Gary Barnacle

Gary Barnacle (born 1959 in Dover, England) is an English saxophonist, flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer, and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work, including various Prince's Trust concerts at Wembley Arena, the Royal Albert Hall and the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. He performed at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium in 1988, and appeared on television and in music videos during the 1980s and 1990s with many popular music acts. He was also in an electropop duo called Leisure Process from 1982 to 1983 with ex-Positive Noise singer Ross Middleton.

Biography and career

The early years (1977–1980)

Gary Barnacle was born in Dover, England in 1959.

Barnacle played the saxophone in many songs and albums by The Clash; he played on their album ''Sandinista!'' released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album, the single "This Is Radio Clash" released on 20 November 1981, and '' Combat Rock'' released on 14 May 1982. He was introduced to The Clash through their drummer and school friend of Barnacle's, Topper Headon, and reportedly became involved in The Clash's infamous 1978 "pigeon shooting" incident.

Barnacle, trumpeter Luke Tunney, and trombonist Annie Whitehead played together on many sessions from 1979 to 1982, when Pete Thoms came in on trombone. Barnacle collaborated with The Ruts on their first two albums, both on Virgin Records: ''The Crack'' and '' Grin & Bear It''. After their frontman, Malcolm Owen, was found dead from a heroin overdose on 14 July 1980, the band continued as Ruts D.C. (where "D.C." stands for the Italian term ''da capo'') in a different musical vein. They released two other albums: ''Animal Now'' in May 1981 on Virgin Records and ''Rhythm Collision'' released in July 1982 on Bohemian Records. Ruts D.C. split in 1983. During 1979–1980 he also contributed to M's debut album, ''New York • London • Paris • Munich'', released in 1979 and to ''Sanity Stomp'', released by Kevin Coyne in 1980.

The 1980s (1981–1989)

In 1981, Barnacle contributed to the debut albums by Positive Noise: ''Heart of Darkness'' and ''Stray Cats''. He also contributed to ''In Trance as Mission'' by Simple Minds, " Power and the Passion" by Midnight Oil, and played saxophone on Rick Wakeman's ''1984''. That year he also played saxophone on ''Black Snake Diamond Röle'' by former Soft Boys frontman Robyn Hitchcock. From 1990 to 1994 Barnacle toured with Level 42 and recorded two of the band's albums: '' Guaranteed'' and '' Forever Now''. The horn section he formed for Level 42, with British trumpet and fluegelhorn player John Thirkell, was known as The Hen Pecked Horns. Since then, Barnacle and Thirkell have provided the horn section for many recordings. Along with Thoms, they formed The Phantom Horns, one of the UK's horn sections which appear on a number of recordings from 1987 onwards.

In 1982, he and ex-Positive Noise singer Ross Middleton formed a electropop duo called Leisure Process. The band released four singles on the Epic label: two in 1982 ("Love Cascade" and "A Way You'll Never Be", which featured Mark King and Phil Gould of Level 42), and two in 1983 ("Cashflow" and "Anxiety"). All four singles were produced by Martin Rushent. In 1982, Barnacle also collaborated on Julien Clerc's ''Femmes, Indiscrétion, Blasphème'', Mike Rutherford's ''Acting Very Strange'', Marius Müller-Westernhagen's ''Das Herz eines Boxers,'' and with Visage's ''The Anvil''. In 1984, his brother Steve was already in the band and Billy Currie and Dave Formula left; Barnacle and Andy Barnett replaced them for what would become Visage's ''Beat Boy'' album, which was released in September 1984 and yielded two singles, "Love Glove" and "Beat Boy". A decision to make Visage a live band instead of a strictly studio-based project failed and the band subsequently split in 1985.

In 1983, he contributed to '' Catch as Catch Can'' by pop singer, Kim Wilde (whom he dated in the mid-1980s) and also to ''In Strict Tempo'' by Dave Ball and ''Private Dancer'' by Tina Turner. Barnacle later toured in Europe with Turner and participated in the recording sessions of her 1989 album ''Foreign Affair''. He also appeared on the 1983 edition of '' Drama of Exile'' by Nico, where he also played the drums, ''Right Now'' by The Creatures, Dalek I Love You's eponymous album, ''Jerky Versions of the Dream'' by Howard Devoto, ''Secret'' by Classix Nouveaux, ''Vocabulary'' by The Europeans, '' C'est C Bon'' by Carlene Carter, and '' Working with Fire and Steel'' by China Crisis, a collaboration that was repeated later in 1986 with the release of '' What Price Paradise''. The year ended with the publication of the soundtrack for ''Educating Rita''.

In 1984, Barnacle contributed to the recording sessions for '' This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get'' by Public Image Ltd, ''In the Long Grass'' by The Boomtown Rats, '' All the Rage'' by General Public, ''This Last Night in Sodom'' by Soft Cell, and ''Vermin in Ermine'' by Marc Almond and The Willing Sinners. He also performed on ''Olympia'' by Hong Kong Syndikat, ''Bite Black and Blues'' by Raoul and The Ruined, ''In on the off Beat'' by Hey! Elastica and ''Influences'', a solo album by Mark King of Level 42. Barnacle began a long collaboration with Elvis Costello, for whom he provided saxophone for '' Goodbye Cruel World.'' He also appears on many of Costello's compilation albums.

In 1985, Barnacle played in ''No Jacket Required'', a solo album by Phil Collins, which sold over 25 million copies worldwide; he also played in ''Phantasmagoria'' by The Damned, ''Easy Pieces'' by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, '' Some People'' by Belouis Some, The Dream Academy's eponymous debut album, ''Knights Like This'' by Peter Blegvad and '' Mad Not Mad'' by Madness.

In 1986, he appeared in '' Writing on the Wall'' by Bucks Fizz, ''Stop Start'' by Modern English, ''Dancing in my Sleep'' by Dave Adams, ''U-Vox'' by Ultravox, Cutting Crew's debut album, the UK number one album '' Silk and Steel'' by Five Star, '' Sooner or Later'' by Murray Head, the debut album by Erasure, '' Into the Light'' by Chris de Burgh, '' Big Canoe'' a solo album released by former Split Enz frontman Tim Finn, ''Press to Play'' by Paul McCartney, and ''1st Down & Ten'' by Keep It Dark. He also appeared on '' Absolute Beginners: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'', playing on tracks by David Bowie, Style Council, Ray Davies, Working Week and Gil Evans.

In 1987, Barnacle was featured on the hit singles " China in Your Hand" by T'Pau, "Roadblock" by Stock, Aitken and Waterman and " Breakout" by Swing Out Sister. He also contributed to the releases of ''Red'' by The Communards, ''Banzai Baby'' by Sandii & the Sunsetz, and Rick Astley's ''Whenever You Need Somebody'', which was a collaboration that was repeated with the release of Astley's 1989 album, '' Hold Me in Your Arms''. Barnacle performed on ''Feelin' Good About It'' by This Way Up, '' Can't Wait to See the Movie'' seventh solo album released by Roger Daltrey of The Who, ''Stand Up'' by Jo Lemaire, ''Never Never Land'' by Simon F, ''If'' by Hollywood Beyond and Swing Out Sister's ''It's Better to Travel'' and '' Get in Touch with Yourself''.

In 1988, Barnacle worked on ''Bullet From A Gun'' by Derek B, ''Human Animal'' by Karel Fialka, and '' Creeping Up on Jesus'' by The Big Dish. Barnacle worked with Paul Hardcastle on ''No Winners'', ''Sound Syndicate'', and ''The Jazzmasters'' project, in which he was the co-artist and co-writer along with Hardcastle and Helen Rodgers. This was released in 1992. Barnacle also participated in the release of the debut album by Celtic rock group Hothouse Flowers, Yazz's debut album, ''The Jeremy Days'' and ''Circushead'' (1990) by The Jeremy Days, ''Monster Jam'' by Ambassadors of Funk, Union by Toni Childs, '' Rage'' by T'Pau, ''Working Girl'' OST, ''Steppin' Out'' by Daryl Stuermer, ''No Outsiders'' by Judy Cheeks, and ''24hrs'' by Scarlet Fantastic.

In 1989, Barnacle performed in ''Moss Side Story'' by Barry Adamson, ''Boomerang'' by The Creatures, and '' Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!'' by Björk's band The Sugarcubes. After the band split in 1992, Barnacle contributed to Björk's first two solo albums: ''Debut'', released in 1993, and ''Post'', released in 1995. He also performed in ''Bass!'' by Simon Harris, The Beautiful South's debut album and '' Choke'' (1990), ''Hard Reyne'' by James Reyne, ''Bankstatement'', a solo project by Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks, ''Waterfront'' by Waterfront, and ''I'm Still Here'' by Eartha Kitt.

The 1990s (1990–1999)

In 1990, Barnacle appeared as a session musician on ''Naked'' by Blue Pearl, ''Trading Secrets with the Moon'' by The Adventures, ''Dangerous'' by Andy Taylor, ''First Time Ever'' by Joanna Law, ''Melting Down on Motor Angel'' by Sunsonic, ''Running from the Guns'' by Die Laughing, ''Stand Strong'' by Junior Giscombe, '' Jordan: The Comeback'' by Prefab Sprout, and ''December'' by Dag Kolsrud, which was followed by ''December II'' that was released in 1991. He also appeared on the single "Always The Last To Know" from the album '' Change Everything'' by Del Amitri and on '' A Pocketful of Dreams'', the debut album by English boyband Big Fun."You've Got A Friend" by Big Fun and Sonia featuring Gary Barnacle: 1990 Jive Records/Zomba/Chrysalis/PWL/Fast Forward Magazine, cat no. CHILD 90 In 1991, he also worked on ''Meanwhile'' by German synthpop group Camouflage, '' Changing Faces'' by Bros, ''Black Meaning Good'' by Rebel MC, '' Marchand de cailloux'' from French artist Renaud, ''Let's Get to It'' by Kylie Minogue, ''The Apple'' by A Man Called Adam, and the eponymous album by Rain Tree Crow, which was the name used by the English new wave band Japan (excluding Rob Dean) when they briefly reformed for this one-off project.

In 1992, Barnacle collaborated with Soul II Soul on their third studio album, '' Volume III: Just Right'', and he returned in 1995 for '' Volume V: Believe''. He worked on ''Mind Adventures'' by Des'ree, ''Boing!!'' by Jefferson Airhead, ''Praise'' by Praise, and ''Grass Roots'' by Takagi Kan.

In 1993, Barnacle helped realize Jamiroquai's debut album and also worked on ''Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1'' by Guru, ''To Hell with Humdrum'' by Kingmaker, and ''One and All'' by Supermax. In 1993, he played on James Brown's ''Universal James'' album (produced by Jazzie B).

In 1994, he played on Jamiroquai's ''The Return of the Space Cowboy'' album. He released his first solo album, ''Love Will Find a Way'' and contributed to ''El pan y la sal'' by Spanish pop band Presuntos Implicados. He also appeared as the saxophonist in the house band on the spoof chat show '' Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge''.

In 1995 he worked on ''Hold On'' by Jaki Graham, ''The Tooth Mother'' by Mick Karn, ''Love and Respect'' by Marla Glen, '' Deadline for My Memories'' by Billie Ray Martin, '' Mirror Mirror'' by 10cc, and Siouxsie and the Banshees song "New Skin" for the movie soundtrack of ''Showgirls''.

In 1996, Barnacle helped realize Status Quo's '' Don't Stop'' and the Sputnik: The Next Generation's eponymous album featuring Tomoyasu Hotei. ''Games'' by Happy Clappers and ''Feedback'' by Vargas Blues Band were released in 1997.

In 1997, he played and arranged the brass section for the No.1 single "I Wanna Be The Only One" by Eternal, and played on " Are You Jimmy Ray?" by Jimmy Ray. In 1999, he appeared as a session musician on ''When The Good Times Come'' by Hard Rain.

Recent projects (2000–present)

Barnacle returned to the music industry in 2001 when he, Hugh Hopper, Jakko Jakszyk, Dave Stewart, and Clive Brooks recorded a new version of "As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still" by Soft Machine for the compilation ''Man in a Deaf Corner: Anthology 1963–1970''. In 2002, Barnacle released his second solo album, ''Paradise''.

Other acts for whom Barnacle has contributed, live or in session, have included Pet Shop Boys, David Bowie, and ABC. He worked frequently with Stock Aitken Waterman as a session musician in their PWL studios. Barnacle is frequently credited as an arranger of woodwinds, brass, and string instruments on his session work.

Discography

See also

* Leisure Process
* Members of Public Image Ltd.
* Touring and studio musicians of Phil Collins

References

Further reading

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnacle, Gary
1959 births
English rock saxophonists
English jazz saxophonists
British male saxophonists
English session musicians
Living people
People from Dover, Kent
Musicians from Kent
21st-century saxophonists
21st-century British male musicians
Visage (band) members