The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their career the Move were led by guitarist, singer and songwriter Roy Wood. He wrote all the group's UK singles and, from 1968, also sang lead vocals on many songs. Initially, the band had four main vocalists (Wood, Carl Wayne, Trevor Burton and Chris "Ace" Kefford) who divided amongst themselves the lead vocal duties.
The Move were the best and most important British group of the late '60s that never made a significant dent in the American market. Through the band's several phases (which were sometimes dictated more by image than musical direction), their chief asset was guitarist and songwriter Roy Wood, who combined a knack for Beatlesque pop with a peculiarly British, and occasionally morbid, sense of humor.
The Move evolved from several mid-1960s Birmingham-based groups, including Carl Wayne & the Vikings, the Nightriders and the Mayfair Set. Their name referred to the move various members of these bands made to form the group. Besides Wood, the Move's original five-piece line-up in 1965 was drummer Bev Bevan, bassist Ace Kefford, vocalist Carl Wayne and guitarist Trevor Burton. By 1972, the Move had been reduced to a trio consisting of Wood, Bevan and Jeff Lynne, formerly of the Idle Race. The band's later years saw this lineup develop a side project called Electric Light Orchestra, which would go on to achieve major international success after the Move's disbandment.
The Move were so named because the five musicians in its charter lineup left existing Birmingham groups in order to form the band. Under the wing of manager Tony Secunda, the group moved to London and crafted an explosive act, heavily influenced by The Who. The difference between the two bands was that The Move favored poppier, lighter subject material, almost a rock version of The Zombies.
After this release, The Move would continue to shift their lineup, morphing into a band that was less popular but more interesting, writing and recording songs with denser and more ambitious arrangements. This change in approach crystallized with the arrival of member Jeff Lynne, with whom The Move's Roy Wood would later form The Electric Light Orchestra. The band's final two outings, "Shazam" (1970) and the "Message from the Country" (1971) today hold cult status as classics. An important band that bridged the gap between late 1960s British Invasion pop and the progressive rock movement of the early 1970s.
MEMBERS
Roy Wood - 1965–1972 . 1981 - lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals, bass, saxophones
Ace Kefford - 1965-1968-1981 - bass, vocals
Bev Bevan - 1965–1972 . 1981 . 2004–2014 - drums, percussion, vocals
Carl Wayne - 1965–1970 (died 2004) - vocals, rhythm guitar
Jeff Lynne - 1969–1972 - rhythm and lead guitar, keyboards, vocals, bass, drums
Rick Price - 1969–1971 (died 2022) - bass, vocals
Trevor Burton - 1965–1969 . 2004–2014 (unofficial member 2004–2007) - guitars, vocals, bass (1968–1969)
Phil Bates - 2004–2007 - vocals, rhythm and lead guitar
Neil Lockwood - 2004–2014 - keyboards, vocals
Phil Tree - 2004–2014 - bass
Gordon Healer - 2007–2014 - rhythm guitar, vocals
Tony Kelsey - 2014 - rhythm guitar, vocals
Abby Brant - 2014 - keyboards, vocals
The Move – Movements • 30th Anniversary Anthology (1998)
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