Smokie

Born out of Bradford’s rock scene in England in the mid-1960s, Smokie formed around Chris Norman, Alan Silson, Terry Uttley and Pete Spencer after several name changes — from The Yen to Kindness and then Smokey — before finally adopting the name Smokie in 1975. The band occupied a space between soft rock, pop rock and glam rock, characterized by strong vocal harmonies, melodic guitars and radio-ready choruses. Smokie gained attention in the mid-1970s through work with songwriters and producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, issuing a string of heavily played singles including “If You Think You Know How to Love Me” and “Living Next Door to Alice.” The band’s early albums, such as Pass It Around (1975), Changing All the Time (1975), Midnight Café (1976) and The Montreux Album (1978), established a sound that mixed slow ballads, up-tempo tracks and touches of country. From the 1980s onward Smokie continued to record and tour with lineup changes, gradually shifting toward a more pop-rock and country-rock repertoire—albums like All Fired Up (1988) and Boulevard of Broken Dreams (1989)—and remained a regular presence on European stages, where the group retained an audience attached to its 1970s material and its continuations.