Ian Finney is an English composer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and actor. He was lead guitarist as part of the acoustic pop group
The Tempest and is now a solo artist. He was brought up in the town of
Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...
, Cheshire.
Early career
Ian Finney was born in 1966 in
Prescot
Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civ ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England. Aged seventeen, he signed a £1.25 million deal with
Michael Levy's
Magnet Records
Magnet Records was a British record label, started in 1973 by Michael Levy and Peter Shelley. It was acquired by Warner Bros. Records in 1988 for an estimated £10m.
Artists on the label included Alvin Stardust, Stevenson's Rocket, Matchbox, ...
in May 1984 as lead guitarist with the band
The Tempest. While later achieving chart success and cult status in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, the group achieved little chart success in the UK, reaching just outside the Top 100.
The Tempest
In mid 1984, Finney began working with producer
Gus Dudgeon
Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, "Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US No ...
, who began production on the band's planned first single 'Bluebelle' but it was later postponed and produced by
Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Martin Tilbrook (born 31 August 1957) is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid-1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the music for Squeeze's son ...
for the band's third release. Tilbrook produced the band's officially unreleased album recorded between October 1984 and summer 1985 at the Workhouse recording studios as well as the singles 'Always the Same', 'Bluebelle' and 'Didn't We Have a Nice Time?'. During summer 1986 producer
Steve Levine
Steve LeVine (born in New York) is a journalist. He writes The Electric, new publicationon batteries, electric vehicles, and their impact on society, cities and geopolitics. He is a senior fellow on the Foresight, Strategy and Risk Initiative at ...
produced the band's final single, a cover version of
the Small Faces
Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...
' '
Lazy Sunday'. After completing this session, Finney left the band.
Later years
Finney continued to work in music, producing local artists and playing on a
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
session. He also briefly played with Sid Griffin's band
the Coal Porters
The Coal Porters were a British-American bluegrass band headquartered in London and led by Sid Griffin (mandolin, autoharp, harmonica and vocals) and Neil Robert Herd (guitar and vocals). The group disbanded in July 2018. The other members we ...
.
Composition
Finney has written orchestral pieces used on the
History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
and contributed tracks to video games, including
's and
Muzzy Lane's
Making History II: The War of the World.
Discography
Singles
*"Always The Same" (7"+10"+12") 1985 (Magnet Records - PEST 1)
*"Bluebelle" (7"+12") 1985 (Magnet Records - PEST 2)
*"Didn't We Have A Nice Time" (7"+12") 1986 (Magnet Records - PEST 3)
*"Lazy Sunday" (7"+12") 1986 (Magnet Records - LAZY 1)
*"Colours" (EP-CD) 1993 (Planet Records - PLAN005) (co-written)
*"There You Go Again" (Digital) 2017 (J & K Records - JAK001)
Albums
*''The Tempest'' (12" unreleased in UK/bootleg) -The Tempest 1986 (Magnet Records)
*''Fishing In The Pool - 'Roman Stone' '' (CD) -Sonnenberg 2007 - (Probe Plus) (co-written)
References
External links
*
Ian Finney's Blog at BlogspotTempest discography at Discogs.comJohn Peel CreditsInterview with Ian Finney about The Tempest at cloudberry recordsInterview with Ian Finney at cloudberry records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finney, Ian
1966 births
Living people
English male songwriters
English male singers
English pop singers
English rock singers
English folk singers
English pop guitarists
English rock guitarists
English folk guitarists
English male guitarists
English composers
Musicians from Liverpool
English male voice actors
People from Widnes