SHALAMAR are best known for a string of worldwide hits such as The Second Time Around, Make That Move, I Owe You One, I Can Make You Feel Good, Friends and A Night To Remember.

The group will be bringing their Friends 35th Anniversary tour to City Hall Salisbury next Thursday (November 16).

Shalamar started life as a “manufactured” group. Dick Griffey was the talent co-ordinator for US hit show Soul Train when he decided to set up his own record label – SOLAR. He took session musicians and created a hit record – Uptown Festival - which was credited to a faceless artist Shalamar in 1977. When the record became a hit he realised there was a demand for an actual group so he set about creating one with Soul Train dancers Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley together with singer Gary Mumford, the latter of whom quickly left the group to pursue other interests.

In late 1979, the group was riding high on the US R& B chart with their hit Take That To The Bank when Gerald Brown became the second lead singer to walk out on Shalamar. When Brown left, Daniel asked Howard Hewett to come on board and he agreed.

The trio consisting of Howard Hewett as lead vocalist together with Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley became known as the “classic” line-up of the group. From late 1979 to mid 1983, they racked up more than a dozen hits all over the world including North America, Europe, Africa and Japan.

At the height of their fame in 1983, Watley and Daniel left Shalamar leaving Hewett to continue the group with new members. In 1999, Howard Hewett and Jeffrey Daniel reformed the group and began touring again. For a number of years they left the third slot empty as they continued to invite Jody Watley back into the group. When they were happy that they had tried their best to encourage Watley to re-join, they felt that they should look for another female vocalist. The natural choice of replacement was Carolyn Griffey, daughter of founder Dick Griffey. Tickets: 01722 434434.