The Stylistics Talk October/November 2024 ‘Greatest Hits’ UK Tour

The Stylistics, the iconic soul group that have captivated audiences for decades with their smooth harmonies and timeless hits, are proud to announce their highly anticipated – ‘The Stylistics 2024 – Greatest Hits Tour’ with 25 UK shows in October/November. Airrion Love kindly chatted to us prior to the tour: 

HERB AND I ARE 2 OF THE ORIGINAL STYLISTICS, AND WE ALL WENT TO THE SAME HIGH SCHOOL IN PHILADELPHIA. WE BOTH WERE FROM TWO OTHER GROUPS I WAS (AIRRION) FROM A GROUP CALLED THE MONARCHS AND HERB WAS FROM A GROUP CALL THE PERCUSSIONS. After the high school members from each group either went on to college or into the arm services. The monarchs were left with three members and a drummer, and the percussions were left with two members, a guitar player and a bass player. At that time, we were managed by our English teacher, Beverly Hamilton and she suggested that we combine the two groups and change the name and that’s when we formed The Stylistics. Trying to decide which name to use it was our guitar player at the time, Robert Douglas, who came up with the name, Stylistics, and when we heard that we knew that was a name that we wanted it to use. That was in 1966.

You will be embarking on an extensive twenty-five date UK Tour in Autumn 2024. How are you feeling about the tour?

We’ve been touring in the UK now for every year since about 1979, so this is just a part of our existence to the UK every year. We know that come the fall. We will always be touring and England, Ireland through October, and December.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, microphones etc?

We don’t use many effects on stage the Stylistics consist of for singers, six musicians, a tech, and a road manager. As singers, we don’t play any instruments on stage, but I play a little piano self tour, and Herb plays the drums and the piano.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

Our hometown is Philadelphia Pennsylvania born and raised there.

The city of brotherly love, that’s the motto of Philadelphia.

Given your vast back catalogue is it difficult picking a setlist? Do you have a specific selection process?

Well, we know when we travel overseas there are certain songs that were only hits and countries like the UK and Japan, which we are there each year also. Over in those countries we try to do the hit songs that they recognize, even though some of the songs will be the same songs we do here in the United States, but most of the time there are songs that were big hits overseas that has to be in the shows. I can’t give you anything, but my love was one of the biggest songs in the UK and Japan so naturally that has to be added to the show. It wasn’t so much of a hit in the US so we barely seldom performed that particular song while touring the US.

Which of your tracks hear you at you’re a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

For me I think I’m the happiest when we’re singing rock ‘n’ roll baby I’m never when we are singing any of our songs, but I do reflect on life in general when we sing People Make the World Go Around.

How do you look after your voices?

For me personally, I’m not a smoker even though I smoked when I was younger. I stopped when I was 29 years old. I don’t go through any special regimen. I just make sure that I get plenty of rest before the show and I try to stay hydrated as possible.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

I tend to be overly critical of myself, and I like to leave to stage, knowing that I did the best that I could possibly do, though the audience always seem to enjoy the shows, sometimes if I’m not in the best of voice, I tend to be disappointed. I always want to make sure that the audience enjoyed the show and luckily, we were able to come back each year and perform so I guess they do.

What makes The Stylistics happy and what makes you unhappy?

I am the happiest when I’m performing, and once I leave the stage, and the audience is on their feet. I’m unhappy when I see so much division and hatred in the world.