Joe Fagin (December 1939 – 5 September 2023) was an English pop/rock singer-songwriter. He was best known for the 1984 chart hit " Breakin' Away / That's Livin' Alright", and for singing a version of " As Time Goes By" for the 1990s

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom of the same name starring

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

and

Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to: Politicians *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, member of parliament (MP) for Leicestershire *Geoffrey Pal ...

Musical career

Early years

In the early 1960s, Fagin was a guitarist with a group called the Strangers, who played gigs at

The Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened on 16 January 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The club beca ...

in Liverpool, sometimes with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, and at 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 ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. He then played in France with a band called the Playboys. By the 1970s, Fagin had returned to England and worked in advertising, writing jingles. He also worked as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

Chart successes and TV themes

In 1982, Fagin had his only U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charting single, "Younger Days". It was released there on Millennium Records and peaked at No. 80. He was musical director for

Jim Davidson James Cameron Davidson (born 13 December 1953) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, singer and TV presenter. He hosted the television shows '' Big Break'' and '' The Generation Game''. In 2014 he was the winner of the 13th series of ''Cel ...

, including his 1983

Falklands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Du ...

tour. In January 1984, the single " Breakin' Away / That's Livin' Alright", which were the opening and closing

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

s to the first series of the

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site ...

'', reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1985, he was part of the

charity supergroup A charity supergroup is a music group comprising famous musicians or other celebrities which is formed to raise funds or awareness for charities or causes. The supergroup is usually together only for a single album, performance, or single. T ...

the Crowd, who released the

charity single A charity record, charity album, or charity single is a recording with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. In 1956, The Lord's Taverners released a 78 rpm disc which contained six tracks donated by popular artis ...

You'll Never Walk Alone "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and e ...

" for the

Bradford City stadium fire The Bradford City stadium fire occurred during a Football League Third Division match on Saturday 11 May 1985 at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, killing 56 spectators and injuring at least 265. The stadium was k ...

which reached number one in the UK. "Get It Right" and "Back with the Boys Again", the two songs for the second series of ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'', were also released as a single, reaching number 53 in 1986. Fagin sang the version of " As Time Goes By" used as the theme of the sitcom of the same name.

Later years

Fagin released a

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album in 1996, which included a cover of

song "

She's Leaving Home "She's Leaving Home" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and released on their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Paul McCartney wrote and sang the verse and John Lenno ...

". "Breakin' Away" / "That's Livin' Alright" was re-released when ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' was repeated on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in 1996. A reworked version of "That's Living Alright" was released on 5 June 2006 for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. However, "That's England Alright" was an unofficial song, since Embrace were chosen to record the official song for the World Cup, " World at Your Feet".

Personal life and death

Fagin was born in

Kirkdale, Liverpool Kirkdale is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and a Liverpool City Council Ward (country subdivision), ward that covers both Kirkdale and Vauxhall, Liverpool, Vauxhall. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census, the population w ...

in 1940, and trained as an electrician before beginning his music career. In adulthood, he was a longtime resident of

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

. Fagin and his wife, Valerie, had five children. He died on 5 September 2023, at the age of 83.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fagin, Joe 1940 births 2023 deaths 20th-century English male singers 21st-century English male singers English male singer-songwriters English rock guitarists English singer-songwriters Musicians from the London Borough of Lambeth People from Brixton Musicians from Liverpool Place of death missing Singers from the London Borough of Lambeth Singers from Liverpool