The band was formed as The Yen after a chance meeting between Ron Kelly and Alan Silson in Moore's Music Shop, North Parade, Bradford, in October 1963.
Two days after that meeting they were joined by Chris Norman for rehearsals, but without finding a suitable bass player, just practised together for a year.
The addition of Terry Uttley on bass guitar at the beginning of 1965 completed the lineup and The Yen's first gig was at Birkenshaw School in February 1965.
The Black Cats were already a working band when Ron Kelly joined them at Dewsbury College in September 1966.
Alan Silson and Pete Eastwood joined the band, but the latter soon left and was replaced by Chris Norman.
In June 1968, Terry Uttley joined the group as a replacement for Arthur Higgins, who had left the band in order to carry on his education.
At the same time Steve Rowland, of Family Dogg, heard the band playing live on Radio One Club and offered to sign them to his production company.
He arranged for Albert Hammond, who was also in Family Dogg, to write a number for the band, entitled "It Never Rains in Southern California".
Hammond wrote other songs for the band, and a single "You Ring a Bell"/"Have You Met Angela" was recorded, but due to various problems in Rowland's organisation, it was not released.
In late 1971, the band's management was taken over by Dave Eager, the BBC Radio One DJ, at the same time that Norman suffered a serious infection that affected his vocal cords.
"Let the Good Times Roll" was liked by the media and was selected as the opening theme for Emperor Rosko's BBC Radio One Saturday show, but this popularity did not translate into record sales.
Ron Kelly left Kindness on 8 August 1973 and the band recruited an old school friend, Pete Spencer (drums/vocals), who had played in various groups (including with Allan Holdsworth), to drum for them.
Hurley introduced the band to composers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, who also wrote songs for glam rock contemporaries Sweet, Mud, and Suzi Quatro.
Around this time, Smokey Robinson threatened to file a lawsuit, alleging that the band's name would confuse the audience.
Their cover of Australian band New World's single, "Living Next Door to Alice", released in November 1976, reached No.
From Bright Lights & Back Alleys came two hit singles, the reggae influenced "It's Your Life" and a cover of "Needles and Pins".
At the peak of Smokie's success in 1978, Chris Norman teamed up with Suzi Quatro and released a duet single, "Stumblin' In", another Chinnichap composition.
Chris Norman and Pete Spencer wrote and produced the British football star Kevin Keegan's first single, "Head Over Heels in Love", a No.
In 1983, band members Alan Silson, Chris Norman and Terry Uttley collaborated with Agnetha Fältskog, singing together on the track "Once Burned Twice Shy" from her first English language solo album entitled Wrap Your Arms Around Me.
Chris Norman began his solo career and Terry Uttley went on to play bass for several other groups including Peter Goalby and John Coghlan (ex Status Quo drummer).
"[10] Though Smokie had begun work on a comeback, in 1986, Norman, by that stage enthused with the relative success of his second solo album, Some Hearts Are Diamonds, announced that he was to leave the band.
The new lineup released All Fired Up in 1988, which brought some attention and contained a new version of "Rock Away Your Tear Drops", the song that had been the title track to Norman's debut album.
However, Smokie made a surprise return to the UK Singles Chart in 1995, with a duet with the controversial northern comedian Roy Chubby Brown.
[citation needed] The remaining members decided to continue with the band and went about finding their third lead singer.
In 1996, Alan Silson terminated his membership, saying he intended to pursue a solo career and to work with other acts as well, joining Mickey Finn's T. Rex, and that he also no longer wanted to be on the road all the time.