Interview with The Hollies' Terry Sylvester

I recently had the opportunity to have a chat with The Hollies' Terry Sylvester, who'll be performing at Kowloon Restaurant in Saugus on Friday, March 12 at 7pm before being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What had started as an interview turned into a friendly chat, and I'll excerpt an edited version of it here. For clarity and brevity, Terry's remarks are compressed. My comments in italics are meant as narrative bridges.

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I started by asking about his familiarity of the Boston area.

"I've spent quite a bit of time there. I've played four or five shows at Kowloon; the best Chinese food you'll ever find. I'm going into the [Rock and Roll] Hall of Fame (on March 15), and [me playing at Kowloon] is like Boston sending me on my way."

Have you ever been to Winthrop?

"No, but I have a funny feeling my girlfriend used to live near there. I've been to Fenway Park; met Johnny Pesky, who came backstage to one of my shows. I know all about the Pesky Pole. Baseball is amazing.. I've lived in North America for over twelve years and baseball is just a fantastic sport. I've even caught a ball pitched by Roger Clemens when he was pitching for Toronto! I've seen [Tim] Wakefield pitch; he's a great pitcher with [his] knuckleball. I love the idea of the knuckleball [but] it's a dying art."

On growing up in England with The Beatles as contemporaries:

"I grew up in Liverpool with The Beatles. I was close with them. Paul [McCartney] and I lived 200 yards from each other in Allerton, Liverpool. When The Beatles conquered North America, it was fabulous. We [The Hollies] never made it for the first British Invasion, but I came over in 1968 when I joined The Hollies. In 1978, I came over to promote He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother. I'll never forget flying in, seeing the Manhattan skyline, just sensational. When I fly into New York for the Hall of Fame ceremony, I'll be doing the same. Certain memories you always remember.

What's in store for the show?

"It will be the full band, 20 minutes or so, then a one hour solo performance. It will probably be a hits set."

I wished Terry luck and to have a great show and a great time at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and we chatted a bit more. There may be future interviews.

As a special bonus, you can listen to an MP3 interview between Terry and WBZ's Jordan Rich.

You can purchase your tickets to the Kowloon show if you haven't already; it's only $20 per person. Reserve by calling 781-233-0077.