Terry Sylvester was born on January 8, 1947 in Liverpool.

In his younger days, Terry had played with the Escorts and the Swinging Blue

Jeans. In 1965, the Hollies were on the bill with the Escorts in Munich,

Germany. Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Bobby Elliott filled in for some of

the Escorts who were ailing.

Terry had this to say about his pre-Hollies days: "My life goes in stages.

The Escorts were three years of happiness musically because we really were

bloody good. I never made a penny in that band, but I got a pretty good

reputation which was worth its weight in gold, really. Then I joined the

Swinging Blue Jeans. We were on our last legs really, we were fighting

against the system in a way because the music business was changing and we

weren't. People expected the Blue Jeans to go singing Hippy Hippy Shake and

You're No Good. But then I joined what I always thought was the best group

anyway, the Hollies. The Hollies were always the type of group I set my

sights on." (A Biography From Epic Records by Janis Schacht)

In 1969, the Hollies began auditioning a number of candidates for Nash's

replacement. The group decided on Terry Sylvester.

Bobby Elliott describes the selection: "We tried a lot of people, but it

worked best with Terry Sylvester. We'd met him when the Escorts were on the

same bill as us in Munich. In some ways, he had a stronger voice than

Graham's, and certainly the harmonies were no worse than before."

In addition to taking Graham's place for rhythm guitar and high harmony

vocals, Terry also took Graham's place in the songwriting trio. The trio of

A. Clarke - T. Hicks - T. Sylvester wrote a good number of the Hollies songs

during this incarnation. Terry also wrote a number of songs by himself as

well as a few with Allan Clarke.

While Terry typically sang harmony vocals, he did perform the lead vocals on

a few of the Hollies songs. These songs include:

1.Cable Car

2.Pull Down The Blind

3.Jesus Was A Crossmaker

4.Indian Girl

5.Mr. Heartbreaker

6.No More Riders

7.Pick Up The Pieces Again [#1 and #2]

8.Harlequin

9.Boys In The Band

Allan Clarke said this about the new Hollies harmony with Terry: "I thought

that it [the harmony] sounded better with Terry, it was sweeter and more

together, whereas before - with Graham being the dominant person - he always

wanted to do more of the lead vocals."

During Clarke's first attempt at a solo career, the Hollies developed some

new arrangements of their classic songs in order to work on stage with their

new lead singer, Mikael Rickfors. Terry got to sing lead on some of them,

most noticeably on on the hot single, Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress.

In 1974, Terry put on a self-titled solo album. It was produced by the

Hollies producer, Ron Richards. The album contained versions of two songs

that the Hollies had also done - Indian Girl and Pick Up The Pieces Again.

He also sang on the Alan Parsons Project album Tales of Mystery and

Imagination - Edgar Allan Poe

In 1982, Terry teamed up with James Griffin (formerly of Bread) and released

an album titled Griffin & Sylvester. James Griffin passed away on January

11th 2005 in Frankllin complications from cancer at the age of 61 year.

Terry toured in Canada in 1996, playing in Toronto on New Year's Eve. Terry

will be touring in Canada in fall of 1997. See the News page for dates and

locations.

Terry participated via telephone at the Hollies Conclave on June 7, 1997.

The transcript of his call is given here.

A CD by Terry, entitled I Believe, is scheduled for release in November of

1997. See the News page for details.

Quote

"Everyone was telling me what an important move it was (to join the

Hollies), and of course I was aware of it. But I didn't feel the pressures

too much ... With (He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother), people forgot about

Graham and accepted me fully." (Record & Radio Mirror - July 20, 1974)

Sylvester Fun Facts

Terry Sylvester is a big fan of the Liverpool football team. .Terry joined

the Swinging Blue Jeans a few years after their hit Hippy Hippy Shake.

Terry delivered newspapers to earn the money to buy his first guitar which

he then taught himself to play. .Terry has four children - Matthew, Paul,

Peter, and Jemima.

Albums

Solo

1. Terry Sylvester (74).

2. I Believe (76).

3. I Believe In Love (96).

4. Terry Sylvester - Complete Works (Double CD's) (2001).

With James Griffin

1.Griffin & Sylvester (82)

With Alan Parsons Project

1.Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Edgar Allan Poe (76)

Singles

Solo

1. I Believe/It's Too Late.

2. For The Peace Of All Mankind (74).

3. End Of The Line/Make My Day (76).

4. Silver And Gold (78).

5. Silver And Gold/Realistic Situation (78).

6. Lucy Jane/Realistic Situation (78).

With James Griffin

1. Please Come Into My Life/If You Give Your Love To Me (82).

2. Please Come Into My Life/Never Alone (82).

3. Rozanne/If You Give Your Love To Me (82).

Terry Sylvester have recording a lot of records with Escorts (1964 - 1966)

and Swinging Blue Jeans (1966 - 1967)