The band's main composers were Dello and Ray Cane although other members contributed songs. The group's supporters and critics, amongst them Kenny Everett, compared the band to Rubber Soul-era Beatles. Honeybus had a major hit with 1968's "I Can't Let Maggie Go", which was so popular that it earned the band a cover photo on the popular musicmagazine, Disc and Music Echo, for which they posed atop a red London bus. "I Can't Let Maggie Go" reached Number 8 in the UK Singles Chart, in April 1968, staying in the Top 40 for over two months. Dello resigned in August 1968. The band recruited Jim Kelly on guitar and vocals to replace him and Cane began songwriting and performing lead vocals. This line-up scored minor successes with "She Sold Blackpool Rock" and "Girl Of Independent Means". Honeybus eventually disbanded late in 1969. Their 1970 albumStory, without an active band to promote it, failed to chart. However, it is now highly collectable and sells for around £1,000 in perfect condition. It has since been re-issued on compact disc. Dello, Hare and Kelly all went on to record solo material in the early 1970s that was critically acclaimed but failed to achieve significant commercial success. The Dello line-up of the band reunited in 1971 to record a new body of songs for the Bell Recordslabel and a complete LP, Recital, for the British division of Warner Bros. Records. A change in management at Warner Brothers meant that Recital was never issued. "I Can't Let Maggie Go", was also a top 10 hit in Italy, with a version made by Equipe 84, entitled "Un angelo blu". It enjoyed an unexpected return in popularity in the 1970s, when it was used as the TV jingle commercial for "Nimble", a bread produced for slimmers.
Disbanding and aftermath
Kircher left the group in the summer of 1969 and went on tour with Engelbert Humperdinck. He was replaced by drummer Lloyd Courtney for the remainder of the sessions for their debut album. Kircher's drumming career saw him joining several bands, among them Compass with Billy Bremner, Roger Rettig and Brian Hodgson, Shanghai, John Scott Cree, Liverpool Express, Original Mirrors and Status Quo. He retired from the music industry after Quo's appearance at Live Aid. Kelly released a solo single in 1969 on Deram entitled "Mary Mary" b/w "Rev. Richard Bailey", both written by Cane, but it failed to chart. Kelly joined the Sleaz Band in the 1970s and they released "All I Want Is You" on the Fontana label. An album was also recorded, but never released. He died on Boxing Day in 1995 after a long illness. After a number of years out of the spotlight, Hare released new solo material in 2002. He now runs an official Honeybus website. In 2007 Hare played a few gigs with a completely new Honeybus line-up minus Dello. Surviving members of Honeybus were briefly reunited for a Dutchtelevision programme "Single Luck" in 2003. A solo EP, "Down From Pitswood", featured two original and long-forgotten Honeybus songs, which the band had recorded for BBC Radio sessions in the late 1960s.
