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 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 were ...

and Atomic Rooster. Crane co-wrote "

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 ...

", the 1968 hit single by the Crazy World of Arthur Brown.

Biography

Born Vincent Rodney Cheesman in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, he taught himself boogie woogie piano as a teenager before attending

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

between 1961 and 1964. Influenced by

Graham Bond Graham John Clifton Bond (28 October 1937 – 8 May 1974) was an English rock/blues musician and vocalist, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s. Bond was an innovator, described as "an important, und ...

, he took up

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 ...

. In late 1966 he formed the Vincent Crane Combo, which comprised bass player

Binky McKenzie Michael Keith Winston "Binky" McKenzie is a former musician. During the 1960s he played and recorded with several musicians such as Alexis Korner, John McLaughlin, Pete Brown, Denny Laine, Vincent Crane and Duffy Power. In 1972 he was conv ...

, sax player John Claydon and drummer Gordon Hadler. In 1967 he teamed up with

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 ...

. Their debut 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 were ...

'' (1968) contained the song "

", co-written by Crane and a chart-topping hit single in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, with Crane's organ and brass arrangement to the fore. During their first tour of the United States in 1968, Crane suffered a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

and returned to the United Kingdom where he spent 3 or 4 months in the mental hospital at

Banstead Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Downs, it is on three of the four main ...

. Crane rejoined the band but on a subsequent tour of the United States, the band disintegrated in June 1969 when Arthur Brown temporarily disappeared to a commune and Crane and 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 ...

left to form Atomic Rooster, playing their first concert at the Lyceum in London on 29 August headlining over

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

. Atomic Rooster enjoyed success in 1971 with two hit singles, " Tomorrow Night" (written by Crane) and "Devil's Answer". Crane was the one constant member of the band through their many changing lineups, and wrote a slim majority of their material. Atomic Rooster published their first eponymous album in 1970, and then drummer Carl Palmer left to form

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 ...

that same year. Crane suffered from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

from at least 1968 onwards, periodically necessitating treatment at both out- and inpatient

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

treatment facilities. He collaborated with other musicians on a number of albums, including

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Due to his virtuosic playing, but relative lack of fame compared to some others, he has been referred to as "the greatest ...

(''

'', 1971),

(''Faster Than the Speed of Light'', 1979), Peter Green, Richard Wahnfried, and

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...

(''

Don't Stand Me Down ''Don't Stand Me Down'' is the third studio album by English pop band Dexys Midnight Runners, released in September 1985 by Mercury Records. The title of the album was inspired by a line in the album's song "The Waltz". The album was released th ...

'', 1985). In 1983, he was part of the one-off

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

outfit,

Katmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Nepal, Province , subdivision_name1 ...

, with

Ray Dorset Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

, Len Surtees, and Peter Green, who recorded the album '' A Case for the Blues''. Crane died of a deliberate

overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

of Anadin tablets in 1989 at age 45. Vincent_Crane_grave

Discography

Solo

* 1997: ''Taro Rota'' (recorded in the late 1970s, Arthur Brown erroneously credited on release)

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

* 1968: ''

Atomic Rooster

* 1970: ''

Atomic Roooster , also spelled ''Atomic Ro-o-oster'' on some later CD reissues, is the first album by British rock band Atomic Rooster, with keyboardist Vincent Crane, bassist and vocalist Nick Graham and drummer Carl Palmer. A few weeks after its release, ...

'' * 1970: ''

Death Walks Behind You ''Death Walks Behind You'' is the second studio album by British rock band Atomic Rooster, released on September 1970. It was their first album to receive US release, albeit in a different sleeve. It is commonly thought of as the archetypal A ...

'' * 1971: ''

In Hearing of Atomic Rooster ''In Hearing of'' is the third album by British rock band Atomic Rooster. Although not included on the album, the " Devil's Answer" single was released just prior to it, becoming the band's highest chart success at number 4 in the UK. This he ...

'' * 1972: '' Made in England'' * 1973: ''

Nice 'n' Greasy ''Nice 'n' Greasy'' is the fifth studio album by British rock band Atomic Rooster. In the US, the record was issued on Elektra in a different sleeve (pictured) to most territories and retitled ''Atomic Rooster IV'', as their first album, '' ...

'' * 1980: '' Atomic Rooster'' * 1983: ''

Headline News HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the network primarily carries true crime programming. The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982 by Turner Broadcasting as CNN2 (later renamed Headline News ...

with Arthur Brown

* 1979: ''Faster Than the Speed of Light''

References

External links

Archive of an Atomic Rooster and Vincent Crane site
by his widow Jeannie Crane and dedicated to his memory * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crane, Vincent 1943 births 1989 suicides People from Reading, Berkshire English rock keyboardists English songwriters Dexys Midnight Runners members People with bipolar disorder Alumni of Trinity College of Music 20th-century English musicians The Crazy World of Arthur Brown members Atomic Rooster members 20th-century British male singers British male songwriters Katmandu (band) members