Bus stops here for Hollies

The big-selling band are promising a hit-heavy show when they play to a Bay audience this month. Jamie Morton chats to original member and vocalist/guitarist Tony Hicks ahead of the concert at Mills Reef Winery.

HULLO! It's Tony Hicks callin' from Ing-glund," bubbles the sprightly voice at the other end of the line.
The legendary vocalist and guitarist of The Hollies, whose heavy Manchester accent still gives away his northern roots, is phoning from dreary, freezing London.
So it's silly to ask whether he's looking forward to basking in the New Zealand summer sunshine again, but I put it to him anyway.
"Over here in Europe it's very, very, cold, so we can't wait to come over. New Zealand is a beautiful country and we love playing there."
But it's more worth mentioning to Hicks how fans like Errol Ward of Pyes Pa queued for two hours one cold Saturday morning in October - showing how adored the 60s pop group still are.
"That's really great that people were lining up for tickets, that's quite special," he says.
It was also worth pointing out how the line Ward and 50 other loyal fans had formed leading up to the front doors of Baycourt was just metres away from the Durham St bus stop.
Hicks chuckles. Bus Stop, The Hollies' 1966 hit that climbed to No5 on the Billboard charts, is still a concert staple for the band at live shows today.
It also happens to be my father's favourite Hollies anthem, and Hicks promises to play it for him if he comes along.
Hicks says it's been a steady year for the band, which just finished a sell-out, 25-date tour of the UK.
The Hollies happen to be among the few groups of its era still touring - and the even fewer groups touring with a new album.
The title of that album, Then, Now, Always could be an all-encompassing description of a group ever-sparkling on the international stage.
The talents of original members Hicks and drummer Bobby Elliott, along with Peter Howarth, Ray Stiles, Steve Lauri and Ian Parker, ensure that they retain their well-earned status and play to packed houses throughout the world.
I momentarily forget this when I mention to Hicks how hit 60s groups Gerry and the Pacemakers and Herman's Hermits are also visiting the Western Bay this year, for a joint show in Tauranga in April.
I ramble for a few seconds about the long-lasting appeal of 60s favourites before realising he might not have appreciated the comparison - and quickly back-pedal: "Not that we're comparing here."
Hicks, whose group did after all notch up more hits than The Beatles during the 60s and 70s, forgives me.
A Hollies' greatest hits compilation released in New Zealand in 2001 knocked The Beatles' 1 collection from the top of the chart. Last year, Midas Touch, a new collection of solid-gold hits and classic tracks, made the top 20 in the album charts and the band appeared on BBC breakfast TV playing unplugged and live.
More recently, The Hollies were inducted into the prestigious American Rock'n' Roll Hall of Fame: "For their impact on the evolution, development, and perpetuation of Rock 'n' Roll".
The band's own evolution is clear from the transformation of its sound between 16 Top-10 hits, spanning from Stay in 1963 to the 1988 re-release of He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother.
The Hollies enjoy a solid supply of hits in the bank, from Just One Look, I'm Alive, On a Carousel, Hey Carianne to Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress and The Air That I Breathe - yet it's not just the oldies that concert-goers are screaming for these days.
In fact, the band are receiving requests for songs from their previous album Staying Power, proving that, once heard, their newer material is just as popular as their impressive back catalogue.
Even after more than 40 years, Hicks still gets just as much of a thrill performing them.
"We get requests for Look Through Any Window and On a Carousel and sometimes we'll stick to the record versions, or sometimes we'll change them a little bit.
"We always try to play quite a few of our new songs as well."
Hicks says live shows are still as fiery as they used to be, and the Hollies' trademark harmonies are still tight.
Those going to the Mills Reef show might also expect a power-packed encore, which has become a trademark of The Hollies. When the band played Napier's Mission Estate in 2001, fans were left with The Air That I Breathe as a final number - and then wowed them with a generous encore of Too Young To Be Married, Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother and It's In Every One Of Us.
"If we get a get a great reception at the end of every night, then we're rapt."
Tickets for The Hollies' show on Saturday, January 29, are sold out, and tickets for the second show the following night are selling out fast. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and will not be sold at the gate.