Drummer Bobby's ‘Hollies' days stretch over six decades

As the influential drummer for The Hollies, Bobby Elliott has musical anecdotes spanning six decades. Now, he has brought those memories together in his autobiography, It Ain’t Heavy, It’s My Story. Bobby speaks to Rachel Banham.

- Rachel Banham

WITH THE DIARIES he has meticulously kept since childhood giving extra detail and accuracy, plus a lifetime of vivid rock ‘n’ roll memories, a book written by Hollies drummer Bobby Elliott was always bound to be special.

So, while the band’s current live shows, including one scheduled for King’s Lynn on October 23, have had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, fans of the band can still get their fix of all things Hollies through his autobiography.

Continually touring since 1963, Bobby’s adventures have seen him beating Keith Moon in a drumming audition for Shane Fenton and the Fentones, being serenaded by Joni Mitchell while she was in bed with Graham Nash and being offered a job by Paul McCartney to work with Wings.

Covering all such stories as well as exploring Bobby’s personal highs and lows, It Ain’t Heavy, It’s My Story is an enlightening account of 60 years on the frontline of rock ‘n’ roll.

Bobby recalls how it took him three to four years to complete the book.

“I started tapping away on my MacBook Pro here with my two fingers, so much so that I’ve worn some of the letters off,” he says.

It Ain’t Heavy, It’s My Story gives details of Bobby’s childhood, recalling how his first drum kit was a Cadbury’s Roses tin, an Oxo tin and an upside-down baking tin from his mum’s oven.

It tells how he began work as an apprentice for the National Coal Board, and how he joined guitarist Tony Hicks in the band The Dolphins, and ultimately The Hollies. His book offers a fascinating insight into his life of music.