THE TUBELESS HEARTS

TUBELESS Hearts was a Yorkshire band formed in 1981, originally consisting of Trevor Midgley on keyboards, guitars and vocals, Kevin Moore on bass and vocals, Trev Sargent on guitars and Simon Kay on drums and vocals.
     All had previous musical experience, with Sargent and Simon part of Billy Fury’s last backing band, The New Tornadoes.
     The group managed to release a single in its first 18 months, Paperback Romance/Telephone, and performed a number of support slots with acts as diverse as Bucks Fizz, Showaddywaddy and Musical Youth.
     The departure of Sargent in late1982 gave the opportunity for Kevin to reunite with lifelong friend Adrian 'Fos' Foster, who had been playing with Kevin in bands together since they were nine years old.
     The band enjoyed considerable live success in the 80s and were offered a publishing deal with EMI, which they subsequently turned down. A chance meeting via TV personality Jimmy Saville and a mutual friend led to Tubeless Hearts becoming the vehicle for Jeff Christie's planned reworking of Yellow River in 1988.
     Under the wing of Jeff’s long-time manager Brian Longley, the Tubeless Hearts re-recorded the song (listen to a sample here) and it had even been scheduled to be released as a single, but Brian’s tragic accidental death effectively shelved the possibility indefinitely.
     Nevertheless, the working relationship was successful and as the 20th anniversary of Yellow River fast approached in 1990, the band joined forces with Jeff to re-launch a brand-new version of Christie into the live arena.
     Around this time, Trevor Midgley left the band, and the remaining members of Tubeless Hearts, in tandem with their work as Christie, adopted a rockier direction, and released the CD Three, which is now considered a collectable rarity, featuring a guest spot by Saxon's Graham Oliver.

The classic Tubeless Hearts line-up: Simon (left), Kevin, Trevor Midgley, Adrian

     Around 1989/90, a leading publisher in the UK approached Jeff personally to commit a piece to the Eurovision song contest, and Jeff submitted a soft rock ballad called Safe In Your Arms, on which Kevin sang lead vocals. Jeff played piano, Kevin bass, and Adrian lead guitar, while Simon provided backup vocals, with Midgley returning to the group to program the drums.
     In 1992, the band re-recorded San Bernadino with Jeff for an album, and in 1994 backed Jeff on Happy Christmas for a Christmas album that Christie participated in.
      Tubeless Hearts effectively ceased as a band in 1996, having run uninterrupted for 15 years, as its members chose to pursue different musical projects, but they continued to come together to perform with Jeff as Christie.
     One of those projects involved Kevin joining forces with Sargent’s son Dave in 1997 on an album of cover songs under the name of Dedication. Called Under the Covers, the set featured electronic rock versions of classic hits including Yellow River.
     Jeff’s link with the trio has now survived for more than 30 years, making it an enduring relationship indeed.
     A few years ago, a new version of Tubeless Hearts reconvened, and still performs regularly, though now under the name of Badfingerz, playing classic 70's hits, and features Trevor Midgley, Trevor Sargent, and Simon on the drums.
     Read more about the band here.