Rob gets The Hollywood Bees a mention in The Shields Gazette in an article about his past playing at the La Strada Club.

Holly good show from rock veteran

12 May 2010

HISTORY is repeating itself for the lead singer of a pop band once the resident act at a South Shields nightspot.
The La Strada was the place to hang out in the town in the swinging '60s, and from 1964 to 1969 its house band was The Crusaders.

Often described by their fans as South Tyneside's answer to The Beatles, the group split up after their members married, had children and went their separate ways.

Now, however, their lead singer and guitarist, Jarrow-born Rob Quinn, is back as the frontman of a group paying homage to another 1960s band – The Hollies.

The Hollywoodbees have already drawn praise for the authenticity of their sound, particularly the close harmonies that made The Hollies famous on songs such as The Air That I Breathe, Stay and He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother.

A series of gigs have been lined up, including one at Seaton Delaval Arts Centre in Northumberland on Saturday.

A tour of Northern Ireland is also on the cards for next year, as is a homecoming performance next March at the Customs House in South Shields, just yards from where La Strada used to be.

Mr Quinn, a retired motoring company director now living in Whickham, Gateshead, said: "As The Crusaders, we played mostly Beatles material in the '60s, but The Hollies were always the bands' band, to a large extent because of their brilliant close harmonies.

"The original band is still touring, but without Alan Clark and Graham Nash. That's like The Beatles without Lennon and McCartney.

"We're a five-piece band who have played something like 15,000 gigs between us.

"We've had some excellent feedback. Some people saw us and thought we were better than the latest version of The Hollies, who they'd seen at The Sage Gateshead. That's really encouraging.

"I still get the same buzz from performing as I did when I was at the La Strada, but it's even more of a buzz now because we're in theatres where the audience is there to see you perform, rather than playing between dances or bingo sessions."

To check out the band log on to www.holliestribute.com / www.myspace.com/hollywoodbees
A video of them performing can be seen at www.youtube.com/thehollywoodbees