Shut-out: Whatever happened to the other two Walker Brothers?
Given the direction that Scott Walker’s solo career went in, it doesn’t really come as a surprise that The Walker Brothers split up. They were a boy band for the moment, bridging a gap between nostalgia and counterculture, but as both sides of that divide morphed and progressed, and as the members themselves evolved, they couldn’t hold on. Everyone knows where Scott went from there, but what about the others?
First things first, The Walker Brothers weren’t brothers. They weren’t related such that the battles of the band were solved around a family dinner table, and there wasn’t the actual tie of blood to keep them together. The decision to adopt the surname was merely part of the branding for the group. They were fashioning themselves after the old timers, imbuing their work with a sense of old school showbiz as their sound leaned so heavy into the legacy of the classic crooners.
But the group was always walking an odd line. They were using that classic legacy, borrowing elements from more mainstream and vanilla pop, but there was an edge to it all that demanded a bit of trust and understanding from their listeners. It was the more baroque pop and avant-garde details littered amongst it all that captured their vision, set them apart and positioned them within the counterculture. However, when listening back to a track like ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’ or ‘In My Room’, it’s easy to understand how sometimes, the slight irony to it all was lost, and people mistook the band for something more straightlaced.
That was part of what led to their collapse. As time moved on, their music began to sound more and more dated. It fell further into feeling nostalgic in a way that made the group not sound fresh. Scott Walker especially struggled with that, a fact that makes sense when looking at the eclectic and often kooky music he would go on to make. As he began to take more and more artistic control of the group, endeavouring to push them furthrt into the avant-garde, the cracks between the members became irreparable.
They split for the first time in 1969, came back in 1975 and then parted ways again, likely with something like Nite Flight and the ominous track ‘The Electrician’ as the final straw for being worlds and worlds away from the pop they began with.
We know what happened to Scott after that—he moved on to a solo career, eventually making incredible experimental scores and instrumental pieces. But what about the others?
What did John Walker do after The Walker Brothers?
John, the band’s guitarist, tried his best to keep things going after the band split. He did like Scott and began a solo career during the first break, however, it came no where near the success that his old bandmates’ early albums hit.
There was some moderate wins though. His single, ‘Annabella’, charted, although only at number 24, and he got to work with other countercultural legends like Graham Nash and Bill Wyman.
After the band briefly got back together then split again, he tried to return to doing the same thing before pivoting. In the 1980s, he moved to the US, took an electronics course and then became obsessed with the more technical side of music, helping to develop and build recording studios as well as launching his own label. Occasionally, he’d dust off his old role and hit the road again, but only ever on 1960s revival tours rather than off the back of his own music.
In 2011, John Walker sadly passed away from liver cancer.
What did Gary Walker do after The Walker Brothers?
Born Gary Leeds, the drummer was the last addition to the band as the other two brothers begged him to join. Before then, he’d toured with a few other bands, and after the split, it was pretty much the same.
He started his own band, Gary Walker and the Rain, featuring Badfinger’s Joey Molland on guitar, Charles Crane on lead vocals and John Lawson. Similar to John’s projects, they released an album and it did okay but failed to break through. After that, he went solo for a time, stepping up to the mic as the frontman but it was a similar story—failing to make any real impact.
Perhaps the most interesting thing both Gary and John did post‐split was to collaborate again on a book. In 2009, the duo published The Walker Brothers: No Regrets—Our Story, a joint memoir about their time in the band.
As the last remaining Walker Brother, Gary still works and plays, continuing their legacy till day.
