John Parr biography
John Parr (born 18 November 1954, Worksop, England) is an English musician, best known for his 1985 US #1 hit single "St. Elmo's Fire". Parr has sold 10 million albums worldwide.
Biography
Parr's first entrance in to music was when he was 12 years old and formed a band with two fellow schoolmates named The Silence. The band had considerable success. They eventually became professional and started to tour Europe.
Ponders End
When Parr left the band, he joined a group called Ponders End who were hailed as the 'best live act around' in Newcastle, along with Dire Straits. In the end they did not secure a recording contract and the band's chapter in history was closed.
Work with Meat Loaf
Parr secured a publishing deal with Carlin Music in 1983 and in the same year Meat Loaf asked him to write some songs for his new album. That led to the fateful meeting with John Wolfe (tour manager of The Who). Foreseeing the initial demise of The Who, Wolff was looking for a new venture and Parr seemed to be the one. 1984 saw Parr's first trip to America. He worked with Meat Loaf on
Bad Attitude while Wolff struck Parr's solo Atlantic recording deal in New York.
Solo and 'The Business'
"Naughty Naughty" was Parr's first U.S. Top 40 hit record, hitting No. 23 and No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart. 1985 saw Parr on the road with his band "The Business" supporting Toto, and playing 10,000-seater venues across America. By the end of the tour, John had a call from one of the world's most successful record producers, David Foster. He requested Parr to record a song for the film "St. Elmo's Fire". Parr and Foster wrote a song in honor of wheelchair athlete and activist Rick Hansen, the song was called "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" which also became the theme for the film
St. Elmo's Fire (a "Brat Pack" film unrelated to Hansen's life or achievements). The song became a number one hit for Parr around the world and garnered many awards, including a Grammy nomination. Parr went on to tour with Tina Turner on "The Private Dancer" tour and also with Heart and The Beach Boys. In his charity work with The David Foster foundation, Parr has shared the stage and the sports field with many stars of stage and screen including John Travolta, Michael J. Fox, Celine Dion, Paul Anka and Rob Lowe.
Parr later wrote "Under a Raging Moon" for Roger Daltrey, a song that paid tribute to Keith Moon and told the story of The Who. The album became Daltrey's biggest solo success in America. Parr's last concert in the U.S. was a duet of the song with Daltrey at Madison Square Garden, joining them on stage were Yoko Ono, Julian Lennon, John Entwistle and Zak Starkey.
Parr was soon singing with Marilyn Martin on the song "Through the Night", from the Quicksilver soundtrack (1986). Parr wrote and produced further tracks for Martin's debut album, including the hit "Night Moves". A year after, he wrote and sang the title songs "The Minute I Saw You", from Three Men and a Baby soundtrack, and the power ballad "Running Away With You", from The Running Man soundtrack (this song was re-released on "Man With a Vision" album, with the title "Restless Heart"). After the success of Meat Loaf's album, Parr contributed to the next album with the hit duet "Rock & Roll Mercenaries". From there he began work with Albert Magnoli (director of Purple Rain) on the film American Anthem for which he wrote and performed the main theme "Two Hearts". Parr's other film credits include "Naughty Naughty" from the cult horror film Near Dark and "Love Grammar" from the Karen Black movie Flight of the Spruce Goose. He has also written songs for Tom Jones, The Monkees, Tygers of Pan Tang, Romeo's Daughter and Bucks Fizz.
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