Arrival - Arrival 1970

Active for a few years at the end of the 1960s into the start of the '70s, Arrival were a London-based soft rock band who scored a few hits with their easygoing arrangements and close harmonies. They released two self-titled albums (one with Decca in 1970 and another with CBS in 1972) before disbanding. Arrival's music was re-collected several times as the years went on, most substantially with the 2022 anthology Friends: Complete Recordings 1970-1971, which included previously unreleased radio sessions and other material.

After spending the mid-'60s in Liverpool playing in beat/R&B band the Excelles, bandleader Frank Collins and several bandmates relocated to London and reconfigured the Excelles as Arrival in 1969. Expanding from a five-piece to a ten-piece with an emphasis on vocal harmonies, their songs were built on the interplay between vocalists Collins, Dyan Birch, Carroll Carter, and Paddy McHugh, and backed by smooth rock instrumentation and occasional string arrangements. They signed with Decca and released their first single in 1969. Dusty Springfield was an early devotee of the band and wrote a short note of praise for their sounds that was included on the back cover of their first album. That self-titled record was released in 1970 and included the group's first hit, "Friends." The same year, Arrival had another non-album hit with "I Will Survive," made various television appearances, and performed at the Isle of Wight Festival. Their second, also self-titled, album was released in 1972. The band broke up shortly after the record's release, with some members continuing to work as session players/vocalists and some forming new acts like Kokomo and Olympic Runners. AMG.

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