Eric Haydock

Haydock's first group, The Deltas, would become The Hollies in December 1962.{{Cite web |title=The Genius of The Hollies {{!}} As Told By Abbey Road's Cameron Colbeck |url=https://www.abbeyroad.com/news/the-genius-of-the-hollies-as-told-by-abbey-roads-cameron-colbeck-3105 |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=Abbey Road |language=en-GB}}

A founding member of the Hollies, he was one of the first British musicians to play a Fender Bass VI, a six-string bass.Interview with Eric Haydock from Look Through Any Window DVD, 2011. During his short tenure with the band, he recorded bass on their earliest hits, including "Just One Look", "Look Through Any Window", and "I'm Alive" among many others.

Haydock was infamous for being a practical joker, including one instance when he allegedly cut the power cords to the amplifiers being used by the Dave Clark Five on a concert bill shared with the Hollies. While his bandmates often enjoyed his antics when committed on others, when Haydock played tricks on the other Hollies, it was less appreciated, and led to some strained relations between the bassist and the other members from time to time.

Although considered a good bass guitarist, he was replaced in 1966 by Bernie Calvert, after disputes related to the conduct of the band's managers.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/eric-haydock-mn0001179419|title=Eric Haydock – Biography & History|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=6 January 2019}} He wanted to raise £2,000 for a house, but when he failed to raise the money, he told manager Michael Cohen that he would not return to the band until he had sorted out his finances.{{Cite news |date=2019-01-10 |title=Eric Haydock, original Hollies bassist who helped to lay down their tight rock sound but was sacked by the band – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/01/10/eric-haydock-original-hollies-bassist-helped-lay-tight-rock/ |access-date=2024-09-29 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}} A month later, he learned that he had been replaced. Bobby Elliott and others recalled that Haydock began missing live shows and recording sessions without warning, and had become unreliable (temporary session replacements on bass during this time included Klaus Voormann, Jack Bruce, and John Paul Jones). Years later, Graham Nash claimed that Haydock, although newly married, was also carrying on an affair with another woman, and did not want to tour with the Hollies any longer because he wanted to stay close to her. Haydock vehemently denied this when the story emerged in the press, and he also insisted that he only missed some concert and recording dates because he was ill, and that he provided his doctor's notes to the band to prove it.

Haydock's last album with the band was Bus Stop, which had been released after his departure, but included recordings in which he contributed to, although it was Calvert who played bass on the titular song that would later go on to become a hit; however, Haydock appeared with the group on Top of the Pops in June 1966, performing the song "Bus Stop".

When Pete Quaife left The Kinks in early 1966, Haydock was offered the chance to replace him, but turned it down as he believed he still had a place in The Hollies. However, he claimed, the very next day he was officially fired, but by that point the offer from the Kinks was no longer available.

In 1997, Haydock was sued by the Hollies for promoting his new band as "Eric Haydock's Hollies". The lawsuit resulted in Haydock being banned from using the name.{{Cite news |date=2019-01-10 |title=Eric Haydock, original Hollies bassist who helped to lay down their tight rock sound but was sacked by the band – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/01/10/eric-haydock-original-hollies-bassist-helped-lay-tight-rock/ |access-date=2024-02-02 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}

On 15 March 2010, Haydock along with Calvert and the other fellow Hollies members Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks, Bobby Elliott, and Terry Sylvester were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.{{cite web |year=2010| url =https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/hollies| title =The Hollies| publisher = Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|access-date = 29 January 2016}}

File:Eric Haydock with the Swinging Blue Jeans 2013.JPG

Haydock guest appeared at a Swinging Blue Jeans concert in Parikkala, Finland on 13 July 2013.

Haydock was married to Pamela Dore in 1965, but their marriage ended in divorce. They had three children. He died at his home on 5 January 2019, at the age of 75.{{Cite web |last=Saunders |first=Emmeline |last2=Smith |first2=Simon |date=2019-01-07 |title=The Hollies bassist Eric Haydock dies aged 75 |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/eric-haydock-dead-hollies-guitarist-13823268 |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=The Mirror |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Roisin |date=2019-01-07 |title=Eric Haydock death: The Hollies bassist and founder member dies aged 75 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/eric-haydock-dead-the-hollies-bassist-band-age-dies-died-a8715476.html |access-date=29 September 2024 |work=The Independent}} He had been ill for some time.

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Category:1943 births

Category:2019 deaths

Category:Musicians from Burnley

Category:English rock bass guitarists

Category:British male bass guitarists

Category:The Hollies members