Ian Prowse (born 10 January 1964) is an English singer-songwriter, currently frontman of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and previously of Pele.

Biography

Pele

Prowse formed Pele in 1989 along with Dally (drums), Robbo (Hammond), Nico (violin) and Jim McCallister (bass). Signed by

Michael Levy, Baron Levy Michael Abraham Levy, Baron Levy, (born 11 July 1944) is a Labour Party peer. He is a former chartered accountant and was chairman and CEO of a large independent group of music companies. He now acts as a consultant for a number of companies a ...

in March 1991 to M&G Records/Polydor, the band went on to release two studio albums (''Fireworks'' & ''The Sport Of Kings''), one live album and six singles. Pele's singles never reached the Top 40 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, with it being often remarked that Pele sold more of their famous primary colour T-shirts than they did records. However they scored a number one single in South Africa with "Megalomania", and had other hits in Holland, Portugal and Belgium. After nine tours of the UK, including those with Del Amitri and

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". T ...

, they split in 1996 due to problems with the record company whose efforts to make Prowse record as a solo artist were resisted by the singer. Prowse celebrated the 25th anniversary of first album ''Fireworks'' with a UK tour in the early 2017 with a 25th anniversary of The Sport of Kings tour announced for 2018.

Amsterdam

Prowse went on to form

in 1999 with former Blow Monkeys drummer Tony Kiley and cousin Johnny Barlow. It was not until September 2004 that the band managed to secure a record deal in the form of London-based Beat Crazy. They released one album ''The Journey'' in February 2005 and three singles, "The Journey" (which hit number 32 in the UK Singles Chart) and "Does This Train Stop on Merseyside" also hit the lower reaches of the chart. The partnership was dissolved by mutual consent in 2006. The band then signed to The Stranglers’ management company and released their next album ''Arm in Arm'' on CIA Recordings in 2008. "Does This Train Stop on Merseyside" regularly elicited an emotional response from Radio 1 DJ

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 ...

. Peel's widow Sheila Ravenscroft gave a Radio 1 interview after the DJ's death and confirmed that 'He was not capable of playing it without crying'. The song itself got a further lease of life in 2009 as one of the centre pieces of

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

's album ''

Listen Listen may refer to: * The action of listening * Auditory system#Central auditory system, Central auditory system listening is how the brain processes what you hear * Listening behaviour types in human communication Computing * LISTEN, a Transm ...

'', which spent five weeks at the top spot in his home country. During this time, the band struck up a friendship with

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

who used them as his backing band on the

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...

television show as well as support act on several occasions. Prowse also performed a duet with Costello for EMI Records with a cover of

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Wa ...

' 1964 hit "

Don't Throw Your Love Away "Don't Throw Your Love Away" is a song written by Billy Jackson and Jimmy Wisner that was originally released in 1963 by The Orlons. It was the B-side to "Bon-Doo-Wah", which peaked at #55 in the US charts. Cover Versions *The Searchers releas ...

" for the Liverpool Number Ones Project in 2008. He also picked up a musical icon award on Costello's behalf at Liverpool's Titanic Hotel in November 2014.

Discography

Albums

* ''Does This Train Stop On Merseyside: The Very Best Of Ian Prowse'' (CIA Recordings) 2012 * ''Who Loves Ya Baby'' (IRL) 2014 * ''Companeros'' (Learpholl Recordings) 2015 * ''Here I Lie'' (Kitchen Disco Records) 2019 * ''The Story of Ian Prowse'' (Kitchen Disco Records) 2020 * ''One Hand On The Starry Plough'' (Kitchen Disco Records) 2021

Singles

* "Rosalita" (with Steve White)/ "Cecilia" 7" – Feat. Dan Donnell) (80's Vinyl Records) 2013 * "God & Man" Digital/Video Single (IRL) 2014 * "I Did It For Love" Digital/Video Single (IRL) 2014 * "Lest We Forget" Video Single (IRL) 2014 * "Mississippi Beat" Digital/ Video Single (Feat. Pauline Scanlon (Learpholl) 2015 * "You Can't Win Em All Mum" Digital/ Video single (Learpholl) 2015

Other work

Prowse is a member of the Irish Sea Sessions, which is described as "Part super group, part colossal session and part festival, all in a single gig". April 2012 saw the release of the career spanning ''Does This Train Stop On Merseyside: The Very Best Of Ian Prowse''. Prowse and former Style Council drummer Steve White released a version of

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

song " Rosalita" in 2013, for the 'Check 'em Lads' testicular cancer charity. Prowse has a young daughter named after the song. He released his first solo album, ''Who Loves Ya Baby?'' in March 2014 initially via

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

and then IRL Records. Prowse also graduated with a BA (Hons) History Degree in 2009 and completed a master's degree in Irish Studies in 2010 at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

. His Masters thesis was entitled 'Locating the Role of Christy Moore in Irish Folk and Traditional Music'. Prowse released his second solo album ''Companeros'' in 2015, the project rediscovered long lost songs from the British Isles. Elvis Costello has invited Ian Prowse to be his special guest on his Just Trust UK Tour in 2020. Podcast - Prowse joined former BBC Merseyside boss Mick Ord and Baltic Triangle Director Russell Gannon to produce a podcast called Misadventures in Music. The discussions take the listener on journey through the music that the presenters love.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prowse, Ian 1964 births Living people People from Ellesmere Port English male singer-songwriters Alumni of the University of Liverpool