Biography
Trumpet player Alan Bown had been a member of The John Barry Seven in the early sixties. He formed his own band (The Alan Bown Set) in 1964, and his soul and blues influenced outfit became very popular on the British club scene.They released their first album, "Outward Bown", on the Music Factory label in 1968 and a further, self-titled, album the following year, this time on Deram Records. At this stage, The Alan Bown, as they were known, featured vocalists Robert Palmer and Jess Roden in their line-up, with Palmer appearing on the first two albums and Roden on the second album. The band were signed to Island Records in 1970, and the line-up was now Bown on trumpet, Stan Haldane on bass and vocals, Andy Brown on bass and vocals ( on "Stretching Out"), John Helliwell on sax, Vic Sweeney on drums, Tony Catchpole on guitars, Jeff Bannister on keyboards and Gordon Neville on vocals. Two albums, "Listen" in 1970 and this album, "Stretching Out", in 1971, were released on the label, both of which are absolute masterpieces of British jazz rock.The band unfortunately folded in the early seventies. Alan Bown went on to join British progsters Jonesy in 1973 and recorded two albums with them; he became an A&R man for CBS Records and is now a music consultant; John (Anthony) Helliwell found fame with Supertramp from their " Crime of the Century" album onwards; Jeff Bannister joined "A Band called O" and Gordon Neville had a stint with Beggars Opera ( he also collaborated with Rick Wakeman ). The Alan Bown, although quite popular on the club scene, as was previously mentioned, were not that well known outside of the UK, but they certainly were one of England's best jazz/rock outfits, and they should be remembered for releasing some excellent material.
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The Alan Bown - Loosen Up, from "Listen" in 1970, their third album. UK trumpet player Alan Bown formed his band in 1967. The initial line-up was Bown on trumpet, Vic Sweeney on drums, Robert Palmer on vocals, John Anthony Helliwell on saxes, Jeff Bannister on keyboards and Stan Haldane on bass. They became very popular on the club scene as a soul and blues outfit, recording their debut album, "Outward Bown" on the Music Factory record label in 1967. They then signed to Deram Records the following year and released "The Alan Bown", which also featured vocalist Jess Roden and guitarist Tony Catchpole, and they had a minor hit with their ''Still as Stone" single. By the time this, our featured album, came along, both Roden and Palmer had moved off to other things and they were replaced by Gordon Neville. The band had also moved over to Island Records. This album, and the band's final album, "Stretching Out", which was released in 1971, are amongst the finest examples of brass rock ever to emerge from the UK. When The Alan Bown split, Alan Bown joined Jonesy, John Helliwell joined Supertramp, Jeff Bannister joined Bronco, the outfit formed by Jess Roden, Starry Eyed and Laughing and ''A band called 'O' ", Vic Sweeney joined Kevin Coyne's band and Gordon Neville sang with Elton John, Beggars Opera and Rick Wakeman. Robert Palmer, as is commonly known, became a successful soloist after having featured in bands like Dada, Vinegar Joe and many others.
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Biography by Bruce Eder
The history of British rock 'n' roll
of the 1960's is filled with the
names of homegrown performers who,
despite enjoying the favor of
critics, music columnists, and club
audiences, never managed to make a
permanent mark on the record charts.
Alan Bown was a case-in-point, a
trumpet player who organized a
series of bands — principally known
as the Alan Bown Set — in the 1960's
who got good reviews and attracted
healthy live audiences, but which
were never able to successfully
transfer their club sound onto
vinyl. Bown didn't start pursuing a
professional music career until
after having served a hitch in the
Royal Air Force — he organized his
first band soon after returning to
civilian life in the early 1960's.
At the time, there were several
different types of music competing
for attention in England, including
homegrown rock 'n' rollers, teen pop
singers, trad-jazz and soft-jazz
outfits, and folk groups of various
sizes and shapes. Bown's instrument
was the trumpet and his main
interest were jazz and American
rhythm-and-blues, and there was room
for outfits of that sort at the time
— his first group made it to the
performing Mecca of Hamburg,
Germany, playing at venues such as
the Star Club and crossing paths
with the Beatles, Tony Sheridan et
al. He later joined the John Barry
Seven during its stint backing
Brenda Lee on a tour of Europe, and
became a formal member of the studio
version of the group, until it broke
up in 1964 amid Barry's burgeoning
career as a film composer.He formed
the Alan Bown Set in 1964, featuring
Bown on trumpet, Jeff Bannister on
vocals and keyboards, Dave Green on
sax, clarinet, and flute, Pete
Burgess on guitar, Stan Haldane on
bass, and Vic Sweeney on drums. They
built up a reputation for exciting
live shows and then headed for
London, where their resourcefulness
at filling their repertory with
obscure but worthwhile American r&b
and soul numbers quickly got them a
loyal following in club patrons and
trade reviews. They had rivals in
this field, including Zoot Money and
his Big Roll Band, Cliff Bennett &
The Rebel Rousers, and Georgie Fame
& The Blue Flames, and by all
accounts Bown and company could hold
their own with the best of them. But
what each of them did, as early as
1964, that Bown didn't do, was land
a recording contract, and Georgie
Fame and Cliff Bennett suddenly had
chart-soaring singles and
international recognition from the
songs "Yeh Yeh" and "One Way Love",
respectively. In 1965, the Alan Bown
Set was discovered by
bassist-turned-producer Tony Reeves
and signed to Pye Records by Reeves'
superior, Tony Hatch. They might've
made a noise on the charts if their
intended single, a cover of Curtis
Mayfield's "I'm The One", had gone
out as planned — instead, it ended
up as the B-side and the "play" side
"Can't Let Her Go" was ignored by
the powers-that-were. The group
continued to succeed as a club band
and by the second half of 1965 had
become a top attraction at the
Marquee in London; such was their
recognition, that they began getting
offers to play all across England,
and over the next year they did
precisely that — they lost guitarist
Green in early 1966, his slot filled
by saxman John Helliwell (later part
of Supertramp), and they expanded
further with the addition of singer
Jess Roden, which allowed Bannister
to devote his attention to playing
keyboards. This version of the group
was actually much stronger, a fact
perhaps reflected by the three
singles that they cut and released
in 1966, among them the classic
"Emergency 999", which, like their
other releases, failed to chart —
but it later found an audience among
Northern Soul enthusiasts. Pye
finally hit upon the notion of
simply recording a live set by the
group, which (in tandem with a set
by Jimmy James & The Vagabonds on
the other side) was released as
London Swings — Live At the Marquee
Club. That LP is now considered one
of the most important and essential
ever released by Pye Records.
Guitarist Pete Burgess departed the
line-up in November of 1966 and was
replaced by Tony Catchpole, and it
was this version of the group that
played out the end of its contract
in 1967. This included one last Pye
single, "Gonna Fix You Good
(Everytime You're Bad)" b/w "I
Really, Really Care", and a song for
a French film entitled Jeu De
Massacre, featuring Jacques
Loussier. The next few months saw
the group go through a complete
transformation, into a psychedelic
band known simply as The Alan Bown,
which was signed to the Deram label
(after one release on Verve Records)
in 1968. With Robert Palmer on
vocals, they finally enjoyed a minor
hit single with "Still As Stone",
and after Palmer left to join Dada
and Vinegar Joe, the group carried
on with Gordon Neville in their last
incarnation circa 1970-71, with Mel
Collins on saxophone, by which time
they'd moved over to Island Records,
no less. The Alan Bown called it
quits in 1971, with Bown himself
becoming a member of Jonesy before
moving into A&R work with British
CBS Records, while Jeff Bannister
jumped to Jess Roden's group Bronco,
and Vic Sweeney worked with Kevin
Coyne. Gordon Neville was later a
part of Elton John's backing band,
as well as working with Rick
Wakeman, and Mel Collins went on to
work with King Crimson and Alexis
Korner, as well as (seemingly)
almost everyone else in British
music over the next few decades.
Robert Palmer
Jess Roden
Jeff Bannister
Tony Catchpole
Stan Haldane
John Helliwell
Gordon Neville
Vic Sweeney
Andrew Brown
Alan Bown
