Terry Sylvester
Sylvester withThe Escorts in 1965
Background information
Born	Terence Sylvester (1947-01-08)8 January 1947 (age 78) Allerton, Liverpool, England
Genres	Soft rock,pop
Instrument(s)	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1960s–present
Website	www.terrysylvester.com

Terence Sylvester (born 8 January 1947)^[1] is an English musician and songwriter. He is a former member ofthe Escorts,the Swinging Blue Jeans (1966–1969), andthe Hollies. In the latter role, he took on the high parts formerly sung byGraham Nash, who had left the band in December 1968.

Sylvester grew up inAllerton, Liverpool, and attended school with futureBadfinger guitarist,Joey Molland. At the age of 14, Sylvester was employed for a time as apanel beater byGeorge Harrison's brother. The group he co-founded, the Escorts, appeared withthe Beatles in the early 1960s.^[2] The Escorts recorded theircover of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" onFontana Records in 1964.^[3] Acompilation album of the Escorts,From the Blue Angel, was issued on LP and then, in 1995, on CD.^[4]

In 1966, Sylvester began a three-year stint with the Swinging Blue Jeans, replacing guitarist/vocalist Ralph Ellis.^[2]

Sylvester's debut with the Hollies in January 1969 saw him sing on the UKcharthit singles "Sorry Suzanne" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", plus on the albumsHollies Sing Dylan andHollies Sing Hollies (both 1969), which debuted Sylvester's songwriting.^[2] His first song for the group was "Gloria Swansong", and he continued to write by himself ("Pull Down the Blind", "Cable Car" 1971), withAllan Clarke ("Why Didn't You Believe", "Man Without a Heart", "Perfect Lady Housewife") and as part of Clarke-Hicks-Sylvester.

This trio composed most of the Hollies songs on several albums:Confessions of the Mind (1970),Hollies (1974),Another Night (1975),Write On andRussian Roulette (both 1976 – although neither of the latter two were issued in the US in their original form) plusA Crazy Steal (1978).

Some of Sylvester's work appeared onB-sides on singles including "Indian Girl" (1972),^[5] "No More Riders" (1974),^[6] in addition to singing lead vocals on theTony Hicks andKenny Lynch co-written song, "Oh Granny" (1972).^[7]

In addition to high harmony vocals, Sylvester also sang a brief lead vocal section on the 1970 UK hit, "Gasoline Alley Bred" (sung mostly by Allan Clarke). He then took on a greater share of responsibilities during the 1972–73 period, when Swedish vocalist,Mikael Rickfors, temporarily replaced Clarke. Sylvester sang "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" on the Hollies' 1973 US tour and on American television appearances. He later sang a number of lead vocals during this period onRomany (1972). This album included a cover ofJudee Sill's "Jesus Was a Crossmaker". OnOut on the Road (1973), Sylvester took lead vocals on several songs including "Slow Down, Go Down", "Pick Up the Pieces", and "Mr. Heartbreaker" (which was co-written with Dean Ford ofMarmalade).

After a period of discontent, partly over musical policy, Sylvester split with the Hollies in May 1981, in an incident that precipitated the resignation of bassistBernie Calvert.^[2]

In 1974, Sylvester released his eponymous solo album, re-releasing it asI Believe with a slightly revised track listing in 1976.^[2]Jimmy Griffin guested harmony vocals on the song "Travelin' Boy", while Sylvester cut solo versions of his Hollies songs "Cable Car", "Indian Girl", "Pick Up the Pieces Again" and later, a solo version of his 1973 Hollies song "I Had a Dream", which was added to the CD version of the album. The 1974 single onPolydor ("For the Peace of All Mankind", anAlbert Hammond cover)^[8] and a couple of singles in 1976 ("I Believe",^[9] aStevie Wonder cover, and "End of the Line") all taken from his solo album failed to chart. In 1978, Sylvester issued the non-album singles "Too Bad Lucy Jane" and "Silver and Gold" in the UK, but these also failed to chart. He also earlier had contributed vocals tothe Alan Parsons Project's first album,Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1975), singing lead on "To One in Paradise",^[2] and providing background vocals on "The Cask of Amontillado", behindJohn Miles.

In 1994, a further solo album appeared,I Believe in Love, comprising live versions of both his Hollies and solo recorded songs, plus covers such as "It Never Rains in Southern California", from a concert recorded on 20 March 1994 in Germany.^[10]

In 1982, Sylvester, in collaboration withJimmy Griffin inMemphis, Tennessee, recorded and releasedGriffin & Sylvester onPolydor.^[2] From this album, "Please Come into My Life",^[11] was released as a single.^[12] In the mid-1990s, Sylvester teamed up with Griffin again as the duo 'Griffin & Sylvester', touring the UK and Canada as a part of the 'Soft Rock Cafe'.^[2] The friendship and partnership continued, on and off, up to Griffin's death in January 2005.^[13] Their 1982 album was re-issued oncompact disc with three bonus songs in 1999.

A double album of Sylvester's recordings with the Hollies (mostly Sylvester lead vocal tracks), the Alan Parsons Project, solo, and Griffin & Sylvester entitledThe Complete Works: 1969–1982, was issued in France on Magic Records in 2001.^[14]

In 2010, as a member of the Hollies, Sylvester was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame along withGraham Nash,Allan Clarke,Tony Hicks,Bobby Elliott,Bernie Calvert andEric Haydock.^[15]

• 1982:Griffin & Sylvester

• 1982: "Please Come into My Life"
• 1982: "Rozanne"

• 1974:Terry Sylvester
• 1976:I Believe
• 1994:I Believe in Love

• 1974: "For the Peace of All Mankind"
• 1974: "Mary Anne"
• 1975: "End of the Line" - AUS #82^[16]
• 1976: "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)"
• 1978: "Silver and Gold"
• 1978: "Too Bad Lucy Jane"

• Official website
• Terry Sylvester biography atAllMusic

• 1947 births
• Living people
• English male singers
• English rock guitarists
• British soft rock musicians
• Musicians from Liverpool
• The Hollies members
• British rhythm guitarists
• English male singer-songwriters
• Beat musicians
• English male guitarists

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use British English from January 2014
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Use dmy dates from January 2014
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