The Best of Scott Walker & The Walker Brothers

21 Track Greatest Hits Collection - released May 1st 2006
Cat. No. 9839598

They were the Take That or McFly of their day. They sold over 23 million records worldwide. Three ludicrously attractive, prodigiously talented young men from California who took London and the UK by storm back in the mid-60s when they ruled the charts. Two gigantic No.1 hits - 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore' and 'Make It Easy On Yourself' - and a fistful of top 20 hits ensured the The Walker Brothers couldn't step outside their doors without being mobbed.

Now, 40 years later, this definitive collection gathers all the hits along with a selection of album favourites and some of the highlights from Scott Walker's solo career which he embarked upon after leaving the trio in 1967. As well as the No.1 classics, 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine' includes the favourites 'No Regrets', 'Jackie', 'Joanna', 'My Ship Is Coming In' and Walker covers of 'Stand By Me', 'We're All Alone' and 'The Impossible Dream' ("we'd always try to decide what to do with each song to make it special, even it had been recorded by someone else before us," says John Walker).

The Walker Brothers formed in California in the early 60s - Scott Engel (Walker) joined John Maus' (Walker's) band as a bass player after getting a residency at the famous Gazzari's Club on La Cienegas' "Restaurant Row" and they became known as the Walker Brothers. It was while they were performing one night that Gary Leeds, a drummer with another local group, saw them. They were playing their own style of rock'n'roll and blues music and for this reason Gary suggested they move to London where their type of music would be better received. So in February 1965, just after recording the single 'Love Her', they arrived in swinging London to check out the scene.

"Gary said that he knew someone who would back us financially," says John, "so we took his word for it. We didn't realise until we got to London that the backer was actually Gary's father but by the time we got there, we were just happy to be a part of the hottest town in the world. We moved into a small place in Earl's Court and I remember it was freezing cold. The other thing I remember was the church bells started real early in the morning!"

The Walker Brothers started recording songs in London - at the Phillips Studio in Marble Arch - and one of the first songs they worked on was Burt Bacharach and Hal David's 'Make It Easy On Yourself'. John remembers: "Initially we were recording in mono and then stereo and later on, around the 'Portraits' album we started using 4-track. We'd have these great orchestras and great arrangers in the studio with us and we'd record the whole thing all at the same time, live. The orchestra would get ready and we'd get ready and we'd just do it. We did most of these songs in just a handful of takes."

'Make It Easy…' became a huge No.1 hit in September 1965 and remains a radio favourite in 2006. The No.3 smash 'My Ship Is Coming In' followed and then in March 1966, The Walker Brothers hit No.1 for the second time in six months with 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore'. Along with The Beatles, they were the biggest band in the country. "We had to move house every few months because the fans would find us and camp outside the door," says John. "We lived together in South Kensington for a while but then we decided it was safer to live apart. But we were very flattered by all the attention."

By the spring of 1967, however, Scott was feeling the strain of fame and touring and the band announced that they would be embarking on solo careers - Scott released a series of acclaimed albums through the remainder of the 60s while John and Gary had solo success of their own (John still records and performs - see www.john-walker.org). The Walker Brothers reformed in 1975 for three albums and another hit single, 'No Regrets', but thereafter Scott's recorded material has become less radio-friendly with the well-received but "difficult" albums 'Climate Of Hunter' (1984) and 'Tilt' (1995). John remains good friends with Gary, who lives in Essex. However, he last spoke to Scott in 2000: "we were both in the studio so we had a chat about recording techniques and comparing analogue and digital; that kind of thing. I think the thing with Scott is that he gets great ideas and then he makes great use of artistic license, let's say…"

TRACKLISTING:

1. The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
2. Make It Easy On Yourself
3. No Regrets
4. Joanna
5. My Ship Is Coming In
6. Lights Of Cincinatti
7. Montague Terrace (In Blue)
8. Another Tear Falls
9. Boy Child
10. Jackie
11. Walking In The Rain
12. Stay With Me Baby
13. If You Go Away
14. First Love Never Dies
15. Love Her
16. Baby You Don't Have To Tell Me
17. Deadlier Than The Male
18. We're All Alone
19. Stand By Me
20. The Impossible Dream
21. Just Say Goodbye

www.John-walker.org
www.gary-walker.net
www.umtv.co.uk

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