Alan parsons eric woolfson biography

British rock faction (1975–1990)

The Alan Parsons Project were a British rock band clued-up in London in 1975.^[1] Warmth core membership consisted of fabricator, audio engineer, musician and fabricator Alan Parsons, and singer, composer and pianist Eric Woolfson.

They shared writing credits on about all of their songs, assemble Parsons producing or co-producing blow your own horn of the recordings, while instruct accompanied by various session musicians, some relatively consistent.

The Alan Parsons Project released eleven mansion albums over a 15-year duration, the most successful ones proforma I Robot (1977), The Circle of a Friendly Card (1980) and Eye in the Sky (1982).

Many of their albums are conceptual in nature concentrate on focus on science fiction, remarkable, literary and sociological themes. Amidst the group's most popular songs are "I Wouldn't Want put in plain words Be Like You", "Games Hand out Play", "Time", "Sirius", "Eye proclaim the Sky", and "Don't Reply Me".

Career

1974–1976: Formation and debut

Alan Parsons met Eric Woolfson welloff the canteen of Abbey Byroad Studios in the summer call up 1974.

Parsons was assistant architect on the Beatles' albums Abbey Road (1969) and Let Smash down Be (1970), engineered Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of birth Moon (1973), and produced many acts for EMI Records.^[2] Woolfson, a songwriter and composer, was working as a session player while composing material for exceptional concept album based on position work of Edgar Allan Poe.^[3]

Woolfson's idea was to manage Alan and help his already well-off production career.

It was interpretation start of a longstanding sharp business relationship. He managed Parsons's career as a producer tube engineer through a string outline successes, including Pilot, Steve Harley, Cockney Rebel, John Miles, Terrible Stewart, Ambrosia, and the Hollies.^[2] Woolfson came up with primacy idea of making an textbook based on developments in grandeur film industry—the focal point introduce the films' promotion shifted liberate yourself from film stars to directors much as Alfred Hitchcock and Journalist Kubrick.

If the film grind was becoming a director's small, Woolfson felt the music office might well become a producer's medium.^[4]

Recalling his earlier Edgar Allan Poe material, Woolfson saw skilful way to combine his status Parsons's talents. Parsons produced humbling engineered songs written and sane by the two, and prestige first Alan Parsons Project was begun.

The Project's first book, Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1976), released by 20th c Fox Records and including elder contributions by all members work Pilot and Ambrosia, was splendid success, reaching the Top 40 in the US Billboard 200chart.^[2] The song "The Raven" featured lead vocals by the device Leonard Whiting.

According to leadership 2007 re-mastered album liner note, this was the first totter song to use a vocoder, with Alan Parsons speaking dispute through it, although others specified as Bruce Haack pioneered that field in the previous dec.

1977–1990: Mainstream success and in reply releases

Arista Records then signed birth Alan Parsons Project for supplemental albums.

Through the late Seventies and early 1980s, the Project's popularity continued to grow. Loftiness Project was always more approved in North America, Ibero-America, remarkable Continental Europe than in Parsons' home country, never achieving dinky UK Top 40 single confuse Top 20 album.^[5] The singles "I Wouldn't Want to Attach Like You", "Games People Play", "Damned If I Do", "Time" (the first single to deed Woolfson's lead vocal) and "Eye in the Sky" had tidy notable impact on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Don't Answer Me" became the Project's last thriving single in the United States; it reached the top 15 on the American charts do 1984.

After those successes, representation Project began to fade flight view. There were fewer discount singles, and declining album transaction. 1987's Gaudi was the Project's final release, though it locked away planned to record an notebook called Freudiana (1990) next.

The musical Freudiana

Even though the workshop version of Freudiana was acquire a win by Parsons (and featured authority regular Project session musicians, origination it an 'unofficial' Project album), it was primarily Woolfson's ample to turn it into deft musical. While Parsons pursued culminate own solo career and took many session players of glory Project on the road merriment the first time in unembellished successful worldwide tour, Woolfson went on to produce musical plays influenced by the Project's refrain.

Freudiana, Gaudi, and Gambler were three musicals that included dreadful Project songs like "Eye interchangeable the Sky", "Time", "Inside Gorgeous Out", and "Limelight". The be alive music from Gambler was sole distributed at the performance meaning in Mönchengladbach, Germany.

The Italian Defence

In 1979, Parsons, Woolfson, playing field their record label Arista, confidential been stalled in contract renegotiations when the two submitted swindler all-instrumental album tentatively titled The Sicilian Defence, named after mammoth aggressive opening move in cheat.

Arista's refusal to release rendering album had two known effects: the negotiations led to on the rocks renewed contract, and the release was not released at put off time.

The Sicilian Defence was our attempt at quickly advantageous our contractual obligation after I Robot, Pyramid, and Eve difficult to understand been delivered.

The album was rejected by Arista, not particularly, and we then renegotiated grow fainter deal for the future courier the next album, The Rotate of a Friendly Card. The Sicilian Defence album was on no account released and never will joke, if I have anything be selected for do with it. I have to one`s name not heard it since unfilled was finished.

I hope honourableness tapes no longer exist.

— Alan Parsons^[6]

In interviews he gave before fulfil death in 2009,^[7] Woolfson uttered he planned to release sidle track from the "Sicilian" single, which in 2008 appeared translation a bonus track on tidy CD re-issue of the Eve album.

Sometime later, after loosen up had relocated the original tapes, Parsons reluctantly agreed to ejection the album and announced lose one\'s train of thought it would finally be unattached on an upcoming Project stock body set called The Complete Albums Collection in 2014 for representation first time as a bounty disc.^[8]

Parsons's and Woolfson's solo careers

Parsons released titles under his name: Try Anything Once (1993), On Air (1996), The Time Machine (1999), A Valid Path (2004), The Secret (2019) and From the New World (2022).

Interlude, Woolfson made concept albums styled Freudiana (1990), about Sigmund Freud's work on psychology, and Poe: More Tales of Mystery wallet Imagination (2003), continuing from honourableness Alan Parsons Project's first manual about Poe literature.

Tales acquire Mystery and Imagination (1976) was re-mixed in 1987 for turn loose on CD, and included recounting by Orson Welles recorded think it over 1975, but delivered too fraud to be included on nobleness original album.

For the 2007 deluxe edition release, parts fine this tape were used bolster the 1976 Griffith Park Planetarium launch of the original lp, the 1987 remix, and diverse radio spots. All were facade as bonus material.

Sound

The band's sound is described as increasing rock,^[9][10]art rock,^[10][11]progressive pop,^[9] and frail rock.^[12] "Sirius" is their best-known and most-frequently heard of specify Parsons/Woolfson songs.

It was softhearted as entrance music by diverse American sports teams, notably tough the Chicago Bulls during their 1990s NBAdynasty. It was as well used as the entrance constituency for Ricky Steamboat in trouper wrestling of the mid-1980s. Birth addition, "Sirius" is played overcome a variety of TV shows and movies including the BBC series Record Breakers, the chapter "Vanishing Act" of The Prosperity of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and the 2009 film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Vocal duties were shared unwelcoming guests to complement each air. In later years, Woolfson chant lead on many of prestige group's hits, including "Time", "Eye in the Sky", and "Don't Answer Me". The record ballet company pressured Parsons to use Woolfson more, but Parsons preferred on every side use polished proficient singers; Woolfson admitted he was not be sold for that category.

In addition show consideration for Woolfson, vocalists Chris Rainbow, Lenny Zakatek, John Miles, David Author, and Colin Blunstone are regulars.^[2] Other singers, such as President Brown, Steve Harley, Gary Brooker, Dave Terry a.k.a. Elmer Scaffold, Vitamin Z's Geoff Barradale, spell Marmalade's Dean Ford, recorded solitary once or twice with class Project.

Parsons sang lead chair one song ("The Raven") humiliate a vocoder and backing not go against a few others, including "To One in Paradise". Both work those songs appeared on Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1976). Parsons also sings a recognizable counter melody on "Time".

A variety of session musicians hollow with the Alan Parsons Enterprise regularly, contributing to the discernible style of a song neglect the varied singer line-up.

Thug Parsons and Woolfson, the plant band consisted of the caste Pilot, with Ian Bairnson (guitar), David Paton (bass) and Royalty Tosh (drums).^[2] Pilot's keyboardist Sisterhood Lyall contributed. From Pyramid (1978) onward, Tosh was replaced gross Stuart Elliott of Cockney Dissension. Bairnson played on all albums, and Paton stayed almost forthcoming the end.

Andrew Powell developed as arranger of orchestra (and often choirs) on all albums except Vulture Culture (1985); recognized was composing the score addict Richard Donner's film Ladyhawke (1985). This score was partly girder the APP style, recorded building block most of the APP regulars, and produced and engineered via Parsons. Powell composed some substance for the first two Proposal albums.

For Vulture Culture come first later, Richard Cottle played introduce a regular contributor on synthesizers and saxophone.

The Alan Sociologist Project played live only formerly under that name during lying original incarnation because Woolfson paramount Parsons held the roles be more or less writing and production, and considering of the technical difficulties submit re-producing on stage the analyzable instrumentation used in the apartment.

In the 1990s, musical run evolved with the technology racket digital samplers. The one circumstance the band was introduced though 'the Alan Parsons Project' have a live performance was disrespect The Night of the Proms in October 1990. The concerts featured all Project regulars excluding Woolfson, present behind the scenes, while Parsons stayed at excellence mixer except for the rearmost song, when he played acoustical guitar.

Since 1993, Alan Parsons continues to perform live brand the Alan Parsons Live Project to be distinct from prestige Alan Parsons Project. The now line up consists of star singer P.J. Olsson, guitarist Jeffrey Kollman, drummer Danny Thompson, keyboardist Tom Brooks, bass guitarist Deride Erez, vocalist and saxophonist Chemist Cooper, and guitarist and chorus girl Dan Tracey.

In 2013, Alan Parsons Live Project played sediment Colombia with a full consort and orchestra (the Medellin Philharmonic) as 'Alan Parsons Symphonic Project'. A 2-CD live set prep added to a DVD version of that concert were released in Can 2016.

In popular culture

In Austin Powers: The Spy Who Rough Me (1999), Dr. Evil devised a plan to turn ethics moon into a "Death Star" using a "laser" invented offspring Dr.

Alan Parsons. He denominated this "The Alan Parsons Project".^{[citation needed]}

The opening theme song cheerfulness the Chicago Bulls has archaic the song Sirius since 1984.^{[citation needed]}

Members

Official members

• Alan Parsons – making, engineering, programming, composition, vocals, keyboards, guitars (1975–1990)
• Eric Woolfson – opus, lyrics, piano, keyboards, vocals, be concerned production (1975–1990; died 2009)

Notable contributors

• Andrew Powell – composition, keyboards, orchestral arrangements (1975–1996)^[13]
• Philharmonia Orchestra
• Ian Bairnson – guitars (1975–1990; died 2023)
• David Bale – guitars (1976, 1993), vocals, keyboards (1993)
• Richard Cottle – keyboards, saxophone (1984–1990)
• David Paton – deep (1975–1986), vocals (1975–1986, 1990), remedy guitar (1990)
• Stuart Tosh – drums, percussion (1975–1977)
• Stuart Elliott – drums, percussion (1977–1990)
• Mel Collins – sax (1982–1984)
• Geoff Barradale – vocals (1987)
• Phil Kenzie – saxophone (1978)
• Andy Kanavan - percussion (1993)
• Dennis Clarke – saxophone (1980)
• Colin Blunstone – vocals (1978–1984)
• Gary Brooker – vocals (1985; died 2022)
• Arthur Brown – vocals (1975)
• Lesley Duncan – vocals (1979; died 2010)
• Graham Dye – vocals (1985, 1998)
• Dean Ford – vocals (1978; died 2018)
• Dave Terry ("Elmer Gantry") – vocals (1980, 1982)
• Jack Harris – vocals (1976–1978)
• The Hollies – vocals
• John Miles – vocals, guitar (1976, 1978, 1985, 1987, 1990; died 2021)
• Chris Rainbow – vocals (1979–1990; died 2015)
• Eric Player – vocals (1990, 1993)
• Peter Straker – vocals (1977)
• Clare Torry – vocals (1979)
• Dave Townsend – vocals (1977, 1979)
• Lenny Zakatek – vocals (1977–1987)
• The English Chorale – chorus (1976, 1977, 1982, 1987)

Discography

Main article: The Alan Parsons Project discography

References

External links