Bus Stop
“WE knew ‘Bus Stop’ was going to be a hit as soon as we’d cut it,” recalls Graham Nash. “We really did. Just listen to it – even today it sounds like a hit!” Sure enough, on its release in June 1966, “Bus Stop” became The Hollies’ ninth Top 10 success in the UK. Critically, though, the song was a major breakthrough in the US, peaking in the Billboard Top 5, opening up a transatlantic market that had so far proved elusive.
The appeal of “Bus Stop” was obvious. Led by Allan Clarke’s vocals, it’s powered by an irresistible melody and rushing three-way harmonies, punctuated by a raga-like solo from guitarist Tony Hicks that shunts The Hollies into Beatles and Byrds territory. The song was the work of teenager Graham Gouldman, a fellow Mancunian who’d already written a trio of major hits for The Yardbirds: “For Your Love”, “Heart Full Of Soul” and “Evil Hearted You”.
A year earlier, The Hollies had scored a hit with Gouldman’s “Look Through Any Window” (co-written with Charles Silverman), their first single to reach the American Top 40. “Bus Stop” was a significant step up in musical terms, presaging more sophisticated pieces like “On A Carousel” and “King Midas In Reverse”. On a lyrical level, however, it told a simple tale of romance on the rainy streets of their home city. “That connection – ‘Please
