Road - Band on the Run

Brian Poole and the Tremeloes with their 1966 Transit

This’ll get you going, well at least some of you. Think back to the 60s before the hippies and flower power when pop groups were clean cut, carefully coiffured and could (just about) hold a tune. There were lots of groups at the time, some of them made it, many of them didn’t.

Amongst those who were successful were Brian Poole and the Tremeloes with hits like ‘Silence is Golden’, ‘Suddenly You Love Me’, ‘Here Comes my Baby’ and ‘Helule, Helule’ – at least it sounded better than the title.

The group was formed in 1958 but by 1966 they could afford a brand new Ford Transit tour bus. Launched the year before in 1965, the Transit revolutionised the world of vans with plenty of loadspace, good handling and comfy seats.

It wasn’t long before the pop groups latched on and you could easily tell which were the top groups at the time as they travelled up from youth club to disco, from pub lounge to town hall – the successful ones had Transits. The rest had wallowing Ford Thames’, Bedford CAs, Morris Commercials or those adverts for rust, the Commers.

Ford of Britain is celebrating its centenary this year and is raiding its photo archive to come up with rarely seen images, including this one. Well, it took me back!