The Animals

Among the earliest wave of British groups that achieved prominence after the Beatles conquered America, the Animals projected a harsher, more intimidating presence than any of their peers. They also ranked among the first UK acts to achieve global reach while embracing the blues. Although the Rolling Stones drew deeply from the same source, years would pass before they could match the stark menace the Animals conveyed on their 1964 follow-up single “House of the Rising Sun.” Over the ensuing two years the band shifted toward pop arrangements, yet tracks such as “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” and “It’s My Life” retained their full emotional force and drive. After the original lineup dissolved in 1966, vocalist Eric Burdon steered the group toward a bolder, psychedelic-tinged sound, and the material stayed resolutely uncompromising until the end of the band’s initial run. The 2000 compilation The Best of the Animals gathers the finest singles, the 1966 American release Animalism and its British counterpart Animalisms capture the classic lineup at its studio peak, and the 1977 reunion album Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted demonstrated that the collective spark had not faded.

The Animals formed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1963. Their origins traced back to the Alan Price Rhythm & Blues Combo, itself an outgrowth of two earlier Newcastle outfits, the Kansas City Five and the Kontours. The Combo’s lineup included Alan Price on keyboards and vocals, Hilton Valentine on guitar, Bryan “Chas” Chandler on bass, and John Steel on drums. Eric Burdon, formerly of the Kansas City Five, had moved to London after Price left that group for the Kontours; upon returning home, Burdon joined Price’s new Combo as lead singer. Their potent approach quickly attracted local listeners, prompting a name change to the Animals—credited either to their ferocious stage demeanor or to a salute to a friend known as “Animal.” In autumn 1963 the freshly named band recorded a four-song EP of rhythm-and-blues standards in a modest studio, preserving their live sound. A copy reached Giorgio Gomelsky, manager of the similarly inclined Yardbirds, who urged them to move to London in pursuit of broader exposure. The Animals became regulars at Gomelsky’s Crawdaddy Club and were noticed by producer-manager Mickie Most, who secured a contract with EMI’s Columbia imprint (distinct from the American label of the same name). Columbia issued the debut single “Baby Let Me Take You Home,” which climbed to number 21 on the UK charts. MGM acquired the group for the United States, and their second release—an ominous reinterpretation of the folk standard “The House of the Rising Sun”—reached number one in Britain, America, and Canada while entering the top ten in Germany, Australia, and Sweden during 1964. MGM followed with the American LP The Animals in August 1964; Columbia released a British version the next month, the two editions sharing only seven tracks, a pattern of divergent releases that would recur. That year the band also made its screen debut in the film Get Yourself a College Girl alongside the Dave Clark Five, the Standells, and Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto. Early in 1965 MGM issued a second American album, The Animals on Tour, which, despite its title, consisted of studio tracks rather than live recordings.

While “House of the Rising Sun” elevated the Animals to stardom, it also sparked internal conflict. Although the song was public domain, Alan Price copyrighted the arrangement and collected the publishing royalties, excluding his bandmates. Price appeared on both the British and American editions of Animal Tracks (issued in 1965) and on the hits “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “Bring It on Home to Me,” and “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” yet friction culminated in his departure in May 1965. Mick Gallagher, later known for his work with Ian Dury & the Blockheads, briefly replaced him before Dave Rowberry assumed the keyboard role a month later. In October 1965 the band scored another American top-ten hit with “It’s My Life,” but dissatisfaction grew over the less blues-rooted material supplied by manager Mickie Most; they dismissed him before year’s end, ended their Columbia affiliation, and signed with Decca in Britain while staying with MGM in the United States. In 1966 MGM released the similarly titled Animalization and Animalism, while Decca issued the UK-only Animalisms, which overlapped substantially with Animalization. By then John Steel had exited, replaced by Barry Jenkins, and Hilton Valentine was contemplating departure as well. The May 1966 single “Don’t Bring Me Down” provided a final chart success for the original configuration before the group disbanded at the close of the year.

In early 1967 Eric Burdon reconstituted the act under the name Eric Burdon & the Animals, retaining drummer Barry Jenkins and recruiting Vic Briggs on guitar and piano, John Weider on guitar, bass, and fiddle, and Danny McCulloch on bass. March 1967 saw the release of Eric Is Here, credited to Eric Burdon & the Animals yet dominated by orchestral pop arrangements from the Benny Golson Orchestra. Winds of Change, issued that October, marked the new lineup’s first proper album and reflected a psychedelic turn, influenced by the band’s appearance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival; songs such as “When I Was Young” and “Warm San Franciscan Nights” captured that shift, alongside the festival tribute “Monterey.” The March 1968 album The Twain Shall Meet delved further into psychedelia and social themes, with the anti-war track “Sky Pilot” becoming a staple on FM rock radio. In April 1968 the group expanded to a sextet with the addition of organist George Bruno, also known as Zoot Money, a veteran of the British R&B scene; Bruno appeared on August 1968’s Every One of Us. Love Is, released in December 1968 as a double album, introduced yet another lineup featuring Burdon, Jenkins, Bruno, bassist John Weider, and guitarist Andy Summers (later of the Police). By the time the set reached stores, Burdon had dissolved the band; a year afterward he resurfaced fronting the Los Angeles R&B/funk ensemble War.

The original quintet of Burdon, Price, Valentine, Chandler, and Steel reconvened in 1975 to record Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted. The album returned to the gritty R&B style of their early work and earned critical praise, though weak promotion limited its commercial impact. A brief tour followed, after which the members parted again by the end of 1976. A further original-lineup album, Ark, appeared in 1983 and reached number 66 on the American charts; the accompanying tour was captured on 1984’s Rip It to Shreds: Their Greatest Hits Live. This concluded the Animals’ active history, though in the 1990s Hilton Valentine and John Steel performed with Valentine’s Animals and later Animals II, while from the 2000s onward John Steel led Animals and Friends, which for most of its run included Mick Gallagher on keyboards. Eric Burdon occasionally billed his own backing group as the Animals as well. The classic lineup was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Bryan “Chas” Chandler, who later managed Jimi Hendrix and Slade, died in 1996; Dave Rowberry passed away in 2003, and Hilton Valentine died in 2021.