Chris Farlowe (born John Henry Deighton, 13 October 1940) is an English rock,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

singer. He is best known for his

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

" Out of Time" written by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, which rose to No. 1 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1966, and his association with bands

Atomic Rooster Atomic Rooster are a British rock band originally formed by members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member and wro ...

, the Thunderbirds and

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world ...

. Outside his music career, Farlowe collects war memorabilia.

Career

Farlowe was born in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

. His musical career began with a

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United Stat ...

group, the John Henry Skiffle Group, in 1957, before he joined the Johnny Burns Rhythm and Blues Quartet in 1958. He met guitarist Bob Taylor in 1959 and, through Taylor, joined the Thunderbirds, who went on to record five

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

for the

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

. On

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

's Sue label, he released a version of "

Stormy Monday Blues "Stormy Monday Blues" is a jazz song first recorded in 1942 by Earl Hines and His Orchestra with Billy Eckstine on vocals. The song was a hit, reaching number one in ''Billboard'' magazine's " Harlem Hit Parade", and was Hines' only appearance i ...

" under the pseudonym Little Joe Cook (a name also used by an American singer), which perpetuated the myth that he was a black singer. Farlowe moved to Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label and recorded eleven singles, five of which were

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

s including " Paint It Black", " Think", " Ride On, Baby", "

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff ...

", and " Out of Time", which reached No. 1 (1966) in the

. He recorded four more singles, the best known of which are Mike d'Abo's " Handbags and Gladrags", and "

My Way of Giving "My Way of Giving" is a song written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. Initially demoed by their band Small Faces in 1966, it was given to British singer Chris Farlowe, who released his version as a single in early 1967. It was Farlowe's first si ...

", a cover of a

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...

album track written by

Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted pos ...

and Ronnie Lane. He began an association with the jazz rock group

in September 1970, recording a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

and two

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

albums including '' Daughter of Time'' (1970). After Colosseum's reunion in 1994 he appeared on all their albums. In February 1972 he joined

, and is featured on the albums '' Made in England'' (1972) and ''

Nice 'n' Greasy ''Nice 'n' Greasy'' is the fifth studio album by British rock band Atomic Rooster. In the US, the record was issued on Elektra in a different sleeve (pictured) to most territories and retitled ''Atomic Rooster IV'', as their first album, ''Ato ...

'' (1973). In 1978 Farlowe collaborated on two BBC Birmingham productions for which his former Colosseum bandmate Dave Greenslade wrote the theme music. First, in the second series of '' Gangsters'', Farlowe sang the theme song. Farlowe and Greenslade then provided the music and Farlowe played the part of Benny opposite Sonja Kristina in the rock opera ''Curriculee Curricula''. The production was first shown on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

and shot in its entirety on video at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

campus, with Magnus Magnusson as the narrator. Farlowe sang on two tracks from

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

's ''

Death Wish II ''Death Wish II'' is a 1982 American vigilante action film directed and co-edited by Michael Winner. It is the first of four sequels to the 1974 film ''Death Wish''. It is the second installment in the ''Death Wish'' film series. In the stor ...

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

(1982), as well as the tracks "Hummingbird", "Prison Blues" and "Blues Anthem" on Page's album '' Outrider'' (1988). He toured for a long time with Hamburg Blues Band, mainly in Germany. Since 1999, Farlowe has appeared on stage a number of times alongside

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

. In 2009, Farlowe toured as a featured artist with

Maggie Bell Margaret Bell (born 12 January 1945 in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish rock vocalist. She came to fame as co-lead vocalist of the blues-rock group Stone the Crows, and was described as the UK's closest counterpart to American sing ...

and

Bobby Tench Robert Tench (born 21 September 1944) is a British vocalist, guitarist, sideman, songwriter and arranger. Tench is best known for his work with Freddie King and Van Morrison, as well as being a member of The Jeff Beck Group, Humble Pie, Street ...

as part of the "Maximum Rhythm and Blues" tour of 32 UK theatres. On 30 July 2016, Farlowe appeared at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500- ...

, performing his 1966 hit "Out of Time" as part of a show marking the 50th anniversary of the England football team's victory in the

1966 FIFA World Cup Final The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth FIFA World Cup. The match was contested by England and West Germany, with Englan ...

Discography

Albums

* ''Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds'' (February 1966) * ''14 Things to Think About'' (June 1966) ( UK #19) * '' The Art of Chris Farlowe'' (November 1966) (UK #37) * '' Tonite Lets All Make Love in London'' (Soundtrack) (July 1968) * ''The Last Goodbye'' (compilation, August 1969) * '' From Here to Mama Rosa'' (September 1970) * ''Chris Farlowe Band Live'' (November 1975) * Greatest Hits (1977) * ''Out of the Blue'' (July 1985) * ''The Live EP: Live in Hamburg'' (March 1986) * ''Born Again'' (June 1986) * ''Chris Farlowe & Roy Herrington Live in Berlin'' (17/18 October 1991) * '' Superblues'' (Recorded live 1991, released 1994) * ''Waiting in the Wings'' (May 1992) * '' Swinging Hollywood'' (1994) * ''Lonesome Road'' (September 1995) * ''BBC in Concert'' (January 1996) * ''As Time Go By'' (October 1996) * ''The Voice'' (April 1998) * ''Glory Bound'' (March 2001) * ''Farlowe That!'' (May 2003) * '' Hungary for the Blues'' (November 2005) * ''At Rockpalast'' (October 2006) * ''Hotel Eingang'' (2008) * ''Bursting over Bremen/Live 1985'' (2014)

DVDs

* ''At Rockpalast'' (October 2006) * ''At Rockpalast 2'' (November 2008) * ''At Rockpalast 3'' (December 2012)

Singles

Singles (1962–65) * "Air Travel" / "Why Did You Break My Heart?" (Decca F.11536) (1962) * "Girl Trouble" / "Itty Bitty Pieces" (Columbia DB 7237) (1964) * "Blue Beat" (as "The Beazers") / "I Wanna Shout" (as "The Beazers") (Decca F.11827) (1964) * " Just a Dream" (Columbia DB 7311) (1964) * "Buzz with the Fuzz" / "You're the One" (Columbia DB 7614) (1965) Singles and EPs on Immediate Records (1965–70) * IM016 " The Fool" / "Treat Her Good" (1965) * IM023 " Think" / "Don't Just Look at Me" ( UK #37) (1966) * IM035 " Out of Time" / "Baby Make It Soon" (UK #1) (1966) * IM038 " Ride On Baby" / "Headlines" (UK #31) (1966) * IM041 "

" / "You're So Good to Me" (UK #48) (1967) * IM049 " Yesterday's Papers" / "Life is But Nothing" (1967) * IM056 "Moanin'" / "What Have I Been Doing" (UK #46) (1967) * IM065 " Handbags and Gladrags" / "Everyone Makes a Mistake" (UK #33) (1967) * IM066 "The Last Goodbye" / "Paperman Fly in the Sky" (

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

with the Thunderbirds) (1968) * IM071 " Paint It Black" / "I Just Need Your Loving" (1968) * IM074 "Dawn" / "April was the Month" (with the Thunderbirds) (1968) * IM078 "Out of Time" / "Ride On Baby" (1969) * IMS101 "Out of Time" / "My Way of Giving" (UK #44) (1975) * IMEP001 "Farlowe in the Midnight Hour" ( EP) (1965) * IMEP004 "Chris Farlowe Hits" (EP) (1966) Singles and EPs on

and its Sue subsidiary * "

" (Part One/Part Two) (as ''Little Joe Cook'', Island Sue WI 385) * ''Stormy Monday'' (EP: "Stormy Monday" / "She's Alright" / "Voodoo") (as Chris Farlowe, Island IEP 709, ca. 1966)

References

External links

Official website
archived in 2010

Record Collector article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farlowe, Chris 1940 births Living people English pop singers English rock singers English soul singers English rhythm and blues singers People from Islington (district) People from Finchley English male singers British rhythm and blues boom musicians Island Records artists Immediate Records artists Atomic Rooster members Colosseum (band) members