Henry Christian Priestman (born 21 June 1955 in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is an English rock singer, keyboardist, record producer and songwriter.

Biography

Priestman was educated at

Woodleigh School, North Yorkshire Woodleigh School was a Preparatory school (UK), preparatory school for boys and girls aged 3 to 13, located in the village of Langton, North Yorkshire, Langton, North Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1929 and closed in August 2012. In i ...

and later the Quaker School,

Leighton Park School Leighton Park School is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, havin ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and then went on to study Art at the

Liverpool College of Art Liverpool College of Art is located at 68 Hope Street, in Liverpool, England. It is a Grade II listed building. The original building, facing Mount Street, was designed by Thomas Cook and completed in 1883. The extension along Hope Street, des ...

. In the late 1970s he played with the British

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

band,

Yachts A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

. Yachts supported The Who on their 1979 European tour. In 1980, Priestman was one of the co-founders of

It's Immaterial It's Immaterial are an English indie pop band from Liverpool, England, formed in 1980. They are best known for their 1986 single " Driving Away from Home (Jim's Tune)", which reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. Career It's Immaterial ...

. Although he had officially left the band by 1986, he played as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

on the

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, "Driving Away From Home", and appeared with the band on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. During the 1980s and 1990s he was a member of The Christians. Priestman has also been used as a session musician by both

Bette Bright Bette Bright (born Anne Martin, Whitstable, Kent, England) is an English rock singer. Career In the late 1970s, Bright was a singer for the art rock band Deaf School. After Deaf School disbanded, Bright went solo with her backing band, 'The ...

and

Mike Badger Michael Clifford Badger is an English singer-songwriter, artist and sculptor from Liverpool, England. Co-founder of The La's he went on to form alternative country/roots rockabilly band The Onset in 1988 and Mike Badger and The Shady Trio in ...

. Priestman played keyboards on Badger's albums, ''

Lo Fi Acoustic Excursions by Mike Badger & Friends ''Lo Fi Acoustic Excursions'' is the first of two albums released by Mike Badger featuring a compilation of his various musical incarnations including the La's and The Onset, its sister album being ''Lo Fi Electric Excursions by Mike Badger & Fr ...

'' (2004), ''

The Onset The Onset were formed in 1987 by Mike Badger after he left his former band The La's. Badger teamed up with locals Danny Dean on guitar, Hamish Cameron on piano and Colin Becket on drums. The first demo "Let's Go Home" can be found on the 20 ...

'' (2005), and ''

Lo Fi Electric Excursions by Mike Badger & Friends ''Lo Fi Electric Excursions'' is the second of two albums released by Mike Badger with a compilation of his various musical incarnations including the La's and The Onset, its sister album being '' Lo Fi Acoustic Excursions''. ''Lo Fi Electric Exc ...

'' (2006). Priestman was the producer of

Mark Owen Mark Owen (born 27 January 1972) is an English singer and songwriter best known for being a member of pop group and band Take That; as of 2019, the group have sold 14 million albums and 11.4 million singles in the UK. In Owen's solo career, he ...

's 2003 Top 5 album, ''

In Your Own Time ''In Your Own Time'' is the second solo studio album by British singer Mark Owen. The album was released on 3 November 2003, by Island Records. ''In Your Own Time'' features a more mature pop rock sound, shifting away from the Britpop sound of ...

''. On 22 September 2008, Priestman released his debut solo album, ''The Chronicles of Modern Life'', on

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...

. Artwork was made by Tobbe Stuhre. The album was a success, and

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

bought the entire project for a major re-release. When Island Records picked up the album from Stiff, Priestman became the oldest artist to be signed to a major label for a debut solo album. He also wrote music for a digital age, including a James Bond

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

game,

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

's ''

Wildlife on One ''Wildlife on One'' was, for nearly three decades, the BBC's flagship natural history programme. First broadcast in 1977, each edition ran for half an hour. The narrator was Sir David Attenborough. When repeated on BBC2 BBC Two is a Bri ...

'' and ''

Natural World ''Natural World'' is a strand of British wildlife documentary programmes broadcast on BBC Two and BBC Two HD and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history series. It is the longest-running documentary in its genre on British televis ...

''. He has also written the music for numerous commercials. He supported

Fisherman's Friends The Fisherman's Friends are a folk music group from Port Isaac, Cornwall, who sing sea shanties. They have been performing locally since 1995, and signed a record deal with Universal Music in March 2010. Whilst essentially an a cappella group, ...

in 2011, and played a slot at the

Beverley Folk Festival The Beverley Folk Festival is a three-day celebration of folk music, art, comedy and spoken word held in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was first organised in 1983 by the White Horse Folk Club and grew considerably over thirty y ...

in 2013. He continues to enjoy live work, and released his second album, ''The Last Mad Surge of Youth'' on 17 February 2014. Priestman also composed the title song for the West End musical '' Dreamboats and Petticoats'', and he wrote three songs for

Graham Gouldman Graham Keith Gouldman (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the co-lead singer and bassist of the art rock band 10cc. He has been the band's only constant member since its formation in 1972. Before 10cc ...

's 2012 album, ''Love and Work''. In 2015, he released his first solo live DVD entitled ''Settle Down'', recorded live at Victoria Hall in Settle, Yorkshire.

Solo discography

''The Chronicles of Modern Life''

Album track listing: # "Don't You Love Me No More" # "Old" # "What You Doin' with Me?" # "It's Called a Heart" # "Grey's the New Blonde" # "He Ain't Good Enough for You" # "The Idiot" # "The Sacred Scrolls of Pop" # "No to the Logo" # "Did I Fight in the Punk Wars for This?" # "It's What You Leave Behind" # "Goodbye Mr. Lee (...And Thanks)" # Hidden track: "Suffice to Say"

''The Last Mad Surge of Youth''

Album track listing: # "At the End of the Day" # "True Believer" # "We Used to Be You" # "Goodbye Common Sense" # "Valentine Song" # "In My Head" # "The Last Mad Surge of Youth" # "Rant 'N' Rave" # "Huntin' and Gatherin' (Ain't What It Used to Be)" # "Same Circus, Different Clowns" # "I Cried Today" # "A Pint of Bitter and Twisted, Please" # "We Used to Be You (Part 2)"

References

External links

2004 interview with Henry Priestman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Priestman, Henry 1955 births Living people English male singers English songwriters English record producers English keyboardists Musicians from Kingston upon Hull Alumni of Liverpool College of Art Stiff Records artists Proper Records artists British male songwriters