Rod Allen born 31 March 1944

Rod Allen (March 31 1944 - January 10 2008) was best known as the leader of the group The Fortunes, who were one of many pop groups that rose to prominence in the wake of the Beatles. Their specialty was softer ballads delivered in three-part harmonies underpinning the voice of Rod Allen, who led the group for more than 40 years.

The Clifftones

He was born Rodney Bainbridge in Leicester, where his parents were shopkeepers. His interest in popular music was fired by skiffle, in particular by the voice and guitar of Lonnie Donegan, whose fan club he joined at the age of 12.

When he was 14, the family moved to the Sparkbrook district of Birmingham and Rod attended Moseley grammar school. After working for the Co-operative Insurance Society for 18 months, he became a full-time musician. He had formed an acoustic guitar group, the Clifftones, with friends Glen Dale and Barry Pritchard. 

Robbie Hood & The Merry Men

In 1963 they went electric, with Rod mastering the bass guitar; they added a drummer and keyboards player. They were managed by the flamboyant concert promoter Reg Calvert, who prevailed upon them to accompany a singer Calvert had renamed "Robbie Hood". The Clifftones inevitably became the Merry Men, dressed in jerkins and green tights.

They emerged at the end of this period as the Fortunes Rhythm Group. By now, Rod had dropped the name Bainbridge and chosen Allen from a telephone directory. They worked up a series of songs associated with Dionne Warwick, Gene Pitney and Broadway theatre. So eclectic was their repertoire that Calvert would often challenge an audience: "Name any tune and if the Fortunes can't play it, you win five shillings!"

                             

In 1963, they won a beat contest at the Gay Tower Ballroom in Edgbaston and were signed by Decca. The Fortunes' second single for the label was the plaintive ballad Caroline, which was adopted as a theme tune by the pirate radio station of that name. Calvert was

also entangled in the shadowy world of pirate radio, and was shot

and killed in 1966 as a result of rivalry with another pirate station owner.

The Fortunes' first hit was in 1965, when You've Got Your Troubles reached No 2 in Britain and No 7 in the US. The song, composed by leading Tin Pan Alley writers Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook, featured Allen's soaring lead vocals, as did the follow-up hit, Here It Comes Again. The group then toured the US and released This Golden Ring on their return. It reached the Top 20.

Although its success was slightly marred when the Fortunes admitted in a magazine interview that they had not played the instruments on the recording, they were booked to appear at the prestigious NME Poll Winners Show at Wembley Arena, where they performed This Golden Ring before several thousand screaming teenagers.

The Fortunes issued a further 10 singles in the 1960s. None was a hit, although several featured songs written by Allen and other group members, the best of which was The Idol by Allen and Pritchard. Despite their lack of chart success, the band prospered by playing the cabaret club circuit and by recording jingles for several television and cinema commercials. The most distinctive of these was Allen's rendition of It's the Real Thing, the Coca-Cola theme.

The band's recording career was briefly revived in the early 1970s, when Greenaway and Cook supplied them with two more hit songs, Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling and Freedom Come, Freedom Go. These were followed by Storm in a Teacup, co-written by Lindsey De Paul and Barry Blue.

In January of 1999, Barry (Baz) Pritchard sadly passed away after a long illness and Bob Jackson of Badfinger fame was recruited on keyboards. Throughout the late ’90’s and the ’00’s The Fortunes continued to tour the world and built on their reputation as one of the finest harmony bands in 

Europe. Australia, New Zealand, The Middle East were all re-visited and British and European tours with other artists showcased Rod’s towering vocals and professionalism.

These successes renewed demand for live appearances by the Fortunes and the group kept on in steady work right up to the present. Allen played his last show with the group at Yeovil during November 2007, shortly after he was diagnosed with liver cancer. He died on 10 January 2008 at his home in Coventry. The Fortunes had a full engagement book for 2008, and the surviving group members vowed to carry on in Allen's memory.

It is not only as a great singer but also as a great bass guitarist that Rod Allen should be remembered for. His fluent use of the instrument on stage while fronting the band and in the recording studio was always something to be admired. Rod may have left the stage, but he leaves behind a proud legacy as a superb vocalist, and as a performer that remained with the same band for over forty years, not something many bands of today are ever likely to equal.

(Edited from an article by Dave Laing @The Guardian & Brum Beat)