Fans of “Smokie” around the globe are mourning – gone one of the founders of the Bradford rock band, bassist Terry Utley. A statement from the Smokie website said: “With deep sad hearts and tear-filled eyes, we share the news that our beloved friend and colleague Terry has died after a short illness. Steve, Martin, Mick and Pete are devastated by his sudden and unexpected moving to a better world. Terry was a dear friend, a loving father and he was an amazing person and musician. We all feel extremely happy to have shared so much time and scene with him. ” Terry had remained the last of the band’s original members, and was called a legendary musician.
Terry died on Friday, at the age of 70, just weeks after the death of his wife, Shirley.
Fans from all over the world pay tribute to him on social media. Some write: “WithI woke up to the devastating news that Terry Utley had died. He was such a nice person and he spent time with all his fans. He made us feel special and he really believed that his fans were most important. Big loss “.
Niki Kanchev also commented on Facebook how much he will be missing in the music world. “Together with their colleagues Chris Norman, Alan Silson and Ron Kelly in the late 60’s, 70’s and 80’s they stole the hearts of millions of fans with their pop rock. They were in Bulgaria several times. I will never forget the thousands of Pleven. who went up to the Slavi Alexiev Stadium to see Smokey and sing along with them. It was an amazing sight. “
Smokie was founded more than 50 years ago when Terry was a classmate at St Bede’s School in Heaton with Alan Silson and Chris Norman. They played in local clubs under various names, including “The Elizabethans”. In the 70’s they already have top 10 hits like “If You Think You Know How To Love Me” and “Oh Carol”.
“The first few times Allen and Chris asked me to join the band, I said no because I was an intern at Fields Printers in Lidget Green,” Terry said in 2006. “But the third time they asked me, I agreed.” .
“Smokie” split in 1981, but came together in 1986 for a fundraiser for relatives of those killed in the Bradford fire.
Alan Barton later replaced singer Chris Norman, who left and built a solo career. In 1995, Allen died when the bus carrying the group crashed in Germany. The band later continued with Mike Kraft as frontman and returned to the charts with a new version of “Living Next Door To Alice”.
Smokie has sold over 30 million records worldwide. They are honorary citizens of Seoul after becoming the first Western band to sell a million singles there. Pete Lincoln is the band’s lead singer at the moment.
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