| Alistair Griffin |
|
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Alistair Richard Griffin |
| Born |
November 1, 1977 |
| Origin |
Middlesbrough England |
| Genre(s) |
Pop Rock |
| Years active |
2000 - present |
| Label(s) |
Universal
/UMTV (2003-2004) |
Alistair Richard Griffin, (born 1 November
1977 in Middlesbrough,
England),
is an English
singer/songwriter and musician.
Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a
solo artist through his appearances on the BBC television show Fame
Academy 2 in 2003, where he was "spotted" and championed by Robin
Gibb of the Bee Gees. He subsequently had two
top twenty hit singles and a top twenty album in the UK. In 2007 he
received worldwide press coverage for his adaptation of Leonard
Cohen's "Hallelujah" as a tribute to football
player, Mark
Viduka.
|
Contents
- 1 Early
career
- 2 Fame
Academy
- 3 A
new direction
- 4 Albion
- 5 Recordings
- 6 Songwriting
- 6.1 Hallelujah
Mark Viduka
- 7 Personal
life
- 8 Discography
- 8.1 Singles
- 8.2 EP
- 8.3 Albums
- 8.4 Compilations
- 8.5 DVD
- 9 External
links
- 9.1 Official
websites
- 9.2 Reviews
- 9.3 Other
links and information sources
- 9.4 Media
|
Early career
Alistair Griffin started singing and writing songs whilst
still a student at York St John College (now York St John University),
playing guitar and busking on the streets of York with a small
band. His wide musical influences range from classic
rock and 'Britpop',
to English
and American
folk
music. After graduating with a BA(Hons) in English Literature
(and following a brief stint working as a milkman around
his home town, during which he crashed his milk
float), he moved to London
to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter.
In 2001, as vocalist with the pop/rock band 'Sugartown', he
performed in front of 70,000 people at the Leeds Party in the Park. The following
year, he and his sometime songwriting partner, Stuart Hanna (now part
of folk
duo Megson) formed the band, Pulse, and co-wrote the song 'Fade Away'
(having recorded the song on an 8-track in Hanna's bedroom) and entered
it for the 2002 Song for Europe competition on BBC
Radio 2. The song was shortlisted, and a performance by Pulse was
broadcast, but it failed to reach the finals.
Griffin was briefly a member of Ultra
and after spending some time working in Germany with DJ Sammy, he
auditioned for the boyband, Blue, only narrowly
failing to make it to the final line-up. Although signed by music
publisher Trevor Horn's company, "Perfect
Songs", he was unable to get a solo recording contract and in 2002, he
applied to become a contestant on the first series of Fame
Academy.
Fame Academy
Griffin reached the final audition stage of Fame
Academy 1 on his first attempt, but was not chosen to appear on the
show. He re-applied for a place on Fame
Academy 2 the following year and was voted through by the public with
the highest vote of the preliminary round. Despite harsh criticism
every week from ‘Headmaster’ Richard Park who
called him "bland" and his voice "nasal", his dogged determination and
cheerful disposition behind the scenes, as well as his camaraderie and
duetting with fellow student James Fox, attracted
the attention and the votes of many viewers of the live TV streaming
programmes. The vocal coaches criticised both his voice and image,
calling them "unoriginal", "unidentifiable" and "boybandish"; however,
guest judge, Robin Gibb of the Bee
Gees said Griffin had a "unique talent" as a vocalist and
songwriter, an "ideal recording voice" with "an engaging vocal tone".
His technically-accomplished live performances and proven songwriting
ability gradually gained him the support of the public and as the final
approached, he was dubbed the "dark horse" of the show by BBC Three
presenter, Claudia Winkleman. [1]
The final showdown, screened live, generated so many angry
messages from viewers claiming bias that the BBC were forced to close
down their Points of View
message boards. Daniel Bedingfield, who
duetted with both finalists, later made a public apology to Griffin for
his behaviour and his outburst that people should "just vote for Alex".(This
incident received considerable press coverage and was the subject of
one of the questions in the 2003 Observer Music Monthly Magazine
Christmas Quiz) [2]) The actual voting figures have
never been publicly released.
A new direction
During 2004, Griffin performed live at over 50 gigs up and
down the UK and appeared on numerous television programmes, including Top
of the Pops and Liquid News. In March of that year he
also competed in the European 'WorldBest' competition in Cannes,
singing live with Phil Collins.
Alistair Griffin and Riccardi, York Opera House, 2004
Alistair Griffin in concert, December 2005
The live performances of his own material that he gave
throughout that year, singing acoustically and with the backing of
a regular 5-piece band, Riccardi, showed a marked difference from the
generic 'pop' approach of his record company. After parting from UMTV
he abandoned his record company's 'pop style' backing tracks and his former 'boyband' image.
In the autumn, he supported Robin
Gibb on his 'Magnet' tour of Germany, opening each concert
with an acoustic set of his own songs, playing guitar and accompanied
on keyboards by long-time friend and fellow musician, Simon Waggott
(Waggo), as well as joining Gibb on stage to duet on 'My Lover's
Prayer'. On his return he released an independent recording of his live
performances in Germany, which he showcased at a series of sell-out
concerts in the North of England.
A former junior tennis champion, he played tennis and also
performed with Riccardi in Sir Cliff Richard's
pro/celebrity Tennis Tournament in December 2004.
During 2005 Griffin continued to perform live, both solo and
with Riccardi, but split with them later that year. He moved back to
York and although there were rumours of a new recording deal, nothing
materialised. In November he assembled a new backing band and performed
his first London gig for over a year at The
Bedford, where he showcased several new compositions.
Early in 2006 he announced that he would no longer be pursuing
a solo career, and would be concentrating on working and writing with
his new band, Albion. Since then he has performed
solo only at small local venues.
He now works as an independent artist and has been writing and
recording new material with Robin Gibb, singer/songwriter
Richard Chance, Liverpudlian songwriting duo, Chris and
Tony Griffiths (ex Britpop band The
Real People) and Paul Banks (ex Shed
Seven).
Albion
In April 2006, Griffin announced that he would shortly be
forming a new band, Albion, which was launched in July.[3] The initial lineup proved
unsuccessful, with James and Tom Martin
leaving a few months later to form another indie
band, The Station
Club. Current (June 2007) members of Albion are Alistair Griffin
(guitar and vocals), Walter Laybourne (drums), Paul Banks (guitars and
keyboard) and Paul 'Foda' Fothergill (bass). They are writing and
recording new songs for their debut album, several of which have been
demoed on MySpace [4].
Recordings
After coming second, Griffin signed a record deal with UMTV and released his
first single, "Bring It On"; a double
A-side also featuring 'My Lover's Prayer', a duet with Robin Gibb.
Although it received very little airplay, it was voted #1 for 6
consecutive weeks on the music TV channel 'The
Box' and reached the top 5 in the UK
singles chart. On January 9, 2004, he was therefore able to fulfil one
of his lifetime ambitions to appear live on Top
of the Pops.
In January 2004, he released his debut album , also titled Bring It On
, featuring mainly self-penned songs. This charted at number 12 in the
UK album charts. His second single, You
and Me (Tonight) reached the top 20 but Griffin
parted with both his record company and management soon afterwards.
In late 2004 he released an independent solo CD "Live in
Germany", featuring live recordings of the acoustic set he performed in
Germany while supporting Robin Gibb. This included "Bring it On", "You
and Me (Tonight)", "In Your Smile" and "I Have Lived" with a cover of
"I Can't Make You Love Me". The limited edition CD was only made
available for a short time at his concerts.
At his Christmas concert in December 2006 he released another
independently recorded, three track solo CD; finding Boethius,
consisting of one co-written song, "Let Love Speak Its Name", a cover
of "Hallelujah" which he regularly sings live, and an acoustic cover of
"Love Will Tear Us Apart".
"Hallelujah Mark Viduka" was released by popular demand, as a
download single only, in March 2007, with all the proceeds going to
charity.
Songwriting
Alistair Griffin has been a prolific songwriter since 2000,
covering a wide range of genres, from light pop and romantic ballads to
anthemic rock. After recording several demos, he obtained a publishing
deal with Trevor Horn's Perfect Songs and since then has also
co-written songs with a number of other artists.
In 2002 Griffin co-wrote the football anthem "England Crazy"
which was recorded by Rider and Terry
Venables.
Although largely ignored by the British music establishment
(perhaps due to his appearance on Fame Academy that he now describes as a
'double-edged sword'), several songs he wrote before Fame Academy have
achieved notable chart success in The
Netherlands. "You and Me" appears on the #1 album Impressed
released in 2003 by Jim Bakkum, runner-up in the Dutch series
of Pop Idol; Do’s ballad “Angel
By My Side” (co-written with James and Tom Martin}
reached the Dutch top 10 in 2004 and “Hungry For Love”
(co-written with Greg Fitzgerald and Tom Nichols) covered by rock band Di-rect, getting
to number 3 early in 2005.
During his time in Fame Academy Griffin co wrote several new
songs, both with the students and the songwriters on the show.
"Painkiller" appeared on his debut album along with " A Heart Can't
Lie", co-written with fellow student, Louise Griffiths.
He has also written and co-written songs for albums by Phixx(2004) and Ultra(2006).
In 2005 he resumed his writing partnership with James and Tom
Martin. He has since recorded new versions of several of these songs
with Albion.
Hallelujah Mark Viduka
Alistair is notorious for performing his own comedy versions
of well known songs in his live concerts. These have included songs by George
Formby, Wham,
Johnny
Mathis, Ronan Keating and Robin Gibb.
In February 2007 Griffin sang at a charity event at the Riverside
Stadium, home of Middlesbrough Football Club. After his performance of Leonard
Cohen’s Hallelujah, he asked the audience
if they would like to hear an alternative version, based on Cohen’s
song, but with new words dedicated to the Boro hero at that time,
Australian striker Mark Viduka. Keeping faithfully to
Cohen's melody, Griffin's almost plaintive vocals are sung to a simple
acoustic backing, forming a contrast to the altered lyrics which
reference the particular skills of Viduka and several other popular
players in the team, as well as some of their opponents, in a sharply
observed and witty commentary.
After hearing the tongue-in-cheek tribute,
Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate was so taken with
it he asked Griffin to make a special recording to play at the
following day’s match. It was played to the crowd at half-time and to
the players in the dressing room after the game.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Boro’s Aussie international
keeper Mark Schwarzer said:
“It’s a great song. He (Mark Viduka) is already copping some
stick about it and I’m going to make sure he gets some more from the
Australia camp — I’m going to make sure they get to hear it as well. We
played it in the dressing room afterwards and were a bit unsure about
it to begin with but the chorus is pretty good. We all sang and I think
Mark was a little bit embarrassed by it but I think he enjoyed it” [5]
The incident received global press coverage, most of it
positive. (although The Times was uncomplimentary and dubbed
Leonard Cohen "the cheesiest of crooners [6]) It was immediately picked up
by hundreds of online sports pages and blogs. The Mark Viduka song was
added to Griffin’s Myspace fan page the following day and has since
clocked up over 75,000 plays by football fans worldwide [7] .
The BBC
Sports Review described the song as the "football anthem of the week,
year, decade and possibly all time" [8],
and the Irish
Times called it "a bit on the excellent side". [9] TV and Radio coverage followed.
A film of Griffin performing the song with other young Middlesbrough
supporters appeared on Sky Sports News, and he also
appeared on the BBC's and ITV's
regional news programmes. In addition to interviews on local radio
stations, Griffin was also interviewed on BBC
Radio Five Live The song was also broadcast on several channels in
Australia and on the BBC World Service.
Middlesbrough Manager Gareth Southgate embraced the tune as a
way of raising money for his chosen charity, Macmillan Cancer Support.
Leonard Cohen was approached and gave permission for the song to be
released as a charity download at indiestore.com. .[10] (This is not Griffin's first
recording of a football song - in 2002 he recorded his own version of
the Boro anthem "Stand Up", which was included in the compilation album
Boro Songs - The Sound Of The Riverside.)
Personal life
Griffin was brought up in Castleton, a small moorland
village near Whitby,
North
Yorkshire. He has two older sisters. He has retained strong links with
his family and his local community and often performs at local events
to raise money for good causes. In 2003, without his knowledge, his
mother, Barbara Griffin, offered a date with him as a prize in a
charity raffle
for the Whitby Christmas Lights Appeal. Enough
money was raised to light the town for the next three years.[11]
He is an expert at making lemon curd, which he regularly enters in
the annual Danby Show.
However, although he has been awarded second and third prize, he has
never won.[12]
He is passionate about football
and is a qualified referee. He has also written songs for his
home team, Middlesbrough Football
Club, and former England manager, Terry Venables. He played Junior
Tennis at regional level, and is a member of the Bunbury
Cricket Club. His other hobbies include Crazy golf
and Pub
quizzing.
Discography
Singles
"Bring It On/My Lover's
Prayer"CD1 (UMTV) December 2003 (# 5 UK official singles charts)
"Bring It On/A Lover's Prayer" CD2 (Universal) Limited Edition
Single, December 2003
"You and Me (Tonight)"(UMTV) March 2004 (# 18 UK official
singles chart)
"You and Me (Tonight)" (UMTV) March 2004 (extended edition)
"Mark Viduka" (Indiestore/Digital 7)[13]
March 2007 Charity single (download only)
Cover of "finding Boethius" by Alistair Griffin. December 2006.
(Original artwork by Richard Shiels)
EP
finding Boethius (Dream Factory) (Released
independently December 2006)
- "Let Love Speak Its Name (Griffin/Bell)
- Hallelujah (Leonard
Cohen)
- "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (Joy
Division)
Albums
Bring It On
(UMTV) January 12 2004 (#12 UK official album chart).
‘Alistair Griffin Live in Germany’
Limited Edition CD (Released independently November 2004).
- You and Me (Tonight)*
- Feeling Alive*
- I Have Lived*
- I Can't Make You Love Me
- Bring It On*(acoustic)
Compilations
‘Boro Songs - The Sound Of The Riverside’ Middlesbrough Football
Club December 2002
10. Stand Up*
‘”Fame Academy” Bee
Gees Special’ (Polydor) August 2003
3. To Love Somebody.
‘Fame Academy - The Finalists’
(Polydor) October 2003
- 5. Wherever You Will Go
- 6. Lately
- 7. Truly Madly Deeply
- 8. It Must Be Love
Original Compositions *
(Griffin's hit singles have also appeared in a number of
compilation albums including Now
That's What I Call Music! 57 (U.K. series) ;
I Love Smash Hits; Steve
Wright's Sunday Love Songs; and Just
For You).
An extended dance version of 'You
and Me (Tonight)', which was included on the enhanced single, also
appears on the 2004 Floorfillers
compilation album as "You & Me (Tonight) (Clubstar Remix)"
under the name AG vs Clubstar.
DVD
Fame Academy - Class of 2003 (Universal-Island, 2002)
External links
Official websites
Reviews
Other links and information
sources
- Fame Academy Final,
BBC
News report.
- Cultural Foundation Interview In
depth interview with Pete Bell of the Cultural Foundation, 19.6.2004
- Perfect Songs Music Publisher
- IMDB
TV Appearances
- Fame Academy Supporters Club
- Press interview October 5, 2006
- Press report of Charity Event, 23 February,
2007
- Southgate serenade stirs Viduka's home
thoughts, The Guardian, February 26,2007
- Hallelujah Mark Viduka, Sydney Morning Herald
Feb 27, 2007
- Fans Flock to Hear Viduka Tribute -
Middlesbrough Football Club, February 26, 2007
Media
