Patrick Joseph McAloon (born 7 June 1957)
is an English singer-songwriter and a founder of the band
Prefab Sprout.
Early life
McAloon was born and grew up in
Witton Gilbert in
County Durham
County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, England.
He was trained to be a Catholic priest before deciding on a career in music.
Career
Prefab Sprout enjoyed success in the 1980s and early 1990s and peaked commercially with "
The King of Rock 'N' Roll", which was a top ten single in the
UK singles chart.
In a 1991 interview with ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' during the ''
Jordan: The Comeback'' world tour, McAloon said he had never seen a positive royalty cheque for his work with Prefab Sprout.
Songs written by McAloon have also been
recorded by
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
("If You Don't Love Me"),
Wendy Matthews
Wendy Joan Matthews (born 13 January 1960) is a Canadian-born Australian singer-songwriter who has been a member of Models (band), Models and Absent Friends (band), Absent Friends and is a solo artist. She released Top 20 hit singles in th ...
("God Watch Over You" and "Ride"),
Sondre Lerche ("Nightingales" – the song appeared in "
From Langley Park to Memphis" and Lerche sang it with the Faces Down Quartet as a tribute to Prefab Sprout),
Danny Seward ("Home (Where The Heart Is)"),
Momus ("Green Isaac Pt. 2"), and various songs for
Jimmy Nail
James Michael Aloysius Bradford (born 16 March 1954), known as Jimmy Nail, is an English singer-songwriter, actor, film producer, and television writer. He played the role of Leonard "Oz" Osborne in the television show ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' ( ...
. "God Watch Over You" has also been covered by
Frances Ruffelle.
"
When Love Breaks Down" has been covered by
The Zombies,
Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...
, and
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland, consisting of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, keyboards, backi ...
. In 2008, the covers album ''Independents Day 08'' included a version of "Bonny" performed by McAloon's label-mate Tom Smith of
Editors
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...
.
McAloon released the
spoken word
Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...
/
instrumental
An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
album ''
I Trawl the Megahertz'' (UK No. 54), under his own name, in 2003 on the
EMI subsidiary company
Liberty Records. After losing his eyesight — now somewhat restored — he listened to CB radio and call-in talk shows and found inspiration for the album.
In 2019, it was rereleased as a Prefab Sprout album.
In a 2013 interview, McAloon stated:
That record 'I Trawl The Megahertz''was so important to me. I was disappointed—extremely—that the ''Guardian'' never even reviewed it. That stayed with me. I kept waiting week after week: "Come on, if you're thinking they don't make records like they used to, if you're looking for personal vision, something unusual—I'm your guy!" But it never came.
In 2006, Prefab Sprout's ''
Steve McQueen
Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...
'' album was remastered by
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher.
Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...
, and was then released in 2007 as a double-CD package. The second CD featured acoustic versions of songs from the original album that were recorded in 2006.
On 7 September 2009, Prefab Sprout released the album ''
Let's Change the World with Music'', based on a demo recording from 1992.
A Prefab Sprout album entitled ''
Crimson/Red'' was released by Icebreaker Records in October 2013. McAloon is responsible for playing all of the instruments on the album.
On 3 March 2017, McAloon, under the Prefab Sprout name, was shown singing a new song, "America", on the Instagram and YouTube channels of Keith Armstrong, his manager and the former boss of
Kitchenware Records. Seeming to be a protest song about the administration of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, and released with no accompanying publicity, the song was the subject of discussion and speculation.
Personal life
As of September 2013, McAloon resides in his native County Durham with his wife and three daughters. He suffers from a
detached retina and
tinnitus
Tinnitus is a condition when a person hears a ringing sound or a different variety of sound when no corresponding external sound is present and other people cannot hear it. Nearly everyone experiences faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely ...
,
which significantly limited his ability to work in the studio. McAloon dedicated ''Crimson/Red'' to "my wife and daughters", "the women with whom I'm lucky enough to share my life".
Liner notes
Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards.
Origin
Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
''Crimson/Red''
See also
*
List of bands from Newcastle, United Kingdom
*
List of singer-songwriters
References
External links
*
Paddy McAloon biographyat
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
website
Let There Be Musicby Sean Curnyn, ''First Things''
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAloon, Paddy
1957 births
Living people
Alumni of Northumbria University
English male new wave singers
English new wave singers
English male guitarists
English male singer-songwriters
English pop keyboardists
English Roman Catholics
Musicians from County Durham
People from Durham, England
People with Ménière's disease
Sophisti-pop musicians