The Crazy World of Arthur Brown are an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band formed by singer

Arthur Brown Arthur Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Arthur William Brown (1881–1966), Canadian commercial artist * H. Arthur Brown (1906–1992), American orchestral conductor * Arthur Brown (musician) (born 1942), English rock singer * Arthur Brown, ak ...

in 1967. The original band included

Vincent Crane Vincent Rodney Cheesman (21 May 194314 February 1989), known professionally as Vincent Crane, was an English keyboardist, best known as the organist for the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Atomic Rooster. Crane co-wrote "Fire", the 1968 hit sin ...

(

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

and piano), Drachen Theaker (drums), and Nick Greenwood (bass). This early incarnation were noted for Crane's organ and brass arrangements and Brown's powerful, wide ranging operatic voice. Brown was also notable for his unique stage persona such as extreme

facepaint Body painting is a form of body art where artwork is painted directly onto the human skin. Unlike tattoos and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, lasting several hours or sometimes up to a few weeks (in the case of mehndi or "h ...

and burning helmet. Their song "

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

" (released in 1968 as a single) sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

reaching number one 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 ...

and Canada, and number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as well as its parent album ''

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown The Crazy World of Arthur Brown are an English rock band formed by singer Arthur Brown in 1967. The original band included Vincent Crane ( Hammond organ and piano), Drachen Theaker (drums), and Nick Greenwood (bass). This early incarnation w ...

'' which reached number 2 on the UK album charts and number 7 in the US. In the late 1960s, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown's popularity was such that the group shared bills with

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

the Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band ...

the Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

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 ...

, and

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

, among others.Richie Unterberger (2014). "Urban Spacemen & Wayfaring Strangers evised & Expanded Ebook Edition Overlooked Innovators & Eccentric Visionaries of '60s Rock". BookBaby Following the success of the single "Fire", the press would often refer to Brown as " The God of Hellfire", in reference to the opening shouted line of the song, a moniker that exists to this day.

History

Brown quickly earned a reputation for his outlandish performances, including the use of a burning metal helmet, which led to occasional mishaps. During an early appearance at the Windsor Festival in 1967, Brown wore a

colander A colander (or cullender) is a kitchen utensil used to strain foods such as pasta or to rinse vegetables. The perforated nature of the colander allows liquid to drain through while retaining the solids inside. It is sometimes also called a past ...

on his head soaked in methanol. The fuel poured over his head by accident caught fire; two bystanders doused the flames by pouring beer on Brown’s head, preventing any serious injury. The flaming head then became an Arthur Brown signature. On occasion he also stripped naked while performing, most notably in Italy, where, after setting his hair on fire, he was arrested and deported. He was also notable for the extreme make-up he wore onstage, which would later be reflected in the stage acts of

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

, George Clinton, and

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

among others. By 1968, the debut album, ''

'' became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Produced by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's manager

Kit Lambert Christopher Sebastian "Kit" Lambert (11 May 1935 – 7 April 1981) was a British record producer, record label owner and the manager of The Who. Biography Early life Kit Lambert was born on 11 May 1935, the son of composer Constant Lamb ...

, with

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

credited as associate producer, on Track Records, the label begun by Lambert and

Chris Stamp Christopher Thomas Stamp (7 July 1942 – 24 November 2012) was a British music producer and manager known for co-managing and producing such musical acts as the Who and Jimi Hendrix in the 1960s and 1970s and co-founding the now defunct Track ...

, it spun off an equally surprising hit single, "

", and contained a version of "

I Put a Spell on You "I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written and composed by Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins, whose own recording of it was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also included in Rober ...

" written by Screaming Jay Hawkins, a similarly bizarre showman. "Fire" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

. The song has since seen its opening line "I am the God of Hellfire"

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

in numerous other places, most notably in

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

's 1992 rave anthem "

", and more recently in

Death Grips Death Grips is an American experimental hip hop group formed in 2010 in Sacramento, California. The group consists of Stefan Burnett, also known as MC Ride (vocals, lyrics), Zach Hill (drums, production, lyrics), and Andy Morin (keyboards, produ ...

' "Lord of the Game", from 2011. Theaker was replaced because of his aviophobia in 1968 by

Chris Farlowe Chris Farlowe (born John Henry Deighton, 13 October 1940) is an English rock, blues and soul singer. He is best known for his hit single " Out of Time" written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which rose to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 19 ...

& The Thunderbirds drummer

Carl Palmer Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer (born 20 March 1950) is an English drummer best known as founding member and the last surviving member of the progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer. He was also a founding member of progressive rock s ...

(later of Atomic Rooster,

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

) for the band's second American tour in 1969, on which keyboardist Vincent Crane also left—although he soon returned.Larkin C, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'' (Muze UK Ltd, 1997) , page 77 The band recorded a second album, titled ''Strangelands'', intended for release in 1969 but shelved by their label over concerns that it lacked sales potential. The album featured a more experimental and avant-garde sound that shed the pop sensibilities of the Crazy World's debut. ''Strangelands'' was not issued until 1988. The new lineup practically dissolved on the band's US tour in June 1969. Crane and Palmer left to form Atomic Rooster, Greenwood, known as Sean Nicholas during his time in the band, went on to Khan where he performed under the name Nick Greenwood. Theaker went to join

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

and then Rustic Hinge, and Arthur Brown eventually joined Kingdom Come. The band re-formed in 2000 and released ''Tantric Lover''. In 2013, as the result of a successful pledge campaign on

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 ...

, the band released the album ''Zim Zam Zim'', recorded in Brown's

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia. ...

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

Musical style

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's music encompasses

psychedelic soul Psychedelic soul (originally called black rock or conflated with psychedelic funk) is a music genre that emerged in the late 1960s and saw Black soul musicians embrace elements of psychedelic rock, including its production techniques, instrumenta ...

British rhythm and blues British rhythm and blues (or R&B) was a musical movement that developed in the United Kingdom between the late 1950s and the early 1960s, and reached a peak in the mid-1960s. It overlapped with, but was distinct from, the broader British beat a ...

, pop, and

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

. Mike Knoop, writing for ''Classic Rock'' magazine, said that Brown's singing style recalls "

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

, Bob Calvert,

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

Brian Connolly Brian Francis Connolly (5 October 1945 – 9 February 1997) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead singer of glam rock band The Sweet between 1968 and 1979 and renowned for his charismatic stage presence ...

, and a smidgen of

King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...

all coming out of one person." Brian Carr, another ''Classic Rock'' writer, compared the debut album's music to that of

and Frank Zappa.

Members

;Current members *

– lead vocals * Jim Mortimore – bass, backing vocals, guitars, electronics * Samuel Walker – drums, backing vocals, percussion * Dan Smith - guitar, Hammond MX-1 organ, electronics, vocals ;Additional personnel * Andy Clark - content creator and visual show * Robin O’Keefe - visuals, camera work, musician * Angel Fallon - dance and choreography * Claire Waller - costumes and creative direction ;Former members * Sean Nicholas Greenwood – bass guitar *

–

, piano * Drachen Theaker – drums *

– drums * Jeff Cutler – drums * Dick Heninghem – organ, piano *

Pete Solley Peter Solley (born 19 October 1948, London) is an English musician and record producer. He has recorded with Eric Clapton, Al Stewart and Whitesnake as well as producing records for Ted Nugent, Oingo Boingo, Motörhead, The Romantics, Jo Jo Zep ...

– organ, piano *

Z-Star Z-STAR (pronounced 'zee-star') is the alias of Zee Gachette a British/Trinidadian singer-songwriter, musician, artist, and record producer based in Brighton and signed to Muthastar Records. Zee has released three albums under the name Z-STAR, Vo ...

– guitar, keytar, keybass, percussion, vocals * Lucie Rejchrtova – keyboards, synthesizers * Malcolm Dick – projection

Timeline

Discography

;Studio albums *1968: ''

'' (#2 UK, #6 Can., #7 US, ) *1988: ''Strangelands'' (rejected second album recorded in 1969) *2000: ''Tantric Lover'' (CD, UK, ''

Voiceprint Records Voiceprint Records was a British independent record label based in England, founded in November 1990 by Rob Ayling. They specialised in re-releasing old material, especially progressive rock, but also had new releases, under the Resurgence and B ...

'') *2003: ''Vampire Suite'' (CD, UK, ''

Track Records Track Record (a.k.a. Track Records) was founded in 1966 in London by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of the rock group The Who. It was one of the first British-owned independent record labels in the United Kingdom. The most succe ...

'') *2013: ''Zim Zam Zim'' (released as the result of a pledge campaign) *2019: ''Gypsy Voodoo'' ;Live albums *1993: ''Order From Chaos'' *2011: ''The Crazy World of Arthur Brown Live At High Voltage'' (vinyl only release, limited edition of 1000, recorded at the

High Voltage Festival High Voltage was a music festival, held twice in Victoria Park, London. The event hosted artists from various strands of rock music, including classic rock, progressive rock, and heavy metal. The first festival was held on 24 and 25 July 2010. Th ...

) ;Singles ;Music Videos

References

Bibliography

Marshall, Polly. ''The God of Hellfire, the Crazy Life and Times of Arthur Brown.'' SAF Publishing, 2005. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The British rhythm and blues musical groups British soul musical groups English psychedelic rock music groups Freak scene musicians Atlantic Records artists Zoho Music artists Musical groups established in 1967 1967 establishments in England Musical groups from London