ROD ALLENRod Allen, who died on 10 January, 2008, was the lead vocalist and bass player with ‘60s beat and harmony group The Fortunes.
They had several hit singles in the mid ‘60s and early ‘70s and were best remembered for You've Got Your Troubles and Here It Comes Again, both top five successes. They also recorded the famous Coca-Cola jingle It's The Real Thing and one of their numbers was the theme song of Radio Caroline.
The Fortunes emerged from Birmingham in 1963 and were one of the leading exponents of ‘Brum Beat’, a blend of the ‘Mersey Sound’ from the North and the R&B influences of Mod London.
Rod Allen, real name Rodney Bainbridge, was born on 31 March, 1944, in Leicester. He formed a vocal harmony band called the Clifftones in Birmingham with guitarists Barry Pritchard and Glen Dale in the early ‘60s.
After becoming a five-piece with the addition of drummer Andy Brown and pianist David Carr, they briefly toured in London as the Merry Men with a vocalist called Robbie Hood (real name Mike West) but soon decided the theatrical green tights the booking demanded were too demeaning and returned to the Midlands.
Renamed as the Fortunes Rhythm Group, they won a band contest in Edgbaston which led to a deal with Decca Records who had famously turned down the Beatles the previous year.
Their first single, an ill-advised cover of the Jamies’ Summertime, Summertime, vanished without trace. The follow-up Caroline also failed to chart but boosted the band’s reputation when it was adopted by influential pirate station Radio Caroline as its opening song every morning.
The Fortunes did not really have any songwriters, usually performing and recording covers, with any original numbers – dismissed by the label as too derivative of the Mersey Sound – being confined to B-sides.
However, in 1965 they finally broke the charts with You've Got Your Troubles, written by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook who would later write for the Hollies, Cliff Richard and Cilla Black (coincidentally, one of their songs, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, recorded by the New Seekers, would also become a Coke anthem). You've Got Your Troubles reached number two in the UK charts and the follow-up, Here It Comes Again, peaked at four in the same year. Both songs also charted in America.
The two singles optimised the bands’ sound with lavish three-part harmonies complementing Mr Allen’s lead vocal, described as one of the finest of the era. They recorded their debut album, The Fortunes (1965), and released a third hit single, This Golden Ring (1966), which reached number 15, but their fortunes went into decline.
This barren period was in part due to changing musical trends (The Fortunes never went psychedelic). They were unable to break their unlucky streak, even with the fine single, The Idol (1967), which was produced by Shel Talmy (who had worked with The Who and The Kinks) and heralded a harder rock sound.
The song’s lack of success prompted a stark change in direction, with the group signing up with Coca-Cola to record music for advertising themes. Their first was a rendition of Things Go Better With Coke (1967) and they then recorded the first version of It's The Real Thing in 1969.
The band enjoyed a revival in the early ‘70s with singles, Freedom Come, Freedom Go (another Greenaway-Cook composition, 1971) and Storm In A Teacup (1972) reaching the top 10. After that they continued to tour with only minor line-up changes over the next three decades, playing their hits and rock ’n’ roll classics to appreciative audiences.
Mr Allen, who had been suffering from liver cancer for the previous two months, died peacefully at his home in Coventry with his family by his side, a statement from the band said. He was survived by his wife and two children. The Fortunes had been due to begin their 2008 tour the following week and vowed to continue performing in accordance with Mr Allen’s wishes.
"Rod’s wonderful voice and sparkling personality has undoubtedly endeared him to countless thousands of people all over the world in his long career. His contemporaries would all agree that his was one of the most distinctive voices to come out of the Golden Era of popular music," said the band.
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