Alan Price (born April 19, 1942 in Fatfield, County
Durham, England)
is a musician,
songwriter,
and actor.
The Alan Price Set
Background
A self-taught musician, primarily a keyboard
player, he was educated at Jarrow Grammar School, South Tyneside, and
was a founding member of the Tyneside group The Alan Price Rhythm and
Blues Combo, then renamed The Animals. His playing on
their international hit "House of the Rising Sun"
and other tracks was a key element in the Animals' success. Their
arrangement of "House of the Rising Sun," a traditional folk song, has
become more recognisable than previous incarnations.
He left the band in May 1965, to form the highly successful Alan
Price Set, which included Price keyboards
and vocals,
Clive Burrows on baritone saxophone, Steve
Gregory on tenor saxophone, John
Walters on trumpet,
Peter Kirtlry on guitar,
Rod "Boots" Slade on bass guitar and "Little" Roy Mills on drums. In the same
year, he appeared in the film Don't
Look Back, which followed Bob Dylan on
tour. Starting in 1966,
he enjoyed singles success with "I
Put A Spell On You", the Randy Newman song "Simon
Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear", and the original "The House That Jack
Built", following it up in 1968 with the jazzy "Don't Stop The Carnival". A
partnership with Georgie Fame resulted in a
Top 20 single in 1971,
"Rosetta", and an album "Fame and Price, Price and Fame Together", as
well as a regular slot in one series of "The Two Ronnies" on BBC television, where he
hosted more shows such as the musical Price
To Play in the late 60s
explaining and performing the music of some famous guests such as Fleetwood
Mac, Jimi Hendrix, etc. His second album, "A Price On
His Head" in 1967 features seven songs by Randy Newman, at a time when
he was virtually unknown.
In 1973,
he wrote the music for the Lindsay Anderson film O
Lucky Man!; he performs on screen in the film
and appears in walk-on parts as himself.
Price produced the autobiographical album Between Today and
Yesterday in 1974, a track from which, "Jarrow Song", returned him to the
singles chart.
He participated in three attempts to reunite The Animals in 1968, 1977 and 1983. He also made
several recordings with his friend, Georgie
Fame.
He acted in Alfie Darling, a less than
stellar sequel to the film Alfie, in the course
of which he became romantically involved with his co-star, Jill
Townsend. He has written music for stage plays and films, including The
Whales of August.
For the past 20 years Alan Price has continued to regularly
tour the UK, both on his own, and sometimes in
60's revues with groups such as Manfred Mann, The Searchers and The
Hollies.
Price is a supporter of Sunderland
A.F.C.
External links
