Alex Larke (born Alexis Kenneth Larke; 25 May 1979) (also known as Larkey Larke or Larkey) is a British singer/songwriter that represented the United Kingdom as part of the duo

Electro Velvet Electro Velvet are a British vocal duo that represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song " Still in Love with You" finishing 24th. The duo consist of Alex Larke and Bianca Nicholas. Career Early beginnings Nic ...

, in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

with the song " Still in Love with You". For the majority of his career, Larke has been a solo artist, although some of his other musical endeavours have been varied, working with British rock bands, X and Manimal, before later collaborating with electronic act Teflon Child and

big beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as ...

pioneer,

Cut La Roc Lee Potter (born 4 January 1972), known by his stage name Cut La Roc, is a British electronic musician, considered as a pioneer of big beat, a genre fusing elements of hip hop, house and rock. Biography Potter grew up in Brighton, England, ...

. In 2017, Larke released his debut solo album, entitled ''Disposable Love''. The album was preceded by two singles, "Shine On" and "Belladonna".

Career

Early beginnings

Born in

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

, Larke was raised, with his sister Anna, by father Jerry, a motorcycle racer, and his

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece-born mother Penelope, a seamstress. Living in a council house, Larke had a very modest, but happy working-class upbringing in a home that forever had music playing on the stereo. Bands such as

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

would provide him with the basis of his musical influences that would endure through his career. Larke has performed for

tribute group The Rollin' Clones, touring the UK and internationally with the band since 2007. He has recently worked with big beat pioneer

on his album ''Larger Than Life'', which also features Ice-T collaborator Donald D and

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...

frontman

Gary Lightbody Gareth John Lightbody (born 15 June 1976) is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups The ...

2015: Eurovision Song Contest

Electro Velvet were selected by the BBC to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with their song " Still in Love with You". The entry was presented on 7 March 2015 via the

BBC Red Button BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to cl ...

service. The song received a mixed to negative reception upon its announcement, but reviews were more favourable as time went on. In the Eurovision final they received 5 points and were placed 24th out of 27. The staging of the song included two pairs of additional dancers, two of whom performed

breakdance Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...

and acrobatic moves. The television production involved some

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...

-style shots from above and darkened sequences during which the performer's costumes were illuminated with integral neon strips. There were a couple of pyro effects during the song, including at the very end.

New single

On 26 October 2016, Alex Larke posted a tweet showing a picture of a video editing suite, with a picture of his face on the right hand screen. The less than cryptic message stated, ''"Making a music video.... #Shhh #TopSecret"'', alluding to the fact that Larke is releasing a single in the future.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larke, Alex Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the United Kingdom Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2015 English male singer-songwriters English pop musicians English people of Greek descent 1979 births Living people People from Welwyn Garden City