John Otway is an English singer-songwriter who has built a cult audience through extensive touring.
William "Willy" Russell is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine, Blood Brothers and Our Day Out.
"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 popular song recorded by American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie Jamboree. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 recording was ranked as the 96th greatest song ever by Rolling Stone. The song is in AABA form. The song sold one million copies in its first 10 days of release in the United States making it one of the best-selling singles in the United States at that time.
Steven John Bator, known professionally as Stiv Bator and later as Stiv Bators, was an American punk rock vocalist and guitarist from Girard, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church.
Roger John Barrett, known professionally as Wild Willy Barrett, is an English experimental musician and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his collaborations with John Otway. His musical style has included folk, blues, psychedelia, pop and punk rock and his live performances are punctuated with his dry humour and onstage wit. He is known for virtuoso fiddle playing, ability with a great number of stringed instruments, and playing slide guitar with a whole raw egg. During recent Otway/Barrett performances, he has also introduced the 'wah wah wheelie bin'.
Willy and the Poor Boys is the fourth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records in November 1969. It was the last of three studio albums the band released that year, arriving just three months after Green River.
Hot Chocolate are a British soul band popular during the 1970s and 1980s, formed by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. The group had at least one hit song every year on the UK Singles Chart from 1970 to 1980.
The Europeans were a British new wave group formed in 1981 and disbanded in 1985. They released three albums, none of which achieved much in terms of chart position. In 1989, their former keyboard player and co-lead vocalist Steve Hogarth joined Marillion as lead vocalist. The Europeans should not be confused with the similarly named Europeans, a Bristol band that were active 1977-1979.
Con O’Neill is an English actor. He started his acting career at the Everyman Theatre and became primarily known for his performances in musicals. He received critical acclaim and won a Laurence Olivier Award for playing Michael "Mickey" Johnstone in the musical Blood Brothers. Subsequently, he was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for the same role. He has also appeared in many films and television series.
Barry John Upton is an English singer, songwriter, arranger, musician and producer of various musical genres, including pop, rock and electronic dance. He is also an audio engineer and stage performer, having appeared around the world in various capacities. He now lives in Pattaya, Thailand, where he continues writing, producing and performing music. In addition, he is the executive producer for radio & TV at Pattaya People Media Group and has been presenting the morning show on 96FM Radio since 2010.
The following is a comprehensive discography of the Stranglers, an English rock band.
Vicki Brown was an English pop, rock and contemporary classical singer. She was a member of both The Vernons Girls and The Breakaways and was the first wife of fellow singer and musician Joe Brown and mother of the singer Sam Brown.
John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett is the 1976 debut album by English folk singer-songwriter duo John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett. Released first on their own Extracked Records, the album is a collection of recordings made between 1971 and 1976.
"All Join Hands" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1984 as the lead single from the band's twelfth studio album Rogues Gallery. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by John Punter. It reached No. 15 in the UK, remaining in the chart for ten weeks.
Deep & Meaningless is the second album by English folk singer-songwriter duo John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett. It was released in 1978. The album included the song "Beware Of The Flowers ", which was voted Britain's seventh most popular song lyric in a 1999 BBC online poll. The song's strong showing—ahead of The Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin" and Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust"—was the result of what Otway's website described as a "well orchestrated campaign" by fans.
The Krazy Kong Album is a 1980 album by Wild Willy Barrett and released on his own Red Eye Records. The songs are a collection of recordings made over a decade and are available here for the first time. The album is notable for being the first white reggae album recorded, years before Regatta de Blanc, with the title track as a prime example. 'Kong and the Soup Dragon' is a nod to the Clangers with whistles featured throughout.
Way & Bar is the 1980 album by John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett. Their last on Polydor, it also proved to be the 2nd split of the duo lasting until The Wimp and The Wild. The name Way & Bar is derived from the billboard on the back of the DK 50/80 single being cropped for the front cover. In this case, the words 'Otway & Barrett' wrap around the sleeve and the rest of the text appears on the back cover.
The Wimp & The Wild is the fourth and final album by John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett, released in 1989.
Rock and Roll's Greatest Failure: Otway the Movie is a 2013 feature-length documentary directed by Steve Barker about English singer-songwriter John Otway.
Where Did I Go Right? is English singer-songwriter John Otway's first solo album. Released in 1979 it was Otway's first departure from working with Wild Willy Barrett, and his first working with a different backing band. Most of the tracks were salvaged from an aborted attempt to record an album during August and September 1978 at Mountain Studios.
