Pinball And Other Stories

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a b c Bell, Max (4 January 1975). "Brian Protheroe: Pinball". New Musical Express . Retrieved 4 August 2019. Brian Protheroe (born 16 June 1944) [1] is an English singer, songwriter, narrator and actor. He is best known for his first single, " Pinball", which was released in August 1974, and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 40 and reached a peak of number 22. He has narrated the Channel 4 dating show First Dates since 2015. [2] Career [ edit ] Music [ edit ]

Working with song writing partner Martin Duncan, the album opens in style with Enjoy It, with it’s complex tongue twisting lyrics that work within the musical arrangements as well. Described in the liner notes by Protheroe as ‘A more solid, carefully planned album’ I/You is probably the pinnacle of the Chrysalis albums. In 1982 he was cast in the BBC Two play Spider's Web by Agatha Christie, and in the following year played the role of Edward IV in the BBC Television Shakespeare productions of Henry VI, Part 2, Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III. In 1984 he played in the West End musical Pump Boys and Dinettes on piano and vocals and percussion.We met in 1981 on a Play For Today [a BBC anthology drama series] called Bavarian Night about a school that hires a band to play at an end of term entertainment event. I was the singer/bassist and Julian was the guitarist. We were also in a musical together in the 80s called Pump Boys And Dinettes. Six months in the West End and two tours really cemented the relationship.” In 2002 Protheroe played the role of Gower in Adrian Noble's production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre. In 2007 he was cast as Saruman in the original stage musical version of The Lord of the Rings. Performances began at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 21 June 2007. Protheroe played his final performance at the end of his year contract in June 2008. There’s lots of forums on the internet where angry middle aged men with beer bellies and living in their Mum’s spare rooms spend all day arguing with strangers on the internet about what is or isn’t progressive, this finale is what I would call progressive. Interview: Duncan Haskell Desert Road is out now. For further information, head over to brianprotheroe.co.uk

It’s quite remarkable how you’ve had sort of two parallel careers, in acting as well as music. I’ve read that it was a play that led you ultimately to get signed by Chrysalis Records, is that right? Chrysalis and Protheroe parted ways after 1976, and he returned to acting full-time. He had an appearance in Richard Donner's 1978 Superman film but, for the most part, Protheroe was a mainstay of BBC productions and British stage. From this point on, he acted steadily, doing anything from Shakespeare to spy thrillers. Martin would write a lyric in different sections and I somehow had to find a way to bind them together, while giving each individual section the kind of musical choices the words suggested. There was a lot of criticism about Martin from the record company. They tried to take his name off the first album, so it would look like I was the only contributor. I threatened to stop working on the album if they did that so they relented. The producer Del Newman wasn’t sure about the songs Martin participated in either. He preferred the songs I wrote alone. My songs were varied, but they weren’t as mad as Martin’s! We used some songs Martin and I wrote for a musical called Lotte’s Electric Opera. They were totally out of context, so they were even weirder! But I like that. Martin’s a great friend so I always wanted him to be involved.” I was living in Covent Garden at the time. I had one room in a friend’s house, and it was literally like a diary entry of what was happening to me then. We had a cat – the cat that finished off the bread. There was a Norman Mailer book about Marilyn Monroe that I saw when I was walking through Soho one morning. So that got included. Hey Jude you were alright, was a reference to the Beatles breaking up. So it was a stream of consciousness diary about what was happening to me at that time. Further informationNo. Songs generally emerge from creative doodling – musically and lyrically on guitar or piano. A particular chord sequence or musical feel, a word or phrase that might suggest or evoke a gradual stream of connected ideas. I suppose the source of many of my songs is, of course, personal relationships as with many songwriters down the ages. However, with many that’s not the case, especially songs written with lyricist Martin Duncan many of which have a theatrical/surreal feel.” a b c d e f g h i Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Firsted.). Guinness Publishing. p.2009. ISBN 0-85112-939-0. Possibly people are comforted by/identify with those desolate feelings expressed in the song. In truth, I have no idea.”

In 1973, Protheroe was playing the part of a pop singer in a play called Death on Demand, when a representative from Chrysalis Records heard a song he had written for the show. His first single, " Pinball", was released in August 1974, [3] and it entered the UK Singles Chart at number 40 and reached a peak of number 22. [4] Then followed by an album of the same name. [3] The follow-up single "Fly Now" made Capital Radio's "Capital Countdown" chart. [ citation needed] That I can create something resonant/interesting/moving/funny/mysterious and makes people want to listen to it again and again.” I am not sure they could land in the ‘concept’ album arena, but they are far more than just your normal singer-songwriter fare.Rogers, Jude. "The Apolitical Party: Noel Gallagher Interviewed". The Quietus . Retrieved 5 August 2019. The Sad Song lyric is about my first serious girlfriend dumping me and marrying her ex-partner. But it’s also about how songwriters plunder painful relationship traumas in search of a good song.” Why do you think that relationship has endured and been so successful from a songwriting perspective?