AMERICAN rock legends Eagles are bringing their Long Road Out of Eden tour to the UK and playing two dates in Manchester this month.

Formed in the early ’70s, Eagles became the personification of the country rock genre, with a string of hit singles and albums.

Notice that it is ‘Eagles’, without the ‘The’, for according to comedian Steve Martin in his autobiography, band member Glenn Frey is very particular that The is not part of the name.

Four of the band got together in 1970 when guitarists Frey and Bernie Leadon, bassist Randy Meisner and drummer Don Henley were Linda Ronstadt’s backing band on her 1972 album.

They flew the nest and their own debut album, entitled simply Eagles was an instant success, spawning the hits Take It East and Peaceful Easy Feeling.

However, it was to be 1975 before Britain picked up on them, by which time they had also released Desperado and had been joined by Don Felder and Joe Walsh, who had replaced Leadon.

“It was hard, as I had to learn the singing parts and of course all of Bernie’s parts,” said Joe.

“It was a real challenge. Even today, songs like Life In The Fast Lane and Hotel California are a challenge to do right.”

The period 1975 to 1980 saw the band at the height of their powers, with four top 10 albums in the UK.

Strangely enough, the band never made it to Number One over here, despite a number of classic hits like Take It To The Limit, One Of These Nights, Lyin’ Eyes and New Kid In Town.

The nearest they got was the number eight placing for Hotel California.

In that same five-year period, they notched up no fewer than seven hit albums in the UK, and both their 1976 albums got to number two.

Their excellent musicianship and harmonies ensured that their music would be classed among the greatest, but internal strife within the group began to rear its ugly head. Tensions got so bad that their Eagles Live album listed at least five attorneys in the credits.

The band disintegrated in 1980, with Henley stating that the band would get back together “when hell freezes over”— which was what they called their next album.

Hell Freezes Over topped the US chart and returned the band to the top flight of music. The line-up was Frey, Henley, Walsh, Felder and Timothy B Schmit, who replaced Meisner in 1977. At their first live show after the reunion, Frey announced, “For the record, we never broke up. We just took a 14-year vacation.”

This “new” incarnation of the band has now been together longer than the original, although Felder left in 2001.

The animosity that led to the hiatus has all gone now, according to Glenn Frey.

“No relationship is all highs,” he said. “We have been together for a long, long time and you can’t do that if you don’t get along.”

The current world tour started in London in March 2008 and was supposed to end in May, but demand saw to it that it was extended to include dates in Gladsgow, Birmingham and Manchester.

Frey, Henley, Walsh and Schmit will be performing a wide range of material from the past and present.

As to how long the band will continue, Joe Walsh is unsure.

“Most guys our age are done,” he said. “I’m very grateful and lucky that people are still coming. I’m just proud to be clean and sober, I’m actually proud that I’m still alive. I really hadn’t planned on living this long.”

l Eagles will be appearing at the MEN Arena on Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12. Tickets are £50.00, £65.00, £85.00 & £100.00 and are available from all the usual agencies.