Victor Emerson (1949 – 13 October 2018) was an English musician, songwriter and keyboardist. He was a founder member of the bands

Mandalaband Mandalaband is a progressive rock band formed in England in 1974. The band is led by David Rohl who writes, arranges, mixes and produces their material. Rohl is also a controversial Egyptologist, once featured on the London '' Sunday Times'' fro ...

and

Sad Café Sad Café are an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1976, who achieved their peak of popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known for the UK top 40 singles "Every Day Hurts", "Strange Little Girl", " My Oh My" and "I ...

. He was co-writer of the latter's 1979 No. 3 UK

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' ...

Every Day Hurts "Every Day Hurts" is a song by British band Sad Café, from their third album '' Facades''. It was released as a single in 1979 and became their biggest hit, reaching No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Offi ...

" and the 1980 No. 14 hit " My Oh My". He was also a member of the rock band

10cc 10cc are an English rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured t ...

from 1981 to 1983.

Early life and career

Emerson was born in

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient parish o ...

, which at the time was in

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 ...

but is now in the

Metropolitan Borough of Bury The Metropolitan Borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, just north of Manchester, to the east of Bolton and west of Rochdale. The borough is centred around the town of Bury, Greater Manchester, Bu ...

, in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

. He was the son of tailor Ben Emerson, and wife Myra. At age four, he had his first piano lessons and attended the

Bury Grammar School (The key that opens sacred doors) , established = , type = Independent day schoolGrammar school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Headmaster , head ...

. In the early 1960s, he bought a

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 ...

for use at home, then became a cinema organist in

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

after he left school. In the 1960s, Emerson worked on the cabaret circuit, playing keyboards, then became 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 ...

at Camel Studios, where he met drummer Tony Cresswell, guitarist Ashley Mulford and bass player John Stimpson, all later to become members of Sad Café. The

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

at the studios,

David Rohl The New Chronology is an alternative chronology of the ancient Near East developed by English Egyptologist David Rohl and other researchers beginning with ''A Test of Time: The Bible - from Myth to History'' in 1995. It contradicts mainstream ...

, was working on an album called ''Mandalaband'' and asked Emerson to play keyboards on the album. This was when

was formed, with Emerson becoming a member. After the split of Mandalaband in 1976, Emerson moved into a flat with John Stimpson in Manchester, and they looked to form a new band. Needing a singer, they met

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

of the band Gyro, and this was when

was formed. The band had a No. 3 hit single in the UK with "

", which was written by Emerson, Stimpson and Young, and produced by

Eric Stewart Eric Michael Stewart (born 20 January 1945) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known as a founding member of the rock groups the Mindbenders with whom he played from 1963 to 1968, and likewise of 10 ...

. In 1981, Emerson became a member of

. He toured with the band and played on the albums ''

Ten Out of 10 ''Ten Out of 10'' is the eighth studio album by 10cc. It was released in two different versions with the original edition coming in November 1981 and the US version coming in June 1982 respectively. Overview After two albums of 10cc as a six ...

'' and ''

Windows in the Jungle ''Windows in the Jungle'' is the ninth studio album by British rock band 10cc, released in October 1983. Background The album became a return to the roots for 10cc as all the songs on the album were written together by Eric Stewart and Graham ...

'', as well as on Stewart's second solo album, ''

Frooty Rooties ''Frooty Rooties'' is the second solo album of Eric Stewart released in 1982. Overview The album opens with a ten minute three part composition "The Ritual" reminiscent of the 10cc songs "Une Nuit a Paris" and " Feel the Benefit". The vocal eff ...

''. In 1985, a year after he left Sad Café, Emerson moved to Paris, France. While living there, he worked on various albums of local artists such as on

Alain Bashung Alain Bashung (, born Alain Claude Baschung; 1 December 1947 – 14 March 2009) was a French singer, songwriter and actor. Credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil", he is often regarded in his home country a ...

's ''

Passé le Rio Grande ''Passé le Rio Grande'' ''(Passed the Rio Grande)'' is the sixth studio album by French rocker Alain Bashung, issued in 1986 on Philips Records. Production After the commercial failures of the albums '' Play blessures'' in 1982 and '' Figure ...

'' and ''

Novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

'',

Zazie Isabelle Marie Anne de Truchis de Varennes (born 18 April 1964), better known by her stage name Zazie, is a French singer-songwriter and former fashion model. Her greatest hits include "Je suis un homme", "À ma place" and "Speed". She co-produce ...

's ''

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

'' and

Emma Shapplin Emma Shapplin (born Crystêle Madeleine Joliton Interview video with Emma Shapplin for the Russian TV channel TVC. on 19 May 1974, in the Paris suburb of Savigny-le-Temple) is a French soprano. Discography Albums *''Carmine Meo'' (1997, Pe ...

's ''

Carmine Meo ''Carmine Meo'' is the debut album by French soprano Emma Shapplin, released in 7 December 1997. The album brought Shapplin worldwide attention, selling over two million copies and being certified multi-platinum. Track listing Bonus track ...

''. After

's death in 2000, Emerson contributed on several tracks for the 2011 posthumous Paul Young album, ''Chronicles''.

Death

Emerson died in Paris aged 69 on 13 October 2018, of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Vic 1949 births 2018 deaths Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in France English songwriters English keyboardists British soft rock musicians People from Prestwich English emigrants to France 10cc members RCA Records artists 20th-century British male musicians