CHAD STUART & JEREMY CLYDE
"Of the many British Invasion acts that stormed the charts in the wake of the Beatles, Chad & Jeremy possessed a subtlety and sophistication unmatched among their contemporaries, essentially creating the template for the kind of lush, sensitive folk-pop embraced by followers from Nick Drake to Belle & Sebastian."
Several decades later, they have been described by one concert reviewer as "Simon and Garfunkel meet Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore." They serve up an appealing blend of vocal harmonies, inventive guitar and piano playing spiced with their unique brand of banter, stories and sardonic wit.
From humble beginnings in coffee houses and folk clubs in London, they were "discovered" by famed movie composer John Barry and recorded a string of hits (Yesterday's Gone, Summer Song, Willow Weep For Me, If I Loved You, Before and After, Distant Shores). As former drama students, they were quickly snapped up by Hollywood ("We had long hair and could string a sentence together") appearing as them-selves in legendary television shows including The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Patty Duke Show, Laredo (a western yet!) and Batman. They hosted Hullabaloo and appeared on all the great variety shows like The Hollywood Palace, Red Skelton and Andy Williams.
Television success and hit records were not enough to keep the team together, however. As the turbulent sixties drew to a close, they produced their best studio work (Cabbages & Kings and The Ark) but Jeremy's true calling was the London stage. They went their separate ways. Jeremy returned to England to pursue an acting career while Chad remained in Los Angeles working as an arranger and record producer.
In the eighties they teamed up again, with another album and starring roles in the British version of the Broadway hit, Pump Boys & Dinettes. Then came the opportunity to tour the U. S. with British Invasion II. After the tour, which garnered laudatory reviews for the duo, Jeremy was obliged to return to Europe to shoot a television series called William Tell, thereby ending their first reunion attempt. Chad escaped from Los Angeles to raise his family in Sun Valley, Idaho where he now lives and teaches music.
Over the years, the two men remained in touch, continuing to write songs and wondering in the back of their minds whether another reunion might be possible. Serendipity intervened in the summer of 2003 with a PBS TV music special. Since then they have performed all over the United States, Hawaii and the Philippines, entrancing audiences with their unique blend of songs old and new, romantic and satirical, humorous stories and anecdotes.
The year 2008 will be their busiest since 1968, for there will be three new Chad and Jeremy projects. The first will be Ark-eology (a play on their last Columbia LP titled “The Arkâ€) which will contain all new versions of Chad and Jeremy’s greatest hits including Summer Song, Yesterday’s Gone, Homeward Bound and more. Next up will be the release of a CD of all new material. It will be their first in over 25 years! Lastly, the documentary which has recently wrapped shooting titled “Yesterday’s Back†will be released in the fall.
QUOTABLE QUOTES OVERHEARD AT INTERMISSION
"It's like being a guest in their living room." - "My face hurts from
laughing!" - "These guys can really play! I had no idea!"
