The Alan Bown Set
| The Alan Bown Set | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Alan Bown! Alan Bown |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | jazz, blues, soul, R&B, psychedelia, progressive rock |
| Years active | 1965–1972 |
| Labels | Deram, Island, CBS, United Artists |
| Associated acts | John Barry Seven, Supertramp |
| Members | Alan Bown Jeff Bannister Dave Green Stan Haldane John Helliwell Jess Roden Tony Catchpole Robert Palmer Gordon Neville Andy Brown Mel Collins Dougie Thomson Derek Griffiths Dave Lawson Tony Dangerfield Frank White Alan Coulter/Nick Payn/Pete Goodall |
The Alan Bown Set later known as The Alan Bown! or just Alan Bown, were a British band of the 1960s and 1970s whose music evolved from jazz and blues through soul and rhythm and blues and ended up as psychedelia and progressive rock. The band achieved limited chart success and is best known for the role it played in developing the careers of numerous musicians including Mel Collins, John Helliwell, Robert Palmer, Jess Roden and Dougie Thomson.
Alan Bown (born Alan James Bown, 21 July 1942, Slough, Berkshire died 16 December 2014, Slough), a trumpet player, joined The Embers in 1963, when he left the RAF. This group played both American rhythm and blues and jazz, and were a very successful live act, playing at venues like The Star-Club, Hamburg at the same time as The Beatles. Bown left the group to join The John Barry Seven, who were backing Brenda Lee, and toured and recorded with the band until it broke up in 1965; Barry having made Bown the leader of the touring band, so he could spend more time composing.
Bown then formed The Alan Bown Set in c May 1965, initially with three former members of The John Barry Seven :- Jeff Bannister (lead vocals and organ) (born Jeffrey Bannister, 7 January 1943), Dave Green (sax, clarinet and flute) and Stan Haldane (bass) together with Pete Burgess (guitar) and Vic Sweeney (drums). They played American R&B and soul and played the same club circuit as Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers. In 1965 Tony Hatch signed to them to Pye Records but their first single "Can’t Let Her Go" / "I’m The One" did not chart. In 1966 Green was replaced by John Helliwell and shortly after Jess Roden joined as a vocalist, allowing Bannister to concentrate on keyboards. They appeared on Ready Steady Go! and at The Windsor Jazz Festival and began headlining London’s Marquee Club.
...
Wikipedia