Don Partridge

Don Partridge
Don Partridge (1968)
Background information
Birth name	Donald Eric Partridge
Born	(1941-10-27)27 October 1941 Bournemouth, England
Died	21 September 2010(2010-09-21) (aged 68) Peacehaven, East Sussex, England
Genres	Pop, folk, folk-rock, blues
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, busker, one-man band, multi-instrumentalist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, kazoo, drums, cymbals, tambourine, vibes, foot-base
Years active	Early 1960s–2010
Labels	Columbia, Capitol, Regal Zonophone, LongMan Records
Associated acts	Accolade; The Brotherhood; Slim Volume; Don Partridge & The Wild Foul
Website	www.donpartridge.com (pending)

Donald Eric Partridge (27 October 1941 – 21 September 2010) was an English singer and songwriter, known as the "king of the buskers". He performed from the early 1960s first as a folk singer and later as a busker and one-man band, and achieved unexpected commercial success in the UK and Europe in the late 1960s with the songs "Rosie", "Blue Eyes" and "Breakfast On Pluto". He later was a founder of the group "Accolade" which pressed two albums, and continued writing music, playing, busking and recording mainly as a solo artist until 2008.

Don Partridge was born in Bournemouth, England. By his own account, he left home at age 15 and became a burglar, before working at some 45 different jobs. In July 1963, he was reported in the national newspapers when he jumped off Hammersmith Bridge, London equipped with home-made wings, trying to fly. In the early 1960s, he developed his busking and performing skills firstly in London and Continental Europe, later in 1963 busking around the coastal towns of South West England with fellow guitarist Alan Young and also playing at British and Irish folk clubs, initially singing British, Irish and American folk songs and blues with a guitar. In 1964 he and his friend Alan Young were described in the Evening Standard as the first young street musicians to be seen in London since World War II . Later, inspired by American singer Jesse Fuller, he constructed his first one-man band and started writing some of his own compositions. In London in 1966, together with fellow busker Pat Keene as "The Brotherhood", he recorded his first album entitled "Singin' 'n' Sole-in".

Soon afterwards, he found that he gained more attention by performing with his one-man band, playing guitar, kazoo or harmonica (both held on a harness), bass drum (on his back), cymbals and tambourine at the same time. He was frequently arrested and fined, but gained a local following and made TV appearances on several shows, including the Eamonn Andrews Show.

Record company executive Don Paul, previously of rock and roll group The Viscounts, then won him a recording contract with Columbia Records. His debut recording of his own song, "Rosie", reached No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1968. Following its success, Partridge quit busking for a more orthodox professional singing career. On 5 April 1968 Partridge appeared alongside Amen Corner, Gene Pitney, Status Quo and Simon Dupree and the Big Sound at The Odeon Theatre, Lewisham, London, on the opening night of a twice nightly UK tour covering 27 venues in 32 days. Later in May 1968, he performed at the NME Musical Awards Show at Empire Pool, Wembley to a crowd of 10,000 alongside multiple artists including the Rolling Stones. His second hit quickly followed when "Blue Eyes" reached No. 3 in June 1968, and he was featured on the front cover of the pop weekly Disc. He also released a self-titled LP, which included folk and blues songs by Lead Belly, Bill Broonzy and Oscar Brand along with versions of Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay" and Robin Williamson's "First Girl I Loved", and several of his own compositions. He spent the summer of 1968 performing nightly shows at Blackpool Pier, alongside Solomon King, Les Dawson and others. His third single "Top Man", however, failed to make the UK chart.