Biography
Few would have pegged Alan Bown as a likely rock performer, and some might insist he never quite became a star in the first place. His chosen instrument, the trumpet, made him an even less obvious candidate to lead a rock & roll group, yet he held that position across many years. Had the commercial reach of his ensembles’ records approached the popularity of their concerts, greater fame would almost certainly have followed.
Any ambitions he held toward music stayed hidden until he finished his service in the Royal Air Force at the start of the 1960s. England’s thriving scene, which extended into Germany and embraced rock & roll alongside blues, R&B, and jazz, then caught his attention. His own tastes leaned toward the latter two styles, so he soon joined the Embers, a band that secured bookings at Hamburg’s Star Club alongside Liverpool acts such as Tony Sheridan, the Beatles, and the Undertakers. After that long engagement he returned home and entered the John Barry Seven, directed by trumpeter and arranger John Barry. Bown shouldered more of the group’s day-to-day work than its leader, whose expanding duties as a record producer and film composer kept him away from the stage. When Barry dissolved the unit in 1964, Bown reassembled its remnants under his own direction; he had wanted the name ABC for Alan Bown Community, yet his manager persuaded him to adopt the Alan Bown Set instead. The six-piece band quickly thrived on stage and earned both public and critical favor throughout London.
Curiously, Bown and his colleagues had never pursued a recording deal, viewing the group simply as a means of reliable employment doing work they enjoyed. Only after roughly two years did Tony Reeves, later of Colosseum and then an A&R executive at Pye Records, notice them and secure a contract. The arrangement yielded several 45s and half of the album London Swings, which captured portions of their live set shared with Jimmy James & the Vagabonds. The Pye agreement expired at the close of 1967, after which the musicians moved to the British arm of MGM Records on its Music Factory subsidiary. By then their look and repertoire had shifted: R&B and soul were losing ground in London clubs while psychedelic sounds gained favor, so a longer-haired, more theatrical incarnation of the band appeared on MGM and Music Factory releases, now billed simply as the Alan Bown! with an exclamation point. They recorded “We Can Help You,” a song first performed by Nirvana, and the Alan Bown! rendition began attracting notice across England.
Disaster arrived the very week the single was scheduled for release, striking both sides of the Atlantic at once. A strike at the pressing plant halted shipment exactly when copies needed to reach stores, and MGM simultaneously dropped the Music Factory imprint. Although the Alan Bown! stayed with the parent company on the MGM label proper, all promotional and distribution support for Music Factory product ceased. Despite television appearances on shows such as Top of the Pops, “We Can Help You” withered without support, and the accompanying album Outward Bown went unnoticed. Two further singles, “Toyland” backed with “Technicolour Dream” and “Story Book” backed with “Little Lesley,” likewise failed to chart. The LP contained the band’s psychedelic-pop treatment of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” already a staple of their concerts, yet the label never slated it for single release; Jimi Hendrix, familiar with their version, later scored a hit with the same song on his Track Records label.
A subsequent deal with Deram Records, Decca’s progressive-rock outlet in Britain, produced two singles and a self-titled album. During this period a personnel change briefly placed Robert Palmer in the lineup as lead singer. Even with extensive touring, television exposure, and a sharper progressive-rock identity, the group’s commercial window had closed by the decade’s turn. A later contract with Island Records did nothing to revive their fortunes, though Bown maintained a touring version of the band, featuring saxophonist Mel Collins, into 1972. After that final tour he spent a brief interval with Jonesy before taking a producer’s post at British CBS Records, where he participated in the signings of Mott the Hoople and Sailor. By the 1980s he had left performance behind for the business side of the industry and launched his own production and publishing company. Reissues of his 1960s recordings have nevertheless kept his reputation alive among enthusiasts of the British beat and psychedelic eras.
Any ambitions he held toward music stayed hidden until he finished his service in the Royal Air Force at the start of the 1960s. England’s thriving scene, which extended into Germany and embraced rock & roll alongside blues, R&B, and jazz, then caught his attention. His own tastes leaned toward the latter two styles, so he soon joined the Embers, a band that secured bookings at Hamburg’s Star Club alongside Liverpool acts such as Tony Sheridan, the Beatles, and the Undertakers. After that long engagement he returned home and entered the John Barry Seven, directed by trumpeter and arranger John Barry. Bown shouldered more of the group’s day-to-day work than its leader, whose expanding duties as a record producer and film composer kept him away from the stage. When Barry dissolved the unit in 1964, Bown reassembled its remnants under his own direction; he had wanted the name ABC for Alan Bown Community, yet his manager persuaded him to adopt the Alan Bown Set instead. The six-piece band quickly thrived on stage and earned both public and critical favor throughout London.
Curiously, Bown and his colleagues had never pursued a recording deal, viewing the group simply as a means of reliable employment doing work they enjoyed. Only after roughly two years did Tony Reeves, later of Colosseum and then an A&R executive at Pye Records, notice them and secure a contract. The arrangement yielded several 45s and half of the album London Swings, which captured portions of their live set shared with Jimmy James & the Vagabonds. The Pye agreement expired at the close of 1967, after which the musicians moved to the British arm of MGM Records on its Music Factory subsidiary. By then their look and repertoire had shifted: R&B and soul were losing ground in London clubs while psychedelic sounds gained favor, so a longer-haired, more theatrical incarnation of the band appeared on MGM and Music Factory releases, now billed simply as the Alan Bown! with an exclamation point. They recorded “We Can Help You,” a song first performed by Nirvana, and the Alan Bown! rendition began attracting notice across England.
Disaster arrived the very week the single was scheduled for release, striking both sides of the Atlantic at once. A strike at the pressing plant halted shipment exactly when copies needed to reach stores, and MGM simultaneously dropped the Music Factory imprint. Although the Alan Bown! stayed with the parent company on the MGM label proper, all promotional and distribution support for Music Factory product ceased. Despite television appearances on shows such as Top of the Pops, “We Can Help You” withered without support, and the accompanying album Outward Bown went unnoticed. Two further singles, “Toyland” backed with “Technicolour Dream” and “Story Book” backed with “Little Lesley,” likewise failed to chart. The LP contained the band’s psychedelic-pop treatment of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” already a staple of their concerts, yet the label never slated it for single release; Jimi Hendrix, familiar with their version, later scored a hit with the same song on his Track Records label.
A subsequent deal with Deram Records, Decca’s progressive-rock outlet in Britain, produced two singles and a self-titled album. During this period a personnel change briefly placed Robert Palmer in the lineup as lead singer. Even with extensive touring, television exposure, and a sharper progressive-rock identity, the group’s commercial window had closed by the decade’s turn. A later contract with Island Records did nothing to revive their fortunes, though Bown maintained a touring version of the band, featuring saxophonist Mel Collins, into 1972. After that final tour he spent a brief interval with Jonesy before taking a producer’s post at British CBS Records, where he participated in the signings of Mott the Hoople and Sailor. By the 1980s he had left performance behind for the business side of the industry and launched his own production and publishing company. Reissues of his 1960s recordings have nevertheless kept his reputation alive among enthusiasts of the British beat and psychedelic eras.
Albums
