Barry Palmer (British singer)

Barry Palmer, born 1958 in England, is a British singer. He was a replacement for singer Helmut Köllen in the German band Triumvirat in 1976, he sang on two albums Old loves die hard and Pompeii in 1977. He later joined Mike Oldfield on his Discovery album in 1984, sharing vocals with Maggie Reilly. He has also released several solo albums.

Born in Worcestershire, England, Palmer commenced his singing career in the early 1970s when he joined Scarborough-based band Brave New World as their lead singer. Brave New World were a five piece band who played all their own original material but were also heavily influenced by bands such as Family, Fairport Convention and Wishbone Ash.

After Brave New World disbanded in 1972/73, Palmer pursued a solo singing career. He released his first ever single almost immediately, a track titled "Always". This was quickly followed the following year (1974) with the release of a second single titled "Getaway" which was heavily influenced by the style of Marc Bolan and his band T. Rex.

In 1974, Palmer's early solo career was highlighted when he sang lead and backing vocals on the major British and European No. 2 chart hit The Bump even though he himself did not appear. The song was in fact Palmer singing under the pseudonym of 'Kenny'.

In return, Palmer wanted to release a single himself and therefore simultaneously recorded a cover of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" under the stage / release name of DC Palmer. Both songs were released, but while "Maybe I'm Amazed" failed to chart, "The Bump" eventually reached No 3 in the UK charts.

Palmer then began writing his own material and, shortly afterwards, answered an ad in "Melody Maker" placed by a Jürgen Fritz whose hugely successful German Progressive Rock band Triumvirat were looking for a new lead vocalist, as their lead singer had just quit the band. Palmer sent Jürgen a copy demo tape of his single "Maybe I'm Amazed". Consequently, Palmer secured the vacant position as lead singer with Triumvirat. Triumvirat's first song recording together with Palmer was "Take a Break Today" (1975). This was then followed up by the band's fifth album Pompei, again featuring Palmer on lead vocals.

After he left the band which was taking a more commercial turn due to the pressures of the record company, Palmer stayed in Germany, recording and touring with other similar and notable German Progressive Rock Groups such as Satin Whale and Gaensehaut. It was in 1983 that Mike Oldfield heard one of Triumvirat's albums and invited Palmer to join his Crises album tour, an offer Palmer refused as, at that time, he was working on his forthcoming solo album, Without an Aim.

In 1984, Palmer released two further singles, "She's Leaving Home", a Beatles cover which he had recorded whilst in Germany with the assistance of Jürgen Fritz (Triumvirat), followed by "When One Door Closes", a track selected off his forthcoming album, Without an Aim. Later that same year Mike Oldfield again contacted Palmer and asked him to sing on his new track, "Crime of Passion".

...
Wikipedia