Arthur Brown biography
Arthur Brown (born Arthur Wilton Brown on 24 June 1942) is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and Canada, "Fire" in 1968.
History
After attending Roundhay Grammar School in Leeds, Brown attended the University of London and the University of Reading and studied philosophy and law, but he gravitated to music instead, forming his first band, Blues and Brown, while at Reading. After a spell fronting a number of bands in London, Brown then moved to Paris in 1966, where he worked on his theatrical skills. During this period he recorded two songs for the Roger Vadim film of the Emile Zola novel La Curee. Returning to London around the turn of 1966 to 1967 he was a temporary member of a London-based R&B/Soul/Ska group The Ramong Sound that would soon become the hit making soul group The Foundations.
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
By the time the Foundations had been signed to Pye Records Brown had left the group to form his own band, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. The band included Vincent Crane (Hammond organ and piano), Drachen Theaker (drums), and Nick Greenwood (bass).
Brown quickly earned a reputation for outlandish performances, which included the use of a burning metal helmet that led to occasional mishaps, such as during an early appearance at the Windsor Festival in 1967, where he wore a colander on his head soaked in methanol. The fuel poured over his head by accident and caught fire; two bystanders doused the flames by pouring beer on Brown's head, preventing any serious injury. The flaming head then became an Arthur Brown signature. On occasion he also stripped naked while performing, most notably in Italy, where, after setting his hair on fire as usual, he was arrested and thrown out of the country. He was also notable for the extreme make-up he wore onstage, which would later be reflected in the stage acts of the aforementioned Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson and Kiss.
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By 1968, the debut album, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown became a surprise hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Produced by The Who's manager Kit Lambert, and executive-produced by Pete Townshend on Track Records, the label begun by Lambert and Chris Stamp, it spun off an equally surprising hit single, "Fire", and contained a version of "I Put a Spell on You" by Screaming Jay Hawkins, a similarly bizarre showman. "Fire" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The song has since seen its infamous opening line "I am the God of Hellfire" sampled in numerous other places, most notably in The Prodigy's 1992 rave anthem "Fire".
Brown's incendiary stage act sometimes caused trouble, even getting him kicked off a tour with Jimi Hendrix. On one tour, Brown waited until sunset when his band was playing, and then he had a winch lower him onto the middle of the stage from above, wearing a suit and helmet welded from sheet metal. Parts of the suit were completely lit in lighter fluid and sparklers. In due course, Brown created a perception that he was always on the verge of setting fire to the stage, leading some concert organizers to demand he post a bond with them if he could not show he was adequately insured against uncontrollable fire and fire damages.
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