![]() |
Howard Werth | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Howard Alexander Werth |
Born | 26 March 1947 |
Origin | Clapton, London |
Genres | Blues rock, art rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, record producer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 1967–present |
Labels | Luminous Records |
Website | www |
Howard Werth (born 26 March 1947) is an English singer, guitarist and record producer. He was the founder and frontman of the cult British art rock band Audience from 1967 to 1972, and 2004 to date.
Howard Werth was born at the Mother's Hospital, Clapton, East London, in 1947. His earliest rock 'n' roll influences were 1950s' stars Fats Domino, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, The Everlys and Buddy Holly through to The Coasters, The Drifters, and others. Later his taste expanded to the jazz influences of Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey and Miles Davis. Later still the voice of Ray Charles and the soul of James Brown.
During the 1960s, Werth went to art school at the outset of the pop-art era and was trained by some of the major British exponents of that movement. His graphic art skills led to a job designing album covers at Pye Records for The Kinks, Sandie Shaw, Marlene Dietrich and the Gerry Anderson Thunderbirds (and related) EP series, among countless other projects.
In the later part of the 1960s, Werth was gigging around London with various musicians and the notion of setting up the band Audience [1] first came to light.
The year 1969 saw the first Audience album and sharing the stage with Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and touring with Rod Stewart and The Faces, Jeff Beck and others. Audience was often supported by another Charisma stablemate, Genesis. Audience recorded three further albums with Charisma. The first album, Friends Friends Friend, was produced and designed by the band members. Later legendary producer Gus Dudgeon, arranger Robert Kirby and top record sleeve designers Hipgnosis were bought in for their follow-up albums House on the Hill, [2] their most successful album, and Lunch.
In 1972, Werth and Trevor Wiliams decided to disband Audience to pursue other projects. Werth recorded his first solo album, King Brilliant, in late 1972 as "Howard Werth and the Moonbeams". At the same time he was approached by The Doors to step in as a replacement for the late Jim Morrison. After a period of rehearsals in London, Ray Manzarek made the decision for The Doors not to continue without Morrison. It was an amicable split and, later on, Werth worked with Manzarek in Hollywood, some of which led to Werth's next album Six Of One and Half a Dozen of the Other. This was originally released on Howard's own METAbop! label, in conjunction with Jake Riviera, Elvis Costello’s manager and business partner, the man who started Stiff Records.
During his time in West Coast America, Werth worked extensively with Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band.
When Werth returned to the UK he created a new label, 4D Light followed by Luminous Records, for his future releases.
Although not shelving his solo projects Audience reunited in 2004. With Keith Gemmell and Trevor Williams went back on the road, gigging in Germany, Italy, Canada and the UK, replacing Tony Connor with drummer/vocalist John Fisher (born 8 December 1960, Buxton, Derbyshire) and recording a live album Alive & Kickin' & Screamin' & Shoutin’ for Eclectic Records.
After John Fisher died from pancreatic cancer on 27 September 2008, Audience recruited Letz Zep drummer Simon Jeffrey.
Audience re-emerged again when they played London's 100 Club in March 2013 which will be followed by a short UK tour later in the year but Werth, along with bassist Trevor Williams, has been performing on & off with blues rock band Blue Pulse since 2009.
In early 2012, a track recorded with Blue Pulse, "Kebab and Burger", is being considered for release as a single under the name HOWARD WERTH and Blue Pulse. Later in the year a compilation Best of ... album is being put together under the title the Grapes of Werth.
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts of the 1960s, primarily due to Morrison's lyrics and voice, along with his erratic stage persona and legal issues. The group is widely regarded as an important figure of the era's counterculture.
The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music and were keyboardist Keith Emerson's first commercially successful band.
Procol Harum were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than 10 million copies. Although noted for their baroque and classical influence, Procol Harum's music is described as psychedelic rock and proto-prog with hints of the blues, R&B, and soul.
Robert Alan Krieger is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits "Light My Fire", "Love Me Two Times", "Touch Me", and "Love Her Madly". When the Doors disbanded shortly after the death of lead singer Jim Morrison, Krieger continued to perform and record with other musicians including former Doors bandmates John Densmore and Ray Manzarek. In the 2023 edition of Rolling Stones’s 250 Greatest guitarists of all time, he was repositioned at number 248.
The Soft Parade is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Doors, released on July 18, 1969, by Elektra Records. Most of the album was recorded following a grueling tour during which the band was left with little time to compose new material. Record producer Paul A. Rothchild recommended a total departure from the Doors' first three albums: develop a fuller sound by incorporating brass and string arrangements provided by Paul Harris. Lead singer Jim Morrison, who was dealing with personal issues and focusing more on his poetry, was less involved in the songwriting process, allowing guitarist Robby Krieger to increase his own creative output.
John Paul Densmore is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band the Doors, and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appeared on every recording made by the band, with drumming inspired by jazz and world music as much as by rock and roll. The many honors he shares with the other Doors include a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the rock band the Doors, co-founding the group in 1965 with fellow UCLA Film School student Jim Morrison. Manzarek is credited for his innovative playing and abilities on organ-style keyboard instruments.
Rick & the Ravens was an American surf rock and frat rock band founded in 1961, known as the forerunner of the Doors. Members Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, and Jim Morrison renamed the group in the latter half of 1965 after joining forces with Robby Krieger.
Noko is an English musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, has formed and/or played with a number of bands primarily as a guitarist or bassist. In chronological order they were: Alvin the Aardvark and the Fuzzy Ants, the Umbrella, the Pete Shelley Group, the Cure, Luxuria, Apollo 440, Stealth Sonic Soul, Fast, Maximum Roach, James Maker and Noko 440, Magazine, Raw Chimp, Levyathan, SCISM, Am I Dead Yet? and Buzzcocks.
Audience was a cult British art rock band which existed from 1969 until 1972 and then from 2004 until 2013.
The La De Da's were a New Zealand rock band of the 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in New Zealand in 1963 as the Mergers, they had considerable success in both New Zealand and Australia until their split in 1975.
String Driven Thing are a Scottish folk rock band, formed in Glasgow in 1967 and led by married couple Chris and Pauline Adams, with the electric violin of Graham Smith.
"When the Music's Over" is an epic song by the American rock band the Doors, which appears on their second album Strange Days, released in 1967. It is among the band's longer pieces, lasting 11 minutes.
Trevor Williams is a bass guitarist, vocalist and lyricist known primarily for his work with Audience, British art rock band which ran from 1969 to 1972 and from 2004 -2013.
James Douglas Morrison was an American singer, songwriter and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his energetic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, erratic and unpredictable performances, along with the dramatic circumstances surrounding his life and early death, Morrison is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most influential frontmen in rock history. Since his death, his fame has endured as one of popular culture's top rebellious and oft-displayed icons, representing the generation gap and youth counterculture.
Alive & Kickin' & Screamin' & Shoutin' is a live album released in 2005 by the 1970s art rock band Audience. It was the first album following the band's break-up in 1972. It includes three original members of the band, Howard Werth, Keith Gemmell and Trevor Williams, with the new drummer John Fisher in place of Tony Connor.
Darryl Michael Roy Read was a British singer, guitarist, drummer, actor, poet and writer. In the late 1960s, Read was a member of Crushed Butler, considered by some to be amongst the forerunners of proto punk and punk rock. He collaborated with musicians such as Bill Legend, Mickey Finn and Ray Manzarek.
Butts Band was a British and American group formed by ex-Doors members John Densmore and Robby Krieger, active from 1973 to 1975. The band released two albums and, with the exception of Krieger and Densmore, they consisted of different band personnel on each.
The House on the Hill is the third album by the British art rock band Audience, released in 1971. At about the same time, a single, "Indian Summer", reached number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100;. The North American version of the album on Elektra Records added "Indian Summer" as the opening track, along with "It Brings A Tear" which had already appeared on the UK album Friend's Friend's Friend. The Elektra LP dropped the song "Eye To Eye".
Audience is the first album by British art rock band Audience, released in 1969. It was deleted shortly after its release and is now collectable in its original vinyl version. The band was soon afterwards signed by Tony Stratton Smith to Charisma Records.