DIY SPELLS DISASTER FOR HOLLIES’ BOBBY ELLIOTT

Monday November 3,2008

A spot of DIY went wrong for The Hollies’ drummer Bobby Elliott, one of the veteran Sixties hitmakers’ original members, who has been seriously injured after falling from a ladder at his Yorkshire home.

Bobby, 66, was taken to the Airedale Hospital near Keighley where it was discovered he had dislocated the right side of his shoulder and was badly bruised.

“I’ve never experienced pain like it,” said Bobby, 66, who was adjusting some floodlights high up on the ladder when he overbalanced and fell on to hard paving stone. “But I suppose I’m lucky I didn’t break anything.”

He was given morphine to help alleviate the pain at the hospital.

The next day The Hollies were supposed to appear at a major concert in Hamburg alongside Bruce Welch’s Shadows, The Searchers and Suzi Quatro.

Bobby was unable to appear in the show and The Hollies considered cancelling.

But Suzi Quatro’s drummer agreed to stand in for Bobby so that The Hollies’ appearance could go ahead.

The Hollies aren’t undertaking any further live engagements until December. “I hope to be fit again by then to appear with them,” says Bobby.

“We are in the middle of recording a new album and the group are spending time in the studio finishing it off.

“Thankfully my drumming tracks are already completed because I certainly can’t play drums at present.

“And there will be no more DIY for me in future.”