Chris Rainbow

Christopher James Harley, known by the stage name Chris Rainbow (18 November 1946 – 22 February 2015), was a Scottish pop rock singer and musician whose songs "Give Me What I Cry For" and "Solid State Brain" were often played by British radio DJs Kenny Everett and Tony Blackburn in the 1970s.

In addition to his solo career he was a vocalist and vocal arranger who sang with many rock, pop and progressive bands as well as solo artists. Latterly, he owned his own studio and worked as a respected producer.

Early life and name

He was born the son of James Harley and Pamela Clapham. He adopted the stage name "Rainbow" to avoid confusion with Steve Harley, saying:

Before music, Rainbow worked through a variety of occupations including doing promotional work for Dream Police, contributing cartoons to Glasgow underground paper ''The Word'' and studying at the Society for Psychic Research. Rainbow had a stutter which wasn't apparent when he sang.

Career

In 1972 and 1973, Rainbow was involved in a band called Hopestreet, recording two singles, ''Iron Sky'' and ''Wait Until Tomorrow / Ladies (At The Bottom Of A Garden)''. Following this, he recorded first as Christopher Rainbow with the singles ''Give Me What I Cry For'' and ''Solid State Brain'' in 1974, then ''Mr. Man'' and ''Gimme Just A Little Beat Of Your Heart'' in 1975. He then went under the name Chris Rainbow and released three solo albums; ''Home of the Brave'' in 1975, ''Looking Over My Shoulder'' in 1977, and ''White Trails'' in 1979. Tracks from these albums are collected on ''The Best Of Chris Rainbow'' released in 1994, ''The Best of Chris Rainbow, 1972–1980'', released in 2000, and ''The Chris Rainbow Anthology 1974-1981'' released in 2001, which has appeared in single and double CD sets and includes radio spots and rare material. Rainbow also did music for EMI's project Body Music, which included three of his songs along with Brian Aris's photography.

Rainbow received wider recognition for his music through the support of Kenny Everett, then on Capital Radio in London, who featured his music extensively. Some of the jingles that Rainbow made for Capital at this time were later released on ''Unreleased & Demo Tracks 1973-1983'' in 2000 and ''Waves'' in 2007, albums that include other outtakes, demos and previously unreleased material.

In 1979, Rainbow also began his long association with The Alan Parsons Project, recording on many of their albums from ''Eve'' through Alan Parsons' 1999 solo album, ''The Time Machine''. He also appeared on other Alan Parsons's associated works, such as Panarama's ''Can This Be Paradise'' in 1982 (with Ian Bairnson and German keyboard player Hermann Weindorf), and Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons's '' Freudiana'' in 1990.

Rainbow would tour with Jon Anderson in 1980 and do vocal work on '' Song of Seven'' in 1980 and ''Animation'' in 1983.

In the early 1980s, Rainbow joined Camel, appearing on the albums ''The Single Factor'' and ''Stationary Traveller'', and performing with them on their 1984 tour, recordings of which were released as the album ''Pressure Points''. Rainbow would do vocal work on ''Heart Of The Universe,'' a solo album by Ton Scherpenzeel who was the keyboardist of Camel in 1984.''

Rainbow would contribute vocal work on a large variety of albums throughout his career, including Blonde on Blonde's ''And How!'' in 1978, Max Middleton and Robert Ahwai's ''Another Sleeper'' in 1979, Killdozer's self-titled album ''Killdozer'' in 1980, Trevor Herion's ''Beauty Life'' in 1983, Elaine Page's self-titled album ''Elaine'' in 1983, Culture Club's ''Waking Up with the House on Fire'' in 1984, Toyah Willcox's ''Desire'' in 1987, Lenny Zakatek's ''Small But Hard'' in 1989, and Tomoyasu Hotei's ''King & Queen'' in 1996 and ''Fetish'' in 2000.

Production

Rainbow worked as a producer on various singles and albums in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s, including the singles "It Doesn't Really Matter Now" by Justin & Wylde in 1975, "Such a Lovely Night" and "Cafe a Go Go" by Sunfighter in 1976 and 1977 respectively, The song "Does It Rain (When You Get Lonely)" the B-side of the single "Steady Love" by Nobby Clark from Bay City Rollers in 1977, and Les Lavin's "Love's at the Bottom" in 1980. Rainbow was producer on Lennie Macdonald's ''Hard Road'' in 1975, Dave Lewis's ''From Time to Time'' in 1976 and John Townley's ''Townley'' in 1979. Rainbow also did production work alongside Max Middleton under the alias Maximum Penetration, which had one self-titled single, "Maximum Penetration" in 1980.

Rainbow produced several albums for the Scottish Gaelic rock group Runrig starting with the single ''Loch Lomond'' in 1982, then the albums ''Heartland'' in 1985, '' The Cutter & The Clan'' in 1987, '' Once in a Lifetime'' in 1988, ''Capture the Heart'' in 1990, ''The Big Wheel'' in 1991, '' Amazing Things'' in 1993, and '' In Search of Angels'' in 1999, all under his birth name Chris Harley. Rainbow also produced solo work for previous Runrig members Blair Douglas and Donnie Munro with Douglas's albums ''Beneath the Beret'' in 1990 and ''A Summer in Skye'' in 1996, and Munro's '' On the West Side'' in 1999, ''Donnie Munro – Live'' in 2001, ''Across the City and the World'' in 2002, the single ''Down Under'' in 2003, ''Gaelic Heart'' in 2003, and ''Heart of America – Across the Great Divide'' in 2006. In 1987, Rainbow produced R.A.F.'s album ''Restless Spirit''. Rainbow produced music for R.A.F.'s lead singer David Valentine previously in 1976 with the single "Second Hand Ladies" and again in 1986 under the name Harley with the single "We Can Only Dream". He also produced a single by The River Detectives, "Saturday Night Sunday Morning" in 1989 and their studio album ''Elvis Has Left the Building'' in 1996. Rainbow produced Wolfstone's album ''The Half Tail'' in 1996.

Studio

Rainbow built and ran th
Vital Spark Music Studio
on the Isle of Skye where several artists including Donnie Munro, Blair Douglas, and KT Tunstall recorded albums. In 2000 he was said to be working on what would have been his fourth solo album, to be called ''In a Perfect World''. It was never released. Vital Spark did provide music to EM Records for the releases ''The Instrumental Chris Rainbow'' and ''Love You Eternally E.P.'' in 2000, with one of the tracks, 'Sea Drift', originally intended for ''In a Perfect World''.

Death

Chris Rainbow died on 22 February 2015 of Parkinson's disease.Michael Russell, "Tributes paid to Skye musician and producer,"
''West Highland Free Press'', 9 March 2015, retrieved 17 March 2015.

Alan Parsons published on his official website, "It was with great sadness that I read today of the passing of Chris Rainbow. He was an amazing talent and an integral part of The Project sound. Eric and I used to call him the "One Man Beach Boys". I will always remember his funny stories, his mimicking ability, and his hilarious catch phrases. Sessions with him were always filled with laughter. I will miss him greatly."

Following Rainbow's death, Runrig published the following statement on their website: "We were all shocked and saddened to hear yesterday of the death of friend, colleague, and former record producer Chris Harley. Chris was a major part of the Runrig story, producing the breakthrough albums through the eighties and early nineties. In his capacity as a producer, he was instrumental in helping to create the sound of the band. Chris was held in deep affection by all associated with Runrig and his passing will be keenly felt. He passed away peacefully at his home on the Isle Of Skye, after a long debilitating illness. He is survived by his wife Ibby and son Lewis, and our thoughts and prayers go out to them at this difficult time."

Camel's Andy Latimer said "So sad to hear of the passing of Chris Rainbow. He was an amazing talent and a friend. RIP.”

On hearing of Rainbow's death, Brian Wilson posted on his official website, "I felt really bad to hear about Chris Rainbow passing away, he was too young. I remember in the late 1970s, a friend played 'Dear Brian' for me and I was touched and honored by it. It was a beautiful track. I wish the best for Chris's family and friends. Love & Mercy, Brian."

References

External links

Chris Rainbow biography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rainbow, Chris
1946 births
2015 deaths
Deaths from Parkinson's disease
Neurological disease deaths in Scotland
Musicians from Glasgow
20th-century Scottish male singers
Scottish rock singers
Scottish songwriters
Scottish record producers
Camel (band) members
People educated at Bellahouston Academy
Place of death missing
The Alan Parsons Project members
20th-century British businesspeople