Arrows, Love Rider, Alan Merrill

The band Arrows perform "Love Rider," in 1976 with lead singer Alan Merrill dropping bass guitar and fronting the band. It was around this time that the band began to reshuffle their lineup from the original 1974 trio, plus the addition of a new guitarist (Terry Taylor), and also a fifth (for the touring band) player, a utility member (Steve Gould of the recently disbanded Rare Bird) taking up bass duties but never seen on camera. Although recorded in 1976, this song was not released until the Millennium because of an ugly legal situation with their record label that prevented the band from releasing any recordings, ultimately resulting in the breakup of the group.
Dormant for decades, the song was released some 30 years later, and appears on the album "Arrows, A's B's and Rarites" on EMI records. The new addition to the band on lead guitar Terry Tayor makes an appearance here. (Terry is currently with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings). Lead vocals by Alan Merrill, rhythm guitar Jake Hooker, and drums Paul Varley.
Arrows wardrobe designed exclusively by Dee Harrington.
Website-
http://www.arrowsfan.co.uk

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Arrows
• rock
• pop
• glam
• love-rider
• Alan-Merrill
• Terry-Taylor
• Jake-Hooker
• Paul-Varley
• dee-harrington
• i-love-rock-n-roll
• seventies
• 70s
• arrows-show
• classic
• uk
• retro
• vintage
• touch-too-much

[aliciabrooke1000]

Ther're cute

[vivicola]

@aliciabrooke1000 Yeah, nice boys when they were asleep. They had quite a reputation in London. The band went through women like lawnmowers and their drinking and chem ingestion is legendary.

[mistyntwisty]

The face of the real rock n roll Arrows, not the corporate puppet RAK EMI Arrows. They show their true leanings here.

[vivicola]

RAK records did have some very commercial acts and Arrows stood out as not really fitting in to that label. Still, the label got hits with bands like Mud and Kenny who fit the brand better, and that's the name of the game. Arrows releaased very few singles but had a couple of hits all the same.

[jojoranter]

@mistyntwisty - It's interesting to note that this video has more hits than their top 10 hit "touch too much" - This band shoudl have always been writing their own material.

[vivicola]

@jojoranter Interesting observation! You're right!

[honeybabycookie]

Alan Merrill's wearing voodoo pyjamas! He looks possessed! LOL

[1Sharpobject]

HOT!

[andicatz]

"Get off your horse and drink your milk" as John Wayne would say! Alan the original milk and cookies cowboy..still riding high!

[bootcords]

@aliciabrooke1000 They were a very cool very mismanaged band.

[aliciabrooke1000]

@vivicola Ive never heard of them till yesterday(i was on a mission to find who orriganlly sang I Love Rock N Roll) and they popped up:)

[KeithTheKing]

@ramalamadingadong They had no records released along with their weekly TV series. None. All 56 shows that aired (28 filmed with repeats, 56). It was messy, very messy. After January 1976 the Arrows never released another record although they had the weekly TV show. It was a legal matter and destroyed the band. By the end of 1977 they gave up and broke up, since they were contract bound and couldn't release any records it was impossible for them to go on.

[TR5T]

Mickey had his idea about "image" and market demographics. These guys were superb musicians. But they had to play to the tweens cum 16s.

Should have heard them jam in the studio........awesume. Yes they were the real thing.

They all wrote as well.

[singlegorilla]

@jojoranter This is a real rock song, like their original song "I love rock n roll" ; and that's what this band is about.

[ramalamadingadong]

Odd that their label never released this great song, with them having a weekly TV show and all in 1976.