The Hollies”
Like many bands with a long history, the Hollies have undergone numerous personnel changes over the years. In addition to Nash, Hicks and Elliott, the Hollies’ classic-era lead singer, Allan Clarke, is still alive, as are other former members Bernie Calvert (bass, 1966-81) and singer/guitarist Terry Sylvester (1968-81) and vocalist Mikael Rickfors (1971-73). Early bassist Eric Haydock died in 2019.
According to Wikipedia, Clarke retired from the music industry in 1999 to care for his wife, who had been diagnosed with cancer. He returned with a new album, Resurgence, in 2019, and then I’ll Never Forget in 2023.
Related: Our interview with Allan Clarke
A touring version of Hollies has been in existence since the group’s formation. Along with the Rolling Stones, they are the only high-level British rock band that has never disbanded during a six-decade career.
Other hits by the Hollies included “Just One Look,” “I’m Alive,” “Look Through Any Window,” “I Can’t Let Go,” “Stop Stop Stop,” “On a Carousel,” King Midas in Reverse,” “Dear Eloise,” “Jennifer Eccles” and a 1974 cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy).”
Among the group’s members, Nash has been the most successful, having left the Hollies in 1968 to join with David Crosby and Stephen Stills in a new trio.
The Hollies were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2010.
Watch the Hollies perform “Carrie Anne” live in 1969
The Hollies’ recordings are available in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.
5 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationThe Hollies are one of the greatest bands to emerge from the 60s. They had some really big hits in the 60s and 70s and are rarely included in the British Invasion. Their hits included Bus stop, Air That You Breath, He Ain’t Heavy and Long Cool Woman. With Allen Clarke on vocals, Eric Haydock on Bass, Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliot on drums the Hollies had hit after hit. Their line-up changed more than a diaper on a baby but the core of the band stayed together for a couple of decades. The Hollies will be missed.
Very sad news, as the only time I was able to see them live was in 1983. Had tickets to see them twice in the 2020’s, but they cancelled both times due to the Covid pandemic. Thanks to the multiple members of this great group for all the years of entertainment!
More popular in Europe than in the US their many hits were certainly part of the soundtrack of my teens. Although not really acknowledged much they also made a couple of fine psychedelic albums with “Evolution” and “Butterfly”.
I had no idea that any version of The Hollies were still out there. And without Allan Clarke for over 25 years? Well, a lot of other bands have been doing something along the same lines, so why not? I’m guessing they’ve been touring England and Europe, not so much the states, and maybe that’s why I didn’t know.
I saw the Hollies around 2002 at the westbury music hall in Long Island NY.. One thing I remember is that one of the original members mentioned that after 911, the song “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother, became the adopted song of the New York Fire Department (FDNY)