Alan Williams | |
|---|---|
Alan Williams | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 22 December 1948 Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England |
| Genres | Glam rock |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Member of | The Rubettes |
Alan Williams (born 22 December 1948) is an English singer. He is the former lead singer for The Rubettes and now fronts his own Rubettes spinoff "The Rubettes featuring Alan Williams".
Williams' first band, The Medium, included John Richardson on drums. [1] Williams and Richardson were both in The Rubettes, both before this they were the duo "Baskin & Copperfield". [2] Baskin & Copperfield never charted in the UK, but appeared on Top of the Pops and Hits à Go-Go with the song "I Never See The Sun".
In 1973, Richardson, Wiliams, Pete Arnesen, and Paul Da Vinci took part in the recording "Sugar Baby Love", [3] which was put together by songwriting duo Tony Waddington and Wayne Bickerton. Mick Clarke, Bill Hurd, and Tony Thorpe were later added in, and the studio project became The Rubettes. Da Vinci could not partake in the group as he was signed as a solo artist to another label, so Williams replaced Paul Da Vinci as lead singer of The Rubettes, as he was the only session singer who could replicate Da Vinci's falsetto vocals. [4] "Sugar Baby Love", which became the groups most successful song, went to number 1 in the U.K. [5] [6] Subsequent songs, such as "I Can Do It" and "Juke Box Jive", are actually sung by Alan.
The Rubettes disbanded in 2000, and not that long after Williams recreated The Rubettes with Mick Clarke and John Richardson of the original members. Bill Hurd, original pianist, also recreated the band around the same time as Alan with Paul Da Vinci, and in 2002, the two went to court for reasons surrounding ownership of the "Rubettes" name. [7] The final agreement was that both musicians could tour under the name, as long it specifies which of the two was fronting the group.
In 2005, Alan sued Bill, claiming he breached the terms on the original contract, after he learned he appeared on German television as "The Rubettes", without any sign that this band was "featuring Bill Hurd". The court ruled that Williams also breached the contracts agreements as well as Hurd, but since Bill's abuse of the contract was more severe, Alan ultimately won the case. [7]
In late 2018, Williams sacked original bass player Mick Clarke due to fee disputes, and soon after, Clarke registered rights to use the Rubettes name in the UK, [8] and Richardson and keyboardist Steve Etherington left the band, and made their own group "The Rubettes featuring John, Mick, and Steve". The group was formed because of Williams announcing on Dutch television he was moving to Australia, and decided to carry on without him; in addition, Richardson was growing tired of Alan's control over the band. [9] [10] In July 2022, John, Mick, and Steve were sued by Williams over the use of the Rubettes name. Wiliams won the lawsuit. [11] [9] [12]
The Rubettes are an English pop/glam rock band put together in 1974 after the release of "Sugar Baby Love", a recording assembled of studio session musicians in 1973 by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton, the then head of A&R at Polydor Records, and his co-songwriter, Tony Waddington after their doo-wop and 1950s American pop-influenced songs had been rejected by a number of existing acts. Waddington paired the group with manager John Morris, the husband of singer Clodagh Rodgers and under his guidance, the band duly emerged at the tail end of the glam rock movement, wearing trademark white suits and cloth caps on stage. Their first release, "Sugar Baby Love" was an instant hit remaining at number one in the United Kingdom for four weeks in May 1974, while reaching number 37 on the US chart that August, and remains their best-known record. Subsequent releases were to be less successful, but the band continued to tour well into the 2000s with two line-ups in existence.
Bernard William Jewry, known professionally as Shane Fenton and later as Alvin Stardust, was an English rock singer and stage actor. Performing first as Shane Fenton in the 1960s, Jewry had a moderately successful career in the pre-Beatles era, hitting the UK top 40 with four singles in 1961–62. However, he became better known for singles released in the 1970s and 1980s as Alvin Stardust, a character he began in the glam rock era, with hits including the UK Singles Chart-topper "Jealous Mind", as well as later hits such as "Pretend" and "I Feel Like Buddy Holly".
The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me".
How I Learned to Love the Bootboys is the fourth and final album by British rock band the Auteurs. It was released on 5 July 1999 through Hut and Virgin Records. Following their third studio album After Murder Park (1996), Haines started the Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder projects. He regrouped with the Auteurs to start work on a concept album under the name ESP Kids, though sessions halted as Black Box Recorder worked on their debut album England Made Me (1998). The Auteurs re-started recording their next album in January 1998 at RAK Studios in London; Hut and Virgin were not happy with the lack of single-sounding songs. After writing "The Rubettes", the band finished recording in April 1998. How I Learned to Love the Bootboys is a glam rock album that takes atmospheric influence from England Made Me.
"Sugar Baby Love", recorded in autumn 1973 and released in January 1974, is a bubblegum pop song, and the debut single of the Rubettes. Written by Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington and produced by Bickerton, engineered by John Mackswith at Lansdowne Recording Studios, and with lead vocals by Paul Da Vinci, "Sugar Baby Love" was the band's only number one single on the UK Singles Chart, spending four weeks at the top of the chart in May 1974.
Paul Da Vinci is a British singer and musician. He is best known as the lead singer on the 1974 hit recording by the Rubettes, "Sugar Baby Love", although he did not perform with the group at the time. He worked as a demo and session singer before and after his own successful solo career, that included "Your Baby Ain't Your Baby Anymore", which peaked at number 20 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1974 and number 54 in Australia. In the 1980s, Da Vinci sang most of the voices backing and lead on the Tight Fit hit "Back to the Sixties, Part 2", and performed on Top of the Pops with the group.
Wayne Bickerton was a British record producer, songwriter and music business executive. He became well known, with Tony Waddington, as writer and producer of a series of UK chart hits in the 1970s for The Rubettes, and as a leading figure in SESAC – one of the three major American performing rights organisations.
Anthony Brandon Joseph Waddington is an English singer-songwriter, record producer, film producer, screenplay writer, and creative media executive. He became well known with Wayne Bickerton, as writer and producer of a series of UK chart hits in the 1970s for The Rubettes. He also received an Ivor Novello Award as "Songwriter of the Year".
Alan David Blakley was a British musician and record producer. A member of the Tremeloes from 1958 to 1996. He was the father of actress Claudie Blakley. As a producer, he worked on the hit song She's Gonna Win for Bilbo, and nearly all the studio albums for glam rock sensations The Rubettes.
We Can Do It is the second studio album by the English pop band The Rubettes, released on the State Records label in March 1975. The album reached no 41 in the UK charts and contained two UK top 10 hits – "I Can Do It" and "Juke Box Jive".
Wear It's 'At is the debut album by English pop band the Rubettes assembled in 1973 by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton, then the head of A&R at Polydor Records, and his co-songwriter, Tony Waddington, after their doo-wop and 1950s American pop-influenced songs had been rejected by a number of existing acts. Tracks from this album also exhibited the doo-wop style. The album title was a reference to the group's wearing trademark white suits and white cloth caps on stage, a white cap being shown on the album front cover.
Rubettes is the third studio album by the English pop band The Rubettes, released on the State Records label in November 1975, their third studio album release within 12 months. It was the last Rubettes album produced by Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington.The album contained two UK top 40 hits - Foe Dee O Dee and Little Darling.
In 1992, Dice Records (France) released the Rubettes' third and fourth albums as a double CD set. In 2015, Caroline Records released the album Rubettes, with three bonus tracks, as part of a box CD set of the Rubettes' first five studio albums.
"Tonight" was the second single released by The Rubettes from their debut album Wear It's 'At. Written by Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington and produced by Bickerton, the single reached number 12 in the UK charts.
"Juke Box Jive", by English band The Rubettes, was the lead single from their second album We Can Do It. As with their two previous singles, it was written by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington and produced by Bickerton. The single reached number 3 in the UK charts.
Sign of the Times is the fourth studio album by the English band The Rubettes. It was released on the State Records label in June 1976. The album represented a significant change in direction for the band, as it was the first not produced by Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington – instead the Rubettes took on production responsibilities themselves, with Alan Blakley as co-producer. The band made the decision due to the disappointing sales of their previous two Bickerton/Waddington singles and the desire to forge new musical directions.
Still Unwinding is the seventh studio album by the English band The Rubettes. It was released on the Polydor label in October 1978, just seven months after their previous studio album Sometime In Oldchurch. It was the last album the band released in the 1970s - their next album Shangri'la, despite being recorded in 1979, was not released until 1992.
Baby I Know is the fifth studio album by the English band The Rubettes. It was released on the State Records label in April 1977.
Sometime In Oldchurch is the sixth studio album by the English band The Rubettes. It was released on the Polydor Records label in March 1978.
Shangri'la is a studio album by the English band The Rubettes. It was recorded in 1979, however was not released in its entirety until 1992, as part of the Rubettes "Albums 7 & 8" double CD set. Three of the album's tracks featured on single releases in 1979, with the other seven tracks remaining unreleased until 1992. It is regarded as the band's eighth studio album, despite being released after "Riding On A Rainbow".
Riding on a Rainbow is a studio album by the English band The Rubettes. It is the band's ninth studio album, despite being released approximately six months before the eighth album Shangri'La.
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