Beloved rock band retires suddenly ending 60-year run: ‘Immense gratitude to the fans’

EntertainmentThe Hollies pictured at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)APBy Brian Linder | blinder@pennlive.comAfter more than six decades of touring, The Hollies will no longer be taking the stage.The legendary rock and pop group made the announcement on Thursday with a post to its Facebook page.“Due to health reasons, Tony has decided to step away from touring,” the statement read. “Out of respect for Tony and everything they have shared throughout their remarkable journey together, Bobby has also decided to retire from touring. “After more than six decades, The Hollies’ touring career will come to a close with immense gratitude to the fans who have supported them around the world.”Tony Hicks, the lead guitarist, and Bobby Elliott, the drummer, go back nearly to the band’s inception in 1962, according to Variety. Hicks is 80, and Elliott is 84.They were among the group members inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 along with Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Terry Sylvester, Eric Haydock and Bernie Calvert. The band originated in England, but it made a splash in the United States as well. That included a breakout in 1966 with the hit “Bus Stop” which made it to No. 5 on the charts. They had a slew of top 10 hits — “Stop Stop Stop,” “Carrie Anne,” “He Aint’ Heavy, He’s My Brother,” “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress,” and “The Air That I Breathe,” that extended into the early 1970s. Variety reported that the band had a number of lineup changes across the decades before “a version of the group solidified in 2004.” The outlet said that version of The Hollies were together until the abrupt retirement announcement. The Hollies released 23 studio albums. The first was 1964’s “Stay with the Hollies,” and the last, “Then, Now, Always,” came in 2009.Brian Linder is the trending editor at PennLive.com. He has more than 20 years of experience working for newspapers first in South Carolina, then Daytona Beach, Florida and now in Pennsylvania. Linder spent...