Roy Carter is an English musician, songwriter and music producer. He has written or co-written hits for

Instant Funk Instant Funk were an American 1970s and 1980s disco band, best known for their disco classic, " I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)". History Instant Funk came out of Trenton, New Jersey consisting of Raymond Earl, drummer Scotty Mill ...

, Central Line,

Animal Nightlife Animal Nightlife was a British group in the 1980s. It consisted of Andy Polaris on vocals, Leonardo Chignoli on bass, Steve Brown on guitar, Billy Chapman on saxophone and Paul Waller on drums. History Founded in 1980 in the London night club ...

, David Grant, and

Jermaine Stewart William Jermaine Stewart (September 7, 1957 – March 17, 1997) was an American R&B singer, best known for his 1986 hit single " We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off", which peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also peaked w ...

. He has also been a member of groups, Clem Curtis & The Foundations,

Heatwave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

, Central Line and Danny D. & Collusion. In later years he ran a television music production company.

Background

Carter was a member of Clem Curtis & The Foundations, and along with fellow members David Christopher George, Valentine Pascal, Derek Lewis, and John Lumley-Savile was backing

Clem Curtis Clem Curtis (born Curtis Clements; 28 November 1940 – 27 March 2017) was a Trinidadian British singer, who was the original lead vocalist of sixties soul group the Foundations. Background Early life Born in Trinidad as Curtis Clements, he a ...

. Carter was part of the line up of

that also included Johnnie Wilder, Keith Wilder, Mario Mantese,

Rod Temperton Rodney Lynn Temperton (9 October 1949 – 25 September 2016) was an English musician, songwriter, and record producer. Temperton was the keyboardist and principal songwriter for the 1970s funk band Heatwave, writing songs including "Star of a ...

, Bilbo Berger and Billy Jones and played on their second album ''Central Heating''. According to Jazz Rock Soul, Carter was with the band until 1979.

Career

Clem Curtis & The Foundations

By the mid-1970s, Carter was part of Clem Curtis & The Foundations. With Curtis and the other members, Carter went to Australia for a tour in 1975. Unfortunately there were some problems with lead singer

being charged with a supposed assault by the New South Wales police which resulted in Curtis being handcuffed and locked in a cell. Along with Valentine Pascal and Georges Delanbanque, Carter co-wrote the song "Amanda" which was the B side of "Make a Wish". The single which was released on Riverdale RR 100 was credited to Clem Curtis & The Foundations Ltd., was reviewed in the 29 May 1976 issue of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

''. Carter also composed a piece of music called "The Foundations Theme". Carter, John Savile, Valentine Pascal, Clem Curtis and Georges Delanbanque performed the John Macleod and

Dave Meyers David Meyers may refer to: *Dave Meyers (director) (born 1972), American music video director *Dave Meyers (basketball) David William Meyers (April 21, 1953 – October 9, 2015) was an American basketball player who played for the Milwaukee Buck ...

composition, " Where Were You When I Needed Your Love" for Eurovision '77. It was a favorite to win, but the electricians went on strike and their performance wasn't televised. They did secure a third place with "Where Were You When I Needed Your Love" behind the second placer "What Do You Say To Love" by Mary Mason and " Rock Bottom" by

Lynsey de Paul Lynsey de Paul (born Lyndsey Monckton Rubin; 11 June 1948 – 1 October 2014) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. After initially writing hits for others, she had her own chart hits in the UK and Europe in the 1970s, starting ...

as the winner. "Where Were You When I Needed Your Love" was released as a single on Summit SU 100 in March 1977.

Heatwave

According to his interview with Anthony Bozzola on 30 July 2013, Carter joined

in 1977. He replaced Heatwave member Jesse White who was murdered. He contributed rhythm guitar, bass guitar, Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano to Heatwave's ''

Central Heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. A central heating system has a Furnace (central heating), furnace that converts fuel or electricity to heat through processes. The he ...

'' album that was released in 1978.

Central line

Carter produced Central Line's single, "

Walking into Sunshine "Walking into Sunshine" is a 1981 single by British band Central Line. It became a hit for the group that year, charting in both the UK and the US. Background "Walking into Sunshine" appears to be the earliest example of Roy Carter's songwritin ...

" which was released late July / early August 1981. Carter produced the self-titled album for Central Line which was released on Mercury SRM-1-4033 in late 1981. One of the Feature Picks, the album was reviewed by ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' in the magazine's 26 December issue. With the reviewer praising London r&b bands, Central Line was called "the true cream of the genre" with "Walking into Sunshine" singled out as a testament to that. Other picks were "Goodbye" and "Shake It Up." That same week it made its debut in the ''Cash Box'' Black Contemporary Top 75 Albums. He produced Central line's version of

Nature Boy "Nature Boy" is a song first recorded by American jazz singer Nat King Cole. It was released on March 29, 1948, as a single by Capitol Records, and later appeared on the 1961 album '' The Nat King Cole Story''. It was written by eden ahbez as ...

which spent eight weeks in the UK charts, peaking at no. 21 in January 1983. On the week of 6 August 1983 his composition "Lovely Day", recorded by Central Line, made its debut at 89 in the ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' The Next 25 chart. Spending three weeks in the charts, it peaked at no. 81. His production, "Time for Some Fun" by Central Line made its debut in the ''Music Week'' The Next 25 chart at no. 99 on the week of 26 November 1983. With Jermaine Stewart, Narada Michael Walden and Jeffrey Cohen, he co-wrote the song " Jody" which made it to no. 9 on the Dance chart in 1986.

Further activities

With

Pete Wingfield William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer, Keyboardist, keyboard player, songwriter, singer, and music journalism, music journalist. Career Whilst at Sussex University, Wingfield and three other students formed ...

, Carter co-produced the debut, self-titled album for Second Image which was released in 1983. Also in the same year,

Whodini Whodini is an American hip hop group that was formed in 1982. The Brooklyn, New York–based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, a.k.a. Ecstasy (who wore a Zorro-style hat as his trademark; Jun ...

released their self-titled album. Carter produced the tracks "Underground" and "Yours for a Night". According to a Rap Reviews article dated 22 September 2020, the attempts that Carter and co-producer Willesden Dodgers made to give snappy percussion and slinky funk to "Yours for a Night" made Whodini sound like a parody of

New Edition New Edition is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B/Pop music, pop group from the Roxbury, Boston, Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by singer/rapper Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a new edition of the Jackson ...

. He co-wrote "Who Took Away the Funk" with Josephine James for

. It charted in the US, making it to no. 70 in the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Black singles chart. Along with Andy Polaris, Billy Chapman, Flid, Leonardo Chignoli and Paul Waller, he co-wrote " Mr. Solitaire" for

. Making its debut in the Uk charts on 8 August 1984, it spent thirteen weeks in the charts, peaking at no. 25. The following year he had a hand in composing their song "Preacher Preacher" which spent two weeks in the charts, peaking at no. 67. He produced the single "Blown Away" for the group

Darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

that was released in late May 1985. With David Grant he co-wrote the song "

Change Change, Changed or Changing may refer to the below. Other forms are listed at Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of t ...

" which became a hit for Grant in 1987, and spent five weeks in the UK charts from 25 August to 22 August, peaking at no. 55. Carter was booked to appear at the Norfolk Motorhome Show 2018, billed as Memories of the Four Tops, Tameeka Jackson and Roy Carter. His old group Clem Curtis & The Foundations was on the same bill. However, Clem Curtis had died the previous year.''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 31 March 2017
Clem Curtis, original singer with the Foundations
/ref>

References

External links

* Discogs
Roy Carter
* Imdb
Roy Carter(III)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Roy 1955 births Clem Curtis & The Foundations members Heatwave (band) members Central Line (band) members British male guitarists Black British musicians British male songwriters 20th-century Black British musicians 21st-century Black British musicians British record producers Living people