View source for The Move

{{Short description|English band}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{other uses|Move (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = The Move
| image             = The Move.png
| landscape         = yes
| caption           = The Move, 1967 (l-r): [[Carl Wayne]], [[Roy Wood]], [[Ace Kefford]], [[Bev Bevan]], [[Trevor Burton]]
| background        = group_or_band
| origin            = [[Birmingham]], [[Warwickshire]], [[England]]
| genre             = <!-- This is a summary. Please do not attempt to list every single genre of every single track -->{{flatlist|*[[Rock music|Rock]]
*[[Pop music|pop]]
*[[Psychedelic music|psychedelia]]
*[[freakbeat]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Freakbeat, The Garage Rock Era |url=https://www.ministryofrock.co.uk/Freakbeat.html |website=www.ministryofrock.co.uk |access-date=14 July 2024}}</ref>
*[[progressive rock]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.culturesonar.com/before-e-l-o-there-was-the-move/ |title=Before E.L.O. There Was The Move |last=Visconti |first=John |date=February 21, 2023 |publisher=Culture Sonar |access-date=December 20, 2024 }}</ref>}}
| years_active      = {{hlist|1965–1972|1981|2004–2014|2016}}
| label             = {{hlist|[[Deram Records|Deram]]|[[Regal Zonophone Records|Regal Zonophone]]|[[Stateside Records|Stateside]]|[[A&M Records|A&M]]|[[Polydor Records|Polydor]]|[[Fly Records|Fly]]|[[Ariola Records|Ariola]]|[[Capitol Records|Capitol]]|[[Harvest Records|Harvest]]}}
| spinoffs          = {{hlist|[[Electric Light Orchestra]]|[[Wizzard]]}}
| past_members      =
*[[Bev Bevan]]
*[[Trevor Burton]]
*[[Ace Kefford]]
*[[Carl Wayne]]
*[[Roy Wood]]
*[[Rick Price (bassist)|Rick Price]]
*[[Jeff Lynne]]
*[[Phil Bates]]
*Neil Lockwood
*Phil Tree
*Gordon Healer
*Tony Kelsey
*Abby Brant
}}

'''The Move''' were an English [[Rock music|rock]] band formed in [[Birmingham]] in 1965. Their original line-up comprised lead guitarist [[Roy Wood]], singer [[Carl Wayne]], rhythm guitarist [[Trevor Burton]], bassist [[Ace Kefford|Chris "Ace" Kefford]] and drummer [[Bev Bevan]].<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia"/> Wood was the band leader and main songwriter, with lead vocal duties falling to Wayne, while Wood, Burton and Kefford also contributed lead and backing vocals. By 1971, the band was reduced to a trio of Wood, Bevan and guitarist/singer/songwriter [[Jeff Lynne]] (formerly of [[the Idle Race]]), who joined in 1970. The Move scored nine [[Top 40|top 20]] UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands of the 1960s and 1970s not to achieve major success in the United States.<ref name="AMG">{{cite web |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |author-link=Richie Unterberger |title=Biography |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4970/biography|pure_url=yes}} |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=7 November 2009}}</ref><ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/><ref name="AMG"/>

The Move evolved from several mid-1960s [[Birmingham]]-based groups, including [[Carl Wayne & the Vikings]], the Nightriders and the Mayfair Set. Their name referred to the move various members of these bands made to form the group.<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia">{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=Guinness Rockopedia |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessrockoped0000unse/page/282 |publisher=Guinness Publishing Ltd. |location=London |edition=first |year=1998 |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessrockoped0000unse/page/282 282] |isbn=0-85112-072-5}}</ref> During their time together, the band released four studio albums, two compilation albums, [[Something Else from the Move|one live extended play]] and 18 singles. After their first two singles, "[[Night of Fear]]" and "[[I Can Hear the Grass Grow]]" hit number 2 and number 5 on the [[UK singles chart]], the band released their [[Move (The Move album)|self-titled debut]] in 1968, which hit number 15 on the UK [[Official Albums Chart]] and garnered two more top 10 singles, "[[Flowers in the Rain]]" and "[[Fire Brigade (song)|Fire Brigade]]". After 1968, the band would have three more singles in the top 10, including the number 1 hit "[[Blackberry Way]]". The band released three more studio albums - ''[[Shazam (album)|Shazam]]'', ''[[Looking On]]'' and ''[[Message from the Country]]'' - before their breakup in 1972. The band's later years saw Wood, Lynne and Bevan develop a side project called [[Electric Light Orchestra]], which would go on to achieve major international success after The Move disbanded. Wood would later leave that group and form [[Wizzard]].

In 1981, the band briefly reunited for a one-off [[charity concert]], consisting of Bevan, Wood and Kefford. Twenty-three years later, in 2004, Bevan would form the "Bev Bevan Band" with former [[ELO Part II]] bandmates [[Phil Bates]] and Neil Lockwood. Bevan later rebranded this group as "Bev Bevan's Move" and - beginning in 2006 - featured Trevor Burton as an occasional guest in shows, before he became a permanent member of the group. Between 2007 and 2014, Burton and Bevan, alongside Lockwood and new members Phil Tree, Gordon Healer, Tony Kelsey and Abby Brant, performed intermittently as "The Move featuring Bev Bevan and Trevor Burton". The band's most recent reunion would happen in 2016, as "Bev Bevan's Zing Band", with Bevan and former members Tree, Brant and Kelsey, alongside new member Geoff Turton.

==History==

=== 1965–1968: Formation and early career ===

==== Initial singles and debut album ====
[[File:Roy Wood TopPop.png|thumb|[[Roy Wood]] (pictured performing with [[Wizzard]] in 1974), who helped form the group in 1965]]
The Move were formed in December 1965 and played their debut show at the Belfry, Wishaw, on 23 January 1966. The original intentions of [[Trevor Burton]], [[Ace Kefford]] and [[Roy Wood]] were to start a group from among Birmingham's best musicians—along similar lines to [[the Who]]. The three played together at [[jam session]]s at Birmingham's Cedar Club and invited [[Carl Wayne]] and [[Bev Bevan]] to join their new group. After a debut at the Bell Hotel in [[Stourbridge]] in January 1966 and further bookings around the Birmingham area, [[Moody Blues]] manager [[Tony Secunda]] offered to manage them. At the time, The Move mainly played covers of [[West Coast of the United States|American west coast]] groups such as [[the Byrds]] together with [[Motown]] and [[rock 'n' roll]] songs. Many of the band's selections for their songs came from the extensive record collection of Danny King, a former bandmate of Burton.<ref name=WizzInt /> Although Wayne handled most of the lead vocals, all the band members shared harmonies and each was allowed at least one lead vocal per show (and often traded lead vocals within specific songs).<ref name=brumbeat>[http://www.brumbeat.net/move.htm Brumbeat: The Move]. Retrieved 11 November 2009.</ref>

Secunda got them a weekly residency at London's [[Marquee Club]] in 1966, where they appeared dressed as gangsters.<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia" /> Their early career was marked by a series of publicity stunts, high-profile media events and outrageous stage antics masterminded by Secunda; these included Wayne taking an axe to television sets.<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia" /> Wood was uncomfortable with this sensationalism and many concert promoters responded by banning The Move from live performances, but the stunts succeeded in drawing media attention and concert audiences to the group.<ref name=WizzInt>{{cite web |last=Sharp |first=Ken |title=Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock |url=http://www.themoveonline.com/archive_01.html |website=The Move Online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115045412/http://www.themoveonline.com/archive_01.html |archive-date=15 January 2008 |date=30 September 1994 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Eventually, Secunda also managed to persuade Wood to begin writing songs for the band during his time off.<ref name=brumbeat /> They secured a production contract with independent record producer [[Denny Cordell]], but that was turned into a media event by Secunda, who arranged for the band to sign their contracts on the back of Liz Wilson, a topless female model. Wood wrote their first single, "[[Night of Fear]]", a No. 2 hit on the [[UK Singles Chart]] in January 1967,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |location=London |edition=19th |year=2006 |page=381 |isbn=1-904994-10-5}}</ref> which began The Move's practice of [[musical quotation]] (in this case, the ''[[1812 Overture]]'' by [[Tchaikovsky]]).<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">{{cite book |last=Strong |first=Martin C. |title=The Great Rock Discography |publisher=Mojo Books |location=Edinburgh |edition=5th |year=2000 |pages=673–675 |isbn=1-84195-017-3}}</ref> Their second single, "[[I Can Hear the Grass Grow]]", was another major hit, reaching No. 5 in the UK.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" />

In April 1967, ''[[NME]]'' reported that The Move had offered a £200 reward (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|200|1967|r=-2}}|0}} in {{inflation/year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK}} for the recovery of the master tapes of ten songs intended for their debut album. The tapes were stolen from their agent's car when it was parked in [[Denmark Street]], London.<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book |last=Tobler |first=John |title=NME Rock 'N' Roll Years |edition=first |year=1992 |publisher=Reed International Books Ltd |location=London |page=171 |id=CN 5585}}</ref> The tapes were found in a skip (dumpster) shortly afterward, but the damage caused to them meant that new mixes and masters would have to be made, resulting in the delayed album only being released in March 1968 instead of the original plan of autumn 1967. Their third single "[[Flowers in the Rain]]" was the first chart single played on [[BBC Radio 1]] when it began broadcasting at 7{{nbsp}}am on 30 September 1967, introduced by [[Tony Blackburn]]. The single, which reached No. 2 in the UK,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> was less guitar-orientated than their previous two singles and featured a [[Woodwind instrument|woodwind]] and [[String instrument|string]] [[arrangement]] by Cordell's assistant [[Tony Visconti]].<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia"/> The track was released on the re-launched [[Regal Zonophone Records|Regal Zonophone]] [[Record label|label]].<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" />

==== Legal issues ====
[[File:Harold Wilson (1967).jpg|left|thumb|187x187px|The Move got into controversy when an ad for their single "[[Flowers in the Rain]]" depicted [[UK Prime Minister]] [[Harold Wilson]] (pictured circa-1967) sleeping with his secretary, [[Marcia Williams]].]]
Without consulting the band, Secunda produced a cartoon postcard to promote the single "Flowers in the Rain"; this showed the [[prime minister of the United Kingdom]], [[Harold Wilson]], in bed with his secretary, [[Marcia Falkender, Baroness Falkender|Marcia Williams]]. Wilson sued The Move for [[Defamation|libel]] and the group lost the lawsuit; they had to pay all costs, and all [[royalties]] earned by the song were awarded to charities of Wilson's choice.<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia" /> The ruling remained in force even after Wilson's death in 1995.<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia" /> In the ''Family Trees'' documentary special on the Birmingham music scene, Wood says that while the band as a whole lost their royalties, it affected him the most, as he wrote the song.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/mH5FC0i9-Zk Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20190607110932/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH5FC0i9-Zk&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH5FC0i9-Zk|title=Rock Family Trees - The Birmingham Beat - Full length version|date=5 March 2014 |access-date=28 December 2018|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

For their fourth single the group had planned to release "[[Cherry Blossom Clinic]]", a lighthearted song about the fantasies of a patient in a mental institution, backed by the satirical "Vote For Me". However, The Move had been unnerved by their court experiences; they and the record label felt it unwise to pursue such a potentially controversial idea, so the single was shelved. "Vote For Me" remained unreleased until it appeared on retrospective collections from 1997 onwards, while "Cherry Blossom Clinic" became one of the tracks on their first [[Gramophone record|LP]], called ''[[Move (The Move album)|Move]]''.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" />

As a direct consequence of the lawsuit, The Move fired Secunda and hired [[Don Arden]], who had himself recently been fired as manager of the [[Small Faces]]. In a 2000 interview, Wayne noted that there had always been a major split within the group about Secunda's tactics: "[Secunda] had the animals who would do what he wanted to do in Trevor, Ace, and me—the fiery part of the stage act. I think Roy would obviously qualify this himself, but I believe he was slightly embarrassed by the image and the stunts—but the rest of us weren't ... We were always willing to be Secunda puppets."<ref>[http://www.themoveonline.com/biogs_history.html Carl Wayne, 2000 interview] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070402010412/http://www.themoveonline.com/biogs_history.html |date=2 April 2007}}, The Move Online. Retrieved November 2006.</ref>

=== 1967–1970: Pop success and dissolution ===

==== Live performances and line-up changes ====
During November and December 1967 the group took part in another package tour around the UK, playing two shows a night over sixteen days, as part of an all-star bill that included [[the Jimi Hendrix Experience]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[the Nice]], [[Eire Apparent]], [[The Outer Limits (band)|the Outer Limits]], [[Amen Corner (band)|Amen Corner]], along with then-[[BBC Radio 1]] DJ [[Pete Drummond]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Syd Barrett Pink Floyd Psychedelic Music Progressive Music: 12/3/67 Pink Floyd Poster – Hendrix Package Tour |url=http://www.sydbarrettpinkfloyd.com/2009/07/12367-pink-floyd-poster-hendrix-package.html |website=Sydbarrettpinkfloyd.com |access-date=6 December 2014}}</ref> In March 1968, The Move returned to the charts with "[[Fire Brigade (song)|Fire Brigade]]", another UK Top 3 hit,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> and the first on which Wood sang lead vocal. A few weeks later, around the time of the LP's release, Kefford was let go from the band because of increasing personal problems escalated by drug usage.<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years 2">{{cite book |last=Tobler |first=John |title=NME Rock 'N' Roll Years |publisher=Reed International Books Ltd |location=London |edition=first |year=1992 |page=183 |id=CN 5585}}</ref> Wood stated that from the day the band was founded, Kefford had not got along well with any of the other band members.<ref name=WizzInt /> The Move then became a four-piece, in which Burton and (occasionally) Wayne took turns on bass on stage.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" />

The Move were on the bill at the inaugural [[Isle of Wight Festival 1968|Isle of Wight Festival]] on 31 August 1968. In mid-1968, their fifth single "[[Wild Tiger Woman]]", a song acknowledging the group's love of [[Jimi Hendrix]] (Wood and Burton sang backing vocals on "You Got Me Floatin'" on the Jimi Hendrix Experience's second album, ''[[Axis: Bold as Love]]''), sold poorly and failed to make the UK chart.<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia" /> The Move responded with their most commercially successful song to date, "[[Blackberry Way]]" (co-produced by [[Jimmy Miller]]), which topped the UK chart in February 1969.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> Wayne refused to sing the song, so it was recorded as a trio with Wood again handling lead vocal.<ref name=WizzInt /> [[Richard Tandy]] played keyboards on "Blackberry Way" and joined the band for a time, playing keyboards live and switching to bass when Burton was briefly sidelined with a shoulder injury.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> Upon Burton's recovery, Tandy departed to join the Uglys.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> The new, more [[Pop music|pop]]-orientated musical direction and the single hitting number one was the last straw for the increasingly disenchanted Burton, who wanted to work in a more [[hard rock]]/[[blues]]-focused style, and he left the group in February 1969 after an altercation on stage with Bevan in Sweden.<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia" />

At this time the band invited [[Jeff Lynne]], a friend of Wood, to join. He turned down the offer down because he was still working toward success in [[the Idle Race]], another Birmingham-based group. It was rumoured in the music press that [[Hank Marvin]] of the recently disbanded [[The Shadows|Shadows]] had been invited to join The Move. Some years later, Wayne recalled that to be nothing more than a publicity stunt; however, Marvin himself, in an article in ''[[Melody Maker]]'' in 1973 and elsewhere, has maintained that he was approached by Wood and invited to join The Move, but declined because their schedule was too hectic for him.{{citation needed|date=November 2009}} Bevan confirmed in a 2014 interview that the band invited Marvin, but they never expected him to accept.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interview: Bev Bevan (The Move, ELO, Black Sabbath) • Hit Channel |url=http://www.hit-channel.com/interviewbev-bevan-the-moveeloblack-sabbath/59978 |website=Hit-channel.com |date=5 March 2014 |access-date=30 July 2017 |archive-date=10 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210203249/https://www.hit-channel.com/interviewbev-bevan-the-moveeloblack-sabbath/59978 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Burton was ultimately replaced in 1969 by [[Rick Price (bassist)|Rick Price]], another veteran of several Birmingham rock groups, who joined on a temporary, non-contractual basis.<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia" /> Thus, the group in spring 1969 consisted of Wayne (vocals), Wood (guitar, vocals), Bevan (drums) and Price (bass, vocals).

Both Ace Kefford and Trevor Burton struggled commercially after leaving The Move. Kefford formed his own short-lived group, the Ace Kefford Stand, with [[Cozy Powell]] on drums.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> After this, he pursued a solo career and recorded a solo album in 1968, but it remained un-released until 2003 when it appeared as ''Ace The Face''. Burton played bass with yet another Birmingham group, [[Steve Gibbons (musician)|the Steve Gibbons Band]], was one-third of the short-lived band Balls (with [[Denny Laine]] and [[Alan White (Yes drummer)|Alan White]]), and later fronted his own blues group as lead guitarist.

==== ''Shazam'' ====
In October 1969, The Move made their only concert appearances in the US, opening two shows for [[the Stooges]] in [[Detroit]] and playing dates in Los Angeles and at the [[Fillmore West]] in San Francisco. When neither their US record company nor promoters showed any more interest—the band even had to make their own accommodation & travel arrangements—the remaining proposed tour dates in New York were cancelled and the group returned home. During that period, Arden sold The Move's management contract to impresario Peter Walsh, who was at the time also managing [[the Marmalade]].{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} Walsh, who specialised in cabaret acts, began booking the band into cabaret-style venues, which further increased the tension between Wayne and Wood.<ref name=WizzInt /> Bevan later said the others felt "old before their time" when playing cabaret dates. By this point, Wood was openly discussing his desire to form a band playing more eclectic music, including both harder rock and classical instruments, which he tentatively dubbed "[[The Electric Light Orchestra]]".

The Move's second album, 1970's ''[[Shazam (album)|Shazam]]'', continued The Move's practice of musical quotation and of elaborately rearranged versions of other performers' songs. "Hello Susie" (a Wood composition), which was a Top 5 hit for [[Amen Corner (band)|Amen Corner]] in 1969, quoted [[Booker T. Jones]]' and [[Eddie Floyd]]'s "Big Bird". The album also featured a slightly slower re-recording of "Cherry Blossom Clinic", an instrumental medley of public domain works and a cover of a [[Tom Paxton]] song, "[[The Last Thing on My Mind]]". Despite such superficial similarities with their past, however, the album represented a clear break from The Move's identity as a pop group, reintroducing them as a hard-edged underground band.<ref name=WizzInt /> Burton played bass on a couple of tracks as they had been recorded before he left, although this was not credited at the time.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Well aware that Wood was intent on setting up his new, orchestral rock project, Wayne suggested that Wood concentrate on performing with his new band while continuing to write songs for The Move, which would be reorganised with a lineup consisting of Wayne, Burton and Kefford; however, his suggestion was rejected by Wood, Bevan and Price, so after getting angry and embarrassed witnessing a fight between Wood and a drunken audience member in Sheffield, Wayne quit the group in January 1970, a month before the release of ''Shazam''.<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=http://www.carlwayne.co.uk/main%20pages/the%20move/history.htm |website=Carlwayne.co.uk |access-date=28 December 2018}}</ref> He subsequently worked in a variety of musical ventures and appeared on television and radio. In 2000, he replaced [[Allan Clarke (singer)|Allan Clarke]] as lead singer of [[the Hollies]] and performed with them as lead singer until his death from cancer in 2004.

=== 1970–1971: Jeff Lynne and ''Looking On'' ===
Upon Wayne's departure, The Move jettisoned Walsh as manager and returned to Arden. Lynne agreed to join the band as a second guitarist and pianist, enthused by Wood's ELO idea. Wood also wanted a second songwriter in the band to relieve the pressure on himself. The band's first recording with Lynne was a single, "[[Brontosaurus (Move song)|Brontosaurus]]". Feeling nervous as the band were about to go on stage for a television spot for the song, Wood spontaneously combed his hair out to make it look wild and applied black-and-white makeup with a star in the middle of his forehead, thus birthing the "Wizzard" image he would use extensively in his post-Move career and helping define The Move's image for the rest of their run.<ref name=WizzInt/> Soon afterward, the band toured Ireland and Germany. In August 1970, the group was the lead act at the Knighton Rock Festival, staged in the small [[Radnorshire]] town of [[Knighton, Powys|Knighton]]. In a radio interview, Bevan stated that The Move had ceased playing all of their prior songs except for "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" and were now playing mostly originals except for a few re-arranged covers (such as "[[She's a Woman]]"), as the band transitioned from mainstream pop toward progressive rock with its new alignment.

For the rest of the year, The Move concentrated on studio work, because they still owed one more album under their existing contract with Essex Music ([[David Platz]]) – which Essex Music was planning to use to set up its own record label, [[Fly Records]]. To prepare for their new direction, Wood and Lynne overdubbed multiple instruments, including piano, woodwinds, sitar and a Chinese cello that Wood had bought. However, before the third album ''[[Looking On]]'' was completed, Arden signed the new Wood-Lynne-Bevan band (without Price, who was not under contract with The Move) to a three-album deal with the [[Harvest Records]] division of EMI that included a £25,000 (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|25000|1970|r=-4}}|0}} in {{inflation/year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK}} advance – announced at the time as £100,000 (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|100000|1970|r=-5}}|0}} in {{inflation/year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK}}, but still more money – £8,333 each (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|8333|1970|r=3}}|0}} in {{inflation/year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK}} than the band had seen so far, despite its success. As a result, by the time ''Looking On'' was released in December 1970, with five songs composed by Wood and two by Lynne, Fly Records had lost interest in it, despite the fact that the album included a No. 7 hit, "Brontosaurus",<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> which was the band's last recording for Regal Zonophone.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/>

The second single from the album, "[[When Alice Comes Back to the Farm]]", failed to chart on Fly.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> The song intended as the B-side of that single, "[[10538 Overture]]", was ultimately held by the band for its new Electric Light Orchestra project, and Price's bass line was deleted and re-recorded by Wood, since Price was not part of the new group. Price in fact was unaware that The Move were working without him, until he heard about new material being made in early 1971. He then pursued other projects, including the band Mongrel, although he later rejoined Wood in [[Wizzard]] and the short-lived [[Wizzo Band]]. He went on to work in musical management and also formed the [[Duet (music)|duo]] Price and Lee with his wife Dianne Lee, formerly of the duo [[Peters and Lee]].

=== 1971–1972: ''Message from the Country'' and breakup ===
[[File:Electric Light Orchestra publicity photo 1973.png|thumb|The Move/[[Electric Light Orchestra]] in 1972]]
Although Wood, Lynne and Bevan had intended ''Looking On'' to be the final Move album, Harvest requested that the new group first release a new Move album, in the same vein as ''Looking On'', as the first album under its new deal, with the other two albums to be credited to the new group, in order to recoup the advance given to the band. As a result, the band recorded the last Move album and the first Electric Light Orchestra album at the same time—even during the same lengthy recording sessions (due to all the overdubbing by Wood and Lynne). The final Move LP, ''[[Message from the Country]]'', was released in summer 1971.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> Wood's "Ben Crawley Steel Company" featured a Bevan lead vocal that was modelled on [[Johnny Cash]], while Bevan's "Don't Mess Me Up" (sung by Wood) paid homage to [[Elvis Presley]], complete with fake [[Jordanaires]]. Although Wood and music critics continue to hold ''Message from the Country'' in high regard,<ref name=WizzInt /><ref>{{cite web |last=Farrar |first=Justin |title=The 10 Best (Longhaired) Power-Pop Albums of the 1970s |url=http://blog.rhapsody.com/2010/06/powerpop.html |url-status=dead |publisher=Rhapsody.com |date=15 June 2010 |access-date=28 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126133907/http://blog.rhapsody.com/2010/06/powerpop.html |archive-date=26 January 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> in 2005 Bevan referred to that album as his least favourite from The Move.<ref>Liner notes, ''Message from the Country'' re-issue, EMI Records, 2005.</ref> The album was followed by two more Wood-penned hit singles, "[[Tonight (Move song)|Tonight]]" and "[[Chinatown (The Move song)|Chinatown]]".<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /><ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> For several television appearances behind those songs, The Move added two musicians who became members of the original ELO: Bill Hunt (horns, woodwinds, piano) and a returning Richard Tandy (guitar, bass).

In 1972, after the release of the first Electric Light Orchestra album, The Move released what turned out to be a farewell record, a [[maxi single]] consisting of "[[California Man (song)|California Man]]", "[[Ella James]]" (from ''Message'', but a track originally planned by EMI to be their first single on the Harvest label) and "[[Do Ya (The Move song)|Do Ya]]".<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> "California Man", a No. 7 UK hit<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" />—featuring [[baritone saxophone]]s, a [[double bass]] and a riff borrowed from [[George Gershwin]]—was an affectionate tribute to [[Jerry Lee Lewis]] (the double bass had Lewis's nickname, "Killer", written on it) and [[Little Richard]], with Lynne and Wood trading verses and lines.<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia" /><ref name=WizzInt /> Meanwhile, Lynne's "Do Ya" became The Move's best-known song in the US; it was the only Move song to reach the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart at No. 93.<ref name="Whitburn">{{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |title=Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbur |publisher=Billboard |year=2003 |isbn=0-89820-155-1}}</ref> (However, the Electric Light Orchestra's remake of "Do Ya", recorded after Wood's departure, was a significant US hit in 1977.)<ref name="AMG" /> With the release of the album ''[[The Electric Light Orchestra (album)|The Electric Light Orchestra]]'', within weeks of the last single being released, they appeared on television promoting both The Move's last single and ELO's debut single (the long-delayed "10538 Overture") at the same time. Wood and Hunt quit ELO during the early recording sessions of ELO's second album, ''[[ELO 2]]'', which was the group's final album under their Harvest Records contract. Wood went on to front the [[glam rock]] band [[Wizzard]], as well as releasing a solo album in 1973, ''[[Boulders (album)|Boulders]]'', while Lynne, Bevan and Tandy kept touring as ELO and finally achieved international success. ''Boulders'' was recorded during Wood's time with The Move, but its release was held off because Lynne and Bevan wished it not to compete with The Move's albums.<ref name=WizzInt />

=== 1981, 2004–2014, 2016: Group reunions ===
A one-off reunion occurred on the 28th of April, 1981, at the Locarno in Birmingham, involving Wood, Bevan and Kefford.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/y-IpbIRX39E Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160507111103/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-IpbIRX39E Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |title=The Move - I Can Hear The Grass Grow Live Locarno 28 Apr 81.wmv |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-IpbIRX39E |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=14 May 2012 |access-date=30 July 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Several other Birmingham bands of the era also reunited for the event, which was a charity fundraiser. The band would not reunite again until 2004, 23 years later.

After Wayne's death in 2004, Bevan formed the Bev Bevan Band—shortly to be renamed 'Bev Bevan's Move' (with no other past members), in order to capitalise on The Move's continuing reputation and belated success. Bevan recruited former [[ELO Part II]] colleagues guitarist [[Phil Bates]] and keyboard player Neil Lockwood, plus bassist Phil Tree, to play a set on tour composed mostly of classics by The Move. Wood expressed extreme displeasure at that development.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Move Online: Roy Wood 'Move' Statement |url=http://www.themoveonline.com/news_roystatement.html |url-status=bot: unknown |date=9 July 2011 |access-date=30 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709194119/http://www.themoveonline.com/news_roystatement.html |archive-date=9 July 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="Move1">''Mojo'' magazine, 2007</ref>

Former Move guitarist Burton joined the band on occasion during 2006 and joined permanently in 2007 (Wayne had tried to broker a reunion between Bevan and Burton before his death and was to be involved with the new band). Bates departed in July 2007 to re-join ELO Part II (now renamed [[The Orchestra (band)|the Orchestra]]) and was replaced with Gordon Healer. The Autumn 2007 tour was billed as "the Move featuring Trevor Burton and Bev Bevan".<ref name="Move">Bev Bevan interview with Johnnie Walker, BBC Radio 2, 20 September 2007</ref>

In 2014, the band toured as The Move with a lineup consisting of Bevan, Burton, Tree, keyboardist/vocalist Abby Brant and guitarist/vocalist Tony Kelsey. On 2 May 2014, Bev Bevan announced through a [[Facebook]] post that The Move had broken up and that he and Burton would tour separately with groups called "the Bev Bevan Band" and "the Trevor Burton Band".<ref name="facebook.com">{{cite web |last=Bevan |first=Bev |title=Bev Bevan announces breakup of The Move |url=https://www.facebook.com/200636350007980/photos/a.292392237499057.67641.200636350007980/662878133783797/?type=1&theater  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/200636350007980/662878133783797 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|website=Facebook.com |date=2 May 2014 |access-date=3 May 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="The Move Announce Their Break-Up">{{cite web |last=Kelley |first=Ken |title=The Move Announce Their Break-Up |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-move-break-up/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |publisher=Town Square Media |date=3 May 2014 |access-date=3 May 2014}}</ref> In December 2014 the Bev Bevan Band completed their "Stand Up And Rock" tour, which lasted for almost 50 dates, in conjunction with Bevan's childhood friend [[Jasper Carrott]]. Guests on the tour included Trevor Burton, [[Geoff Turton]] and Joy Strachan-Brain, alongside Bevan, Kelsey, Tree and Brant.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

In 2016 the band announced that they had re-formed and were due to perform at The Core Theatre in [[Solihull]], [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]], with a line-up consisting of Bevan, Burton, Tree and Kelsey;<ref>{{cite web |title=Bev Bevan's Zing Band at The Core Theatre on 17 Sep 2016 |url=http://livebrum.co.uk/solihull-arts-complex/2016/09/17/the-move |website=Livebrum.co.uk |access-date=30 July 2017}}</ref> however, it was later revealed that the band performing would no longer be billed as 'The Move', but as 'Bev Bevan's Zing Band', and would not feature Burton; with the line-up consisting of Bevan, Tree and Kelsey, along with a returning Abby Brant and Geoff Turton on lead vocals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bev Bevan's Zing Band |url=http://thecoretheatresolihull.co.uk/whats-on/all-shows/bev-bevans-zing-band/ |url-status=dead |access-date=31 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730011624/http://thecoretheatresolihull.co.uk/whats-on/all-shows/bev-bevans-zing-band |archive-date=30 July 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Personnel==
===Members===
{{Main|List of The Move members}}

'''Final lineup'''
*[[Bev Bevan]] – drums, percussion, vocals <small>(1965–1972, 2004–2014)</small>
*[[Trevor Burton]] – guitar, bass, vocals <small>(1965–1969, 2007–2014) (unofficial member 2004–2007)</small>
*Phil Tree – bass, vocals <small>(2004–2014)</small>
*Abby Brant – keyboards, vocals <small>(2014)</small>
*Tony Kelsey – guitar, vocals <small>(2014)</small>

==Discography==
{{Main|The Move discography}}
*''[[Move (The Move album)|Move]]'' (1968)
*''[[Shazam (album)|Shazam]]'' (1970)
*''[[Looking On]]'' (1970)
*''[[Message from the Country]]'' (1971)

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.themoveonline.com/ |date=* |title=Official website}}
* [http://www.ftmusic.com/ Face The Music site: Move, ELO, and related]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080224002645/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/e.watkins/ The Move Information Station]
* {{IMDb name|2846046}}
* {{discogs artist|The Move}}

{{The Move}}{{Roy Wood}}{{Electric Light Orchestra}}
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