Adrian Barber (13 November 1938 – 8 August 2020) was an English musician and producer most noted for recording the Beatles '' Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962'', producing the Allman Brothers Band's self-titled debut album, along with

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

's album '' Loaded''.

Musician and electronics

Barber was the lead guitarist in Liverpool's quartet "Cass and the Casanovas" (led by Brian "Cass" Cassar) and its subsequent Big Three. Also an electronic wizard, he was responsible for upgrading the group amps (called "coffins") but also upgrading other Liverpudlian's gear. This included

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

's quad amp. He left the Big Three in mid-1962, when the band planned to be a quartet. Barber played drums on The Velvet Underground's 1970 song "Who Loves the Sun".

Sound stage manager

In 1962, due to his knowledge in the electronic field, Barber was hired by Horst Fascher to improve the

Star-Club The Star-Club was a music club in Hamburg, Germany, that opened on Friday 13 April 1962, and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. In the 1960s, many of the giants of rock music played at the club. The club closed on 3 ...

's Sound system. In late December 1962, he recorded bands performing and some of his tapes were released as '' Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962''.

Producer and sound engineer

In the late 1960s, Barber became a recording engineer/producer for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

, for instance on * 1969 Cream - '' Goodbye'' * 1969 ''

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards), as well as Dickey Betts ( ...

'' * 1967

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

- '' I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You'' * 1968 Aretha Franklin - '' Aretha Now'' * 1969 Velvet Underground - '' Loaded'' (also drumming on 2 tracks) * 1969 The Rascals - '' Freedom Suite'' * 1969 The Rascals - '' See'' * 1968

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a Canadian-American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1966 by Canadians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin (musician), Dewey Martin and Americans Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely know ...

- ''

Last Time Around ''Last Time Around'' is the third and final studio album by the Canadian-American folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, released in July 1968. The line-up at the time officially consisted of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Dewey Marti ...

'' * 1969

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

- ''

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

'' * 1969 Aretha Franklin - '' Lady Soul'' * 1971 Aretha Franklin - '' Aretha's Greatest Hits'' * 1973

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

- ''

Death

He died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, spending the rest of his life on the island of Hawaii.

Musician and electronics

Sound stage manager

Producer and sound engineer

Death

References

Further reading