The Hollies - King Midas In Reverse (Live on Top Gear, 22nd October 1967)

The Hollies performing their hit 'King Midas In Reverse' on BBC's Top Gear radio program on 22nd October, 1967. There's an opening interview with Graham Nash, with drummer Bobby Elliott joining in.
The track was recorded with 14 musicians conducted by Johnny Scott, who arranged the orchestral accompaniment on the track. This BBC version has never been released before anywhere.
The Hollies recorded 'King Midas In Reverse' on 3rd August, 1967. The backing track was laid down and vocals added. The effect on Bobby's drum fills was achieved by speeding the tape up to record them, and on playback, they were much deeper in pitch, sounding more like timpani. On this BBC track, you can hear them overdubbed as they would have been live in the studio, without the tape varispeed effect. The next day, on 4th August, The Hollies fly to Sweden to begin a tour of the Folk Parks, debuting their latest psychedelic clothing. The same day, the 40 piece orchestral accompaniment arranged by Johnny Scott is added without the Hollies present, at Abbey Road studios. It was released as a single on 22nd September, 1967.
This BBC performance was recorded on 13th October 1967, and broadcast on 22nd October, 1967. Other tracks recorded for the session were 'The Games We Play', 'Step Inside', 'Postcard', 'Charlie And Fred' and 'Away Away Away'. Due to Bobby Elliott's illness during the start of 1967, this was their first BBC radio session of 1967.
The first photos in the video during the interview are from that August tour of Sweden. The photos during the song are from the long lost performance of the single on Top Of The Pops. These are all the photos of the rehearsal for the filming (cameras weren't allowed in during the actual filming, hence the Hollies' relaxed attire) and the footage was wiped.
Many of the photos here are grainy, but historically significant.

[@irenedownie6559]

Great song! I remember back in the day being disappointed it wasn’t bigger hit.

[@nelidasilviacastro1722]

Queremos ser Felices!!!!!! Vivir en PAz

[@mrnobodyz]

The bass comes in nice!

[@Bruce15485]

For me, its the Hollies best song !

[@wernerspitzenberger6916]

definitely, yes, i see it the same way, it shows without doubt how important grahams voice was. the studioversion is absolutely perfect. and this version shows how perfect their voices could sound even live.

[@swami19581]

An astonishing composition. One of my favourite songs of all time.

[@nelidasilviacastro1722]

Thank you Hey !! Siempre en mi cuore!! @Yes YES YES 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

[@nelidasilviacastro1722]

No md Pu bmicN!!11❤❤❤❤❤1❤❤

[@nelidasilviacastro1722]

🎉Estamos en Democracia1😊

[@milbury55]

My favourite era of The Hollies, this is a magickal live recording, just a pity that there's not a film recording of it!

[@lucasdeoliveira1821]

though i love specially the hard-rock scene of the 70's, the 60's will always be my favorote music-art period of all ❤🔥✌🏼🕊.

[@heseblesen]

Hollies best song

[@notholding2]

Thanks to a friend at the Beeb I've had a copy of this entire radio session for a long time now but am glad someone else has shared it with the interview here. It is a true shame this song was not the monster hit it should have been.

[@chessmentor63]

The Posies' cover of this is awesome too

[@babyshambler]

That gold-sparkle Premier kit is beautiful!

[@roybeckerman9253]

Absolutely. He also used Ludwig and now uses DW.

[@erickjason9092]

I miss good music.

[@pwb0511]

So talented, just blow me away!

[@divadseivad205]

Wonderful song. enough

[@matthewfarmer6830]

Great video love the Hollies, thanks for sharing 👍

[@frankmensing4348]

Amazing!

[@timgrant6646]

Great version

[@lloydholzheimer5333]

LOVE THE HOLLIES. EVERGREEN MUSIC. IT MAKES ME HAPPY. ENJOY.

[@adm712]

This interview is very telling. Graham has this vision for the band to transcend to new creative heights, while the other members were probably keen on playing school boy romance pop tunes.

[@TVsMrHappyTalk]

As for Brian Wilson with his lot when going full genius with GOK and Good Vibrations.

[@morsol8491]

But He stuck with Crosby, Still and Nash, though. Nothing prevented him from sticking to teeagers tunes.

[@luhead]

You clearly know very little about the Hollies post-Nash.

[@LG-kl3co]

I have seen this sort of comment which is not valid. Nash sang about "chickens in the yard, life used to be so hard" The Hollies sang, He ain't heavy, he's my brother, The air that I breathe, Long cool woman in a Black dress. Take a look at Nash compilations and compare to Clarke, Sylvester, Hicks....and Clarke in particular. Finally, Clarkes....My life is over with you....a direct response to Nash leaving. The naivety in all the compositions falls heavily towards Graham Nash. BUT, Nash did make an enormous amount of money when he left The Hollies.

[@oppothumbs1]

@@morsol8491 lol

[@ManWithNoExpression]

Whenever I see this thumbnail I always think a video of this performance has surfaced - oh well, great audio though!

[@terryross1032]

Listening, sounds like they recorded it then Graham Nash sang over the top.

[@jaspurr77]

So good not even The Beatles attempted this at time..this song is better than a lot of their psychedelia..very unique

[@ledflaplin2001]

With all due respect By this time the Beatles had released Strawberry Fields forever by 8 months. Sgt Pepper Had been released in May 1967. The Beatles Psychedelia had surpassed everyone. Hell you could say they were the originators of it. Listen to Tomorrow Never Knows off of Revolver in 1966. It was a good start.

[@amabreward491]

Totally agree with you. This tune and the Butterfly album are criminally overlooked.

[@Bruce15485]

Most probably my favourite Hollies song ! Released in September 1967. Well after Strawberry Fields and Sgt Peppers, Graham Nash sat in on the "All You Need Is Love" session. Its not hard to hear the Beatles influence on this song. Worthwhile read: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_You_Need_Is_Love

[@sczen]

YES THEY HAD~

[@MerkinMuffly]

I like the Hollies, but please, Revolver in 66, for my money is the greatest rock album ever, a psychedelic masterpiece to boot.

[@ManzannaSaotome43]

OMG thanks so much for sharing this version it sjust awesome 😃

[@richardwinn8941]

This is an abolutely fanastic tune and may be the Hollies best ever song but incredulously was not a top 10 hit, amazing when you hear just how good it is.

[@markjamesmeli2520]

NOTE: Song starts at 1:12.

[@lordjohndebrusch3597]

I had the single. Too ahead of its time but should have charted much much higher!

[@SuperNevile]

Agreed, but then they went back to singing about schoolgirls and got back in the top ten.

[@aurajimenez88]

Siguen siendo los mejores los adoro y el cantante lo hace muy bien y muy bello

[@arturopatino7797]

Uno de los mejores grupos ingleses, mal explotados y longevos que aún están cantando, aunque nada más estén dos de los orígenales hollies

[@descontr0l]

En algunos paises fueron muy famosos y exitosos pero nunca llegaron a tener la misma relevancia de fama que los otros grupos ingleses de la época como The Beatles o The rolling stones y es una lástima porque The Hollies ERAN BUENISIMOS, la calidad vocal, las armonias, las voces perfectamente afinadas, sobre todo la de Allan Clarke (que es una absoluta belleza y que cantaba igual de hermoso una balada o un rock duro con la misma perfección y belleza pues su voz se acoplaba muy bien ) , las composiciones, los arreglos , las letras...TENÍAN TODO para llegar a tener la misma relevancia que The Beatles. Concuerdo contigo, fueron mal explotados en el buen sentido de la palabra,les faltó como más marketing . Yo soy de Venezuela y en mi pais fueron muy famosos y conocidos en los 60 y 70 pero en otros no tanto

[@patrickward8144]

You bet it's the Hollies best song, and the reason Graham left!!!!!!

[@Piggy-Oink-Oink]

ANy live version of these Hollies songs-I;e never heard one-- CLOWN, FIFI The FLea or Tell me To My Face?

[@elirosen1391]

Anyone notice the absence of the high harmony in the bridge?

[@dougpiranha3619]

There ain't half been some clever bastards.

[@plasteredbastard]

i think nash left just after this single's release due to artistic direction

[@johnasson5723]

this cut is majestic and true for the outsider. and today s polarity only further reflects the lack of tolerance despite the so called urge for umm transparency~

[@caryheuchert]

ELO should have covered this.

[@bertspivey3214]

Bobby Elliot never gets the credit he deserves.

[@andrewsheppard3189]

Brian Mathew introduced Saturday Club and Easy Beat (on Sundays). It is his voice as compere, not John Peel. Thus, wrong attribution. Not Top Gear.

[@philchappell6831]

Top Gear was presented by Brian Matthews before John Peel took over the show.

[@andrewsheppard3189]

@Phil Chappell Correct, but by October 1967, Peel and Pete Drummond were hosting. My earlier comment re Brian Mathew and Easy Beat was incorrect. The show was canned by then. Saturday Club had been taken over by Keith Fordyce. So was Brian Mathew guest host for The Hollies session? There aren't many left who can tell us.

[@elliotgoldberg5657]

Love the song but always felt the high flutes were way overdone

[@dianegodbout2356]

I attribute this song to the current admisnistration and the Davos crowd

[@seancurran6727]

Well you can't spell, so that fits right in right your poitics.................

[@sandyrickard994]

A fantastic song, but I think Magical M T cornered the market that year

[@trfesok]

Well, it was nice to have ambition, but touring with an orchestra in 1967 would have been prohibitively expensive a logistical nightmare , and the proper amplification technology did not yet exist. ELP would find this out, much to their dismay, 10 years later.

[@michaelharrington75]

Nash just talking out of his a$$. Shortly after this he went to playing folk music with Crosby and Stills. No big orchestras or anything.

[@dggydddy59]

​@michaelharrington75 Graham was my old boss in the music biz and he was a great guy to me. In 1967 he was young, full of drugs and open to anything. He needed to do something different in the Hollies and would put out ideas different than what the other guys wanted and saw himself growing apart from them. And he wasn't an orchestra arranger, just a singing songwriter and a full fledged hippie idealist. He truly thought the music of the 60's was going to change the world for the better. And he wanted to play a part. Besides, CSN and CSNY songs weren't about orchestra parts anyway.

[@dionsands3113]

didnt chart well,just made top 20 in nz.

[@jamiej14544]

This song has a very negative theme. It was not very commercial and failed to chart strongly. Graham's bid to influence the direction of the Holliis failed. He left soon thereafter. Dear Eloise was a much better choice for a single,