Alan Price | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | Fatfield, Washington, County Durham, England | 19 April 1942
Genres | Rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, pop |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter, musical arranger |
Instrument(s) | Keyboards, vocals |
Years active | 1961–present |
Labels | Decca, Parrot, Deram, CBS, Vertigo, Cotillion, Sanctuary, United Artists, Jet, Ariola, Polydor, Warner, Indigo, BGO, AP, Mooncrest |
Alan Price (born 19 April 1942) is an English musician who first found prominence as the original keyboardist of the English rock band the Animals. He left the band in 1965 to form the Alan Price Set; his hit singles with and without the group include "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear", "The House That Jack Built", "Rosetta" (with Georgie Fame) and "Jarrow Song". Price is also known for work in film and television, taking occasional acting roles and composing the soundtrack of Lindsay Anderson's film O Lucky Man! (1973). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Animals.
Price was born in Fatfield, Washington, County Durham. He was educated at Jarrow Grammar School, County Durham.
A self-taught musician, he was a founding member of the Tyneside group the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, which was later renamed the Animals. His organ playing on songs by the Animals, such as "The House of the Rising Sun", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", and "Bring It On Home to Me" was a key element in the group's success. [1]
As a member of the Animals, he appeared on numerous television shows including Ready Steady Go! , The Ed Sullivan Show , Hullabaloo , and Top of the Pops . Price left the band in 1965 because of personal and musical differences, as well as his fear of flying while on tour. [2]
In August 1967, he appeared with the Animals at the hippie love-in that was held in the grounds of Woburn Abbey.
Price participated in three reunions of the Animals between 1968 and 1984. In July 1983, the band started its last world tour. Price's solo performance of "O Lucky Man" was included in its set. In 1984, the band broke up for the final time, and the album Greatest Hits Live (Rip It to Shreds) was released, composed of recordings from the band’s concert at Wembley Arena in London supporting the Police.
Price was inducted as a member of the Animals into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Price formed The Alan Price Set in 1965, with the line-up of Price, Clive Burrows (baritone saxophone), Steve Gregory (tenor saxophone), John Walters (trumpet), Peter Kirtley (guitar), Rod "Boots" Slade (bass) and "Little" Roy Mills (drums). In the same year, he appeared in the film Don't Look Back which featured Bob Dylan on tour in the UK.
During 1966, he enjoyed singles success with "I Put a Spell on You", which reached number 9 in the UK singles chart, and "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo" which reached number 11 in the same chart. In 1967, the Randy Newman song "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear" reached number four in the chart, as did his self-penned song, "The House That Jack Built". [3] "Don't Stop the Carnival" followed in 1968, and rose to number 13 in the UK singles charts. [4]
Price went on to host shows such as the musical Price To Play in the late 1960s, which featured him performing and introducing the music of guests such as Fleetwood Mac and Jimi Hendrix. His second album, A Price on His Head (1967), featured seven songs by Randy Newman, who was virtually unknown at that time.[ citation needed ] Also in 1967, Price was no. 1 in the Keyboard Player category of the 1967 Beat Instrumental Gold Star Awards. [5]
A later association with Georgie Fame resulted in "Rosetta", which became a top-20 hit (1971), reaching number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. [4] An album followed, Fame and Price, Price and Fame Together. During this period, Price and Fame secured a regular slot on The Two Ronnies show produced by BBC Television, and also appeared on the Morecambe and Wise Show .[ citation needed ]
He recorded the autobiographical album Between Today and Yesterday (1974) from which the single "Jarrow Song" was taken, returning Price to the UK singles chart at number six. [4] The minor single hits by Price "Just For You" and "Baby of Mine" from 1978 and 1979, respectively, as well as being issued on the usual black vinyl, were also released as red, heart-shaped vinyl discs, which reflected the craze for coloured and oddly shaped vinyl records at the time.
Price recorded two albums with the Electric Blues Company featuring guitarist and vocalist Bobby Tench and keyboardist Zoot Money, the first, Covers, was recorded in 1994. A Gigster's Life for Me followed in 1996 and was recorded as part of Sanctuary's Blues Masters Series, at Olympic Studios in south-west London. [6]
Since 1996, Price has continued to perform regularly, arrange, write songs, and create other works. During the 2000s, he has continued to tour the UK with his own band and others, including the Manfreds, Maggie Bell [7] and Bobby Tench. [8]
Savaloy Dip was officially released in 2016. Due to an issuing error after the recording of this album in 1974 the album was re-called by the record company and not re-released at that time. [9] [10] [11] The title track for his album Between Today and Yesterday was taken from the original Savaloy Dip recording. [11]
Price appears in the D. A. Pennebaker documentary Don't Look Back (1965) and is in several scenes with Bob Dylan and his entourage, including one where his departure from the Animals is mentioned.
Price has been closely involved with the work of film director Lindsay Anderson. He wrote the music for Anderson's film O Lucky Man! (1973), which he performs on screen in the film and appears as himself in one part of the storyline. The score won the 1974 BAFTA Award for Best Film Music. [12]
Later, he wrote the score of Anderson's final film, The Whales of August (1987).
He acted as the lead in Alfie Darling (1975), a sequel to the film Alfie (1966), during the course of which he became romantically involved with his co-star, Jill Townsend. He also composed and sang the theme tune to the film adaptation of The Plague Dogs (1982), "Time and Tide".[ citation needed ]
In 1979, Price composed and sang the theme song of the ATV series Turtle's Progress . In 1981 he composed the score for the musical Andy Capp based on the eponymous comic strip. He also wrote the lyrics, together with the actor Trevor Peacock. The play transferred from the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, to London's Aldwych Theatre in September 1982. [13] Price later provided the theme to Thames Television's 1988 sitcom adaptation of Andy Capp in the form of a rewritten "Jarrow Song". Other TV theme work includes a re-recorded version of his 1974 single "Papers", which was used as the theme tune to the London Weekend Television situation comedy Hot Metal and the song "Changes", soundtrack to a popular TV commercial for the VW Golf. [14]
In 1992, Anderson included an episode in his autobiographical BBC film Is That All There Is?, with a boat trip down the River Thames to scatter Rachel Roberts and Jill Bennett's ashes on the waters, while Price accompanied himself and sang the song "Is That All There Is?"
In 2004, Price appeared in the Christmas edition of Heartbeat as Frankie Rio, the leader of a dubious band of musicians, the Franke Rio Trio, who are booked to appear in the Aidensfield Village Concert. The episode was entitled "In the Bleak Midwinter".
Price is believed to have two children and has been married twice. He married Maureen Elizabeth Donneky in 1971;[ citation needed ] they later divorced.[ citation needed ] Price and Donneky had one daughter, Elizabeth. [17]
In 1992, he was living in London with his second wife Alison and two daughters. [18]
Price is a Sunderland A.F.C. supporter although, ironically, Sunderland's local rivals Newcastle United often used his version of "Blaydon Races" at matches. [19] [20] In 2011, he took part in the Sunderland A.F.C. charity Foundation of Light event. [21]
Dont Look Back is a 1967 American documentary film directed by D. A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan's 1965 concert tour in England.
The Animals are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The Animals are known for their deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon and for their gritty, bluesy sound, exemplified by their signature song and transatlantic number-one hit single "The House of the Rising Sun" as well as by hits such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "Don't Bring Me Down", "I'm Crying", "See See Rider" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". They balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm-and-blues-oriented album material and were part of the British Invasion of the US.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair. In 1982, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. His replacement, Howie Epstein, stayed with the band for the next two decades. In 1991, Scott Thurston joined the band as a multi-instrumentalist—mostly on rhythm guitar and second keyboard. In 1994, Steve Ferrone replaced Lynch on drums. Blair returned to the Heartbreakers in 2002, the year before Epstein's death. The band had a long string of hit singles including "Breakdown", "American Girl", "Refugee", "The Waiting", "Learning to Fly", and "Mary Jane's Last Dance", among many others, that stretched over several decades of work.
Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988).
Pretty Things were an English rock band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent, taking their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing", and active in their first incarnation until 1971. They released five studio albums, including the debut The Pretty Things and S. F. Sorrow, four EPs and 15 UK singles, including the Top 20 UK Singles Chart "Don't Bring Me Down" and "Honey I Need". They reformed later in 1971 and continued through to 1976 issuing three more studio albums, and reformed once again from 1979 to 2020 releasing another five studio albums finalising with Bare as Bone, Bright as Blood.
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the R&B and rock band the Animals and the funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice. Burdon is also known for his intense stage performances.
Between Today and Yesterday is an autobiographical album released in 1974 by singer songwriter Alan Price.
Georgie Fame is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the only British music act to have achieved three UK No. 1 hits with his only top 10 chart entries: "Yeh, Yeh" in 1964, "Get Away" in 1966 and "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" in 1967.
Eddie Lee Floyd is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including the No. 1 R&B hit song "Knock on Wood".
Roebuck "Pops" Staples was an American gospel and R&B musician. A "pivotal figure in gospel in the 1960s and 1970s", he was an accomplished songwriter, guitarist and singer. He was the patriarch and member of singing group The Staple Singers, which included his son Pervis and daughters Mavis, Yvonne, and Cleotha.
William Bell is an American soul singer and songwriter. As a performer, he is probably best known for his debut single, 1961's "You Don't Miss Your Water"; 1968's top 10 hit in the UK "Private Number", a duet with Judy Clay; and his only US top 40 hit, 1976's "Tryin' to Love Two", which also hit No. 1 on the R&B chart. Upon the death of Otis Redding, Bell released the well-received memorial song "A Tribute to a King".
"I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written and recorded by "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins. The selection became a classic cult song, covered by a variety of artists. It was Hawkins' greatest commercial success, reportedly surpassing a million copies in sales, even though it failed to make the Billboard pop or R&B charts.
Christopher P. Thomas is an English record producer who has worked extensively with the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Roxy Music, Badfinger, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Pulp and the Pretenders. He has also produced breakthrough albums for the Sex Pistols, the Climax Blues Band and INXS.
George Bruno Money is an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He is best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, he was drawn to rock and roll music and became a leading light in the vibrant music scene of Bournemouth and Soho during the 1960s. He took his stage name 'Zoot' from Zoot Sims after seeing him in concert.
"Alfie" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David to promote the 1966 film Alfie. The song was a major hit for Cilla Black (UK) and Dionne Warwick (US).
"Boom Boom" is a song written by American blues singer and guitarist John Lee Hooker and recorded October 26, 1961. Although it became a blues standard, music critic Charles Shaar Murray calls it "the greatest pop song he ever wrote". "Boom Boom" was both an American R&B and pop chart success in 1962 and a UK top-twenty hit in 1992.
Clive Chaman is a UK-based bass guitarist and session musician, born in Trinidad and Tobago.
"The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by the British rock band The Animals, was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and in the US and Canada. As a traditional folk song recorded by an electric rock band, it has been described as the "first folk rock hit".
"What Am I Living For" is a song written by Fred Jay and Art Harris and performed by Chuck Willis featuring the Reggie Obrecht Orchestra and Chorus. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. R&B chart and #9 on the U.S. pop chart in 1958.
Savaloy Dip is an album recorded in 1974 by singer songwriter Alan Price. Despite being recorded in 1974 and intended to be a sequel to O Lucky Man!, it was only released in 2016.